Feyenoord

Clubname	Feyenoord
Fullname	Feyenoord Rotterdam
Nickname	De club aan de Maas (The Club Upon the Meuse) De Stadionclub (The Stadiumclub) De club van Zuid (The Club from South)
Founded
Ground	Feijenoord Stadion (aka De Kuip)Rotterdam
Capacity	51,177
Chairman	Dick van Well
Manager	Mario Been
League	Eredivisie
Season	2010–11
Position	Eredivisie, 10th
Pattern la1	_thinredborder
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Pattern ra1	_thinwhiteborder
Leftarm1	FFFFFF
Body1	FFFFFF
Rightarm1	FF0000
Shorts1	000000
Socks1	000000
Pattern b2	_feyenoord1112a
Leftarm2	99d9ea
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Website	http://www.feyenoord.nl/
Current	2010–11 Feyenoord season

Feyenoord () is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. With Ajax and PSV, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs have won virtually every Eredivisie title since 1965 and they are, together with FC Utrecht and Roda JC, the only clubs never to have been relegated from Dutch first division football. In domestic competition, Feyenoord has won 14 Dutch Championships, 11 Dutch Cups and 2 Dutch Supercups to go with the European Cup, two UEFA Cups and the Intercontinental Cup.

Location

Feyenoord are located in the Feijenoord district of southern Rotterdam and is named after the district in which the club was founded. More frequent appearances in international tournaments led the club to change its name in 1974, because foreign fans unfamiliar with the Dutch language did not know how to pronounce ij.

Beside Feyenoord, there are two other professional football clubs in Rotterdam: Sparta and Excelsior. Feyenoord and Excelsior are currently playing in the Eredivisie, while Sparta was relegated to the second tier after the 2009–10 season.

History

1908–1939

The football club Wilhelmina were founded in the pub De Vereeniging on 19 July 1908 and played in blue-sleeved red shirts and white shorts. and then RVV Celeritas. Upon earning promotion to the National football association in 1912, the club renamed to become SC Feijenoord, after the city district in which the team was founded and again changed uniform, adopting the red and white shirts, black shorts and black socks they still wear today. They continued to dominate their division with three consecutive titles, but were winless in subsequent championship finals. Five years after their first cup win, Feijenoord took the prize for a second time in 1935 by beating Helmond Sport. During this period Feijenoord won three consecutive division titles from 1936 to 1938, with their third and fourth national championships coming in 1936 and 1938.

1940–1969

During World War II Feijenoord played their matches at Sparta Rotterdam's Kasteel, as the Nazis had occupied De Kuip. During this period Feijenoord's only trophy was a divisional championship in 1943. After the war Feijenoord did not perform as well as they had in previous decades, not seriously challenging in their division and so missing the national playoff rounds.

On 30 June 1954 the chairmen of the three biggest Rotterdam teams organised a meeting in Utrecht, which was attended by several chairmen of other clubs and a delegation of the KNVB to discuss the start of professional football in the Netherlands. The professional era commenced with the first Eredivisie season in 1954/1955. Feijenoord were one of the clubs participating in the inaugural Eredivisie and have never been relegated.

Feijenoord claimed their first professional Eredivisie Championship and their sixth Dutch Championship in history in 1961. On the road to the title Ajax were beaten 9–5 in De Kuip, four of Feijenoord's goals were scored by Henk Schouten. Feijenoord were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur in the following round. In 1962 Feijenoord successfully defended their Dutch Championship title and reached the final of the Intertoto Cup 1961-62.

On 12 December 1962 Feyenoord played a decisive match versus Vasas SC in the second round of the European Cup 1962-63. The first two legs, in Rotterdam and Budapest both ended in 1–0 home victories, and a replay on a neutral ground took place. The match was played in Antwerp, Belgium and 30,000 Feijenoord fans travelled by bus to see their team play. Feijenoord eventually lost the match against Benfica 3–1, but this turned out to be the start of the most successful period in the club's history. Feijenoord won the double for the first time in their history in 1965 and managed to win another double a few years later in 1969.

1970–1999

As the 1969 Dutch champions, Feijenoord participated in the European Cup 1969-70. After thrashing Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur 16–2 on aggregate in the first round the team faced AC Milan. Feijenoord faced Celtic in the final, held in the San Siro stadium in Milan. Goals by Tommy Gemmell and Rinus Israël resulted in a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes. Three minutes before the end of extra time, Ove Kindvall scored Feijenoord's winning goal to make them the first Dutch team to claim a major European trophy.

As reigning European champions, Feijenoord faced Estudiantes La Plata in the Intercontinental Cup. The first match in Buenos Aires' La Bombonera finished in a 2–2 draw. Back in Rotterdam, Feijenoord managed a 1–0 victory (winning goal by Joop van Daele) to win the world club crown, the first Dutch team to do so. Estudiantes player Oscar Malbernat got frustrated and grabbed Van Daele's glasses and trampled on them. "You are not allowed to play with glasses... at least not in South America" was his excuse. As the cup holders, Feijenoord participated in the European Cup 1970-71 despite relinquishing the Dutch title, which was won by Ajax. Feijenoord were eliminated in the first round following a surprise defeat by the Romanian team UT Arad.

In 1973, the club decided to change their name to Feyenoord, as people from outside the Netherlands found it difficult to pronounce the "ij" in Feijenoord. Feyenoord then won their match in Rotterdam 2–0 thanks to goals by Wim Rijsbergen and Peter Ressel, and became the first Dutch team to win the UEFA Cup. As a result, Spurs fans started to riot, introducing Dutch football to the spectre of hooliganism in the process. The remainder of the decade saw Feyenoord win only one more honour: the Dutch Championship in 1974.

Feyenoord won their fifth Dutch Cup in 1980 by beating Ajax 3–1 in the final. Cruijff reacted to Ajax's decision not to offer him a new contract at the start of the season and signed for arch rivals Feyenoord instead. However, Feyenoord later defeated Ajax in Rotterdam 4–1 and Ajax were subsequently beaten a second time in the Dutch Cup. Feyenoord proceeded to win a league and cup double by beating Fortuna Sittard in the cup final.

After the successful season Feyenoord experienced a lean period and were unable to finish the season in a higher position than third. In the 1989/1990 season, the club struggled to remain in the Eredivisie, but eventually managed to avoid relegation. The club had financial problems, the staff was not able to recover and their main sponsor HCS went bankrupt.

When Wim Jansen was appointed as the interim manager to replace Günder Bengtsson and Pim Verbeek after a 6–0 defeat against PSV, the outlook began to improve for the club. PSV, the strongest Dutch club of the period, were knocked out of the KNVB Cup by a Henk Fräser goal in Eindhoven. Feyenoord progressed to the 1991 final where they beat BVV Den Bosch 1–0 to win the competition. As the cup holders, they faced champions PSV again, this time in the 1991 Dutch Supercup, the first Supercup held since 1949. PSV were beaten 1–0 by a Marian Damaschin goal to add another honour to the club's achievements. They went on to win another Dutch Cup in 1992, beating Roda JC 3–0 in the final. The same year Feyenoord reached the semi finals in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1991-92 beating Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter final before being knocked out by AS Monaco on away goals after two draws. The match was played at the Oosterpark Stadion in Groningen, so 40.000 Feyenoord fans watched the game on giant screens in De Kuip. During the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1995-96 Everton and Borussia Mönchengladbach were beaten. A total of 14,000 Feyenoord fans travelled to Germany to support the team against Mönchengladbach. Feyenoord were knocked out in the semi-finals by a Carsten Jancker inspired SK Rapid Wien.

Feyenoord made their UEFA Champions League debut during the UEFA Champions League 1997-98, finishing third in their group behind Manchester United and Juventus. However, Juventus were beaten 2–0 in Rotterdam, both goals scored by Julio Ricardo Cruz. In 1998, the FIOD-ECD (Fiscal Information and Investigation Service/Economic Investigation Service) visited Feyenoord because of suspected fraud, mainly based on the signings of Aurelio Vidmar, Christian Gyan and Patrick Allotey. This became an ongoing scandal in the years to come with chairman Jorien van den Herik as the main suspect. Before the start of the new 1999/2000 season, Ajax were beaten in their own stadium when Feyenoord won their second Dutch Supercup after a free kick by Patrick Paauwe, which secured a 3–2 win. Feyenoord reached the second group stage and secured wins versus Olympique Marseille (at home) and Lazio (away). Chelsea won both clashes and as a result Feyenoord had to win their last group match away to Marseille to reach the knock-out stages. The final result was 0–0 and Feyenoord were eliminated. This meant Feyenoord had to continue their European season in the UEFA Cup 2001-02 instead of the 2nd Champions League group stage. The disappointment of failing to reach the second group stage eventually resulted in optimism and celebration. By winning over SC Freiburg and Rangers, Feyenoord faced fellow Dutch team PSV in the quarter finals. Pierre van Hooijdonk who had a superb season by scoring many goals from free kicks secured Feyenoord's win by scoring in the 90th minute equalizer before finishing PSV off by scoring the last goal in the penalty shoot-out. A win in Milan (0–1) over Inter and a 2–2 return match in Rotterdam earned Feyenoord their spot in the final, in which Borussia Dortmund was the opponent. The final was held in De Kuip and as a result most spectators inside the stadium were Feyenoord fans. Feyenoord took a 2–0 lead thanks to another free kick and a penalty by Pierre van Hooijdonk. Lots of fans were still full of emotion before and after the match. As a result of Fortuyn's murder, the cup was not officially celebrated in the city center.

The 2002 UEFA Cup win was the start of a long dry spell for Feyenoord. In the 2002/03 season the club managed to finish 3rd in the national league, as well as reach the final of the Dutch Cup (which was lost 1–4 to FC Utrecht), but in the following years Feyenoord disappointed in both the national league and the Dutch Cup.

In between, Feyenoord and chairman Jorien van den Herik were found to be not guilty in 2002. The Public Prosecutor however appealed, but in 2005, after three years of investigations the results stayed the same. Still, the prosecution has not given up the case yet.

The 2005/06 season ended in disappointment for Feyenoord. The team challenged for the Dutch Championship for most of the season, but eventually lost out to PSV. The newly created Dutch play-offs then proved to be gloomy for Feyenoord. Ajax, which finished several points behind in the regular league, were Feyenoord's opponent in the play-offs. Ajax ouclassed them and Feyenoord lost out on a Champions League place.

In the 2006–07 season the nightmare grew even bigger. The supporters saw their two star players leave to Chelsea (Salomon Kalou) and Liverpool (Dirk Kuyt). At the same time it became clear that Feyenoord were in an appalling financial state despite earlier comments made by chairman Van den Herik who claimed that the club was financially healthy. Supporters unrest grew into anger when Feyenoord bought Charisteas, a back-up striker of arch rivals Ajax with a poor track record, as a replacement for Kuyt. After continuous protests chairman Van den Herik resigned and the club started managerial reforms. The worst was not over though. Feyenoord were expelled from European competition following hooliganism prior to and during a match with AS Nancy, despite an appeal by the club. The season ended in bitter disappointment with a 7th place finish, causing Feyenoord to miss European football for the first time in 16 years.

While desperate supporters started preparing for a dark age, the club surprised friend and foe in the 2007 summer transfer window. A brilliant performance of young left back Royston Drenthe at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship had investors flocking to the new investment schemes Feyenoord had set up. The club appointed former coach Bert van Marwijk and was able to make a number of high profile signings amongst which Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Roy Makaay. Despite the efforts, Feyenoord underperformed once again in the national league, finishing in a disappointing 6th place. The pain was relieved by claiming the first prize in 6 years: 100 years after the foundation of the club, Feyenoord managed to win the Dutch Cup, beating Roda JC by 2–0. As Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk accepted a job as coach of the national team, Feyenoord appointed Gertjan Verbeek as their new coach for the 2008/09 season.

In the 2008–09 season, Feyenoord officially celebrated their 100th birthday and organised many events throughout the year. The old "golden logo" returned as Feyenoord's official logo, which was presented at the 2007 new years brunch. During the summer a historical tournament was held between Feyenoord and the three opponents they met in the European Cup finals they played, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic FC (Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament).

Mid-way through the season manager Verbeek was fired because of disappointing league results. His assistant, Leon Vlemmings, then took over the job as head coach. The results in this period improved slightly, resulting in securing a spot in the playoffs for the final Dutch Europa League slot.

For the 2009/2010 season Feyenoord appointed ex-assistant coach and former Feyenoord player Mario Been to take over from Leon Vlemmings. Been, after achieving minor European successes with NEC Nijmegen, was considered the ideal man for the job. Former coach Leo Beenhakker, at the time coach of the Polish national squad, took over the role as Technical Director. Partly because of this position he was able to attract more investors to the club leading to some unexpected signings such as Sekou Cissé, Dani Fernandez and Stefan Babovic.

In the 2010/2011 season, Feyenoord suffered their worst ever defeat on 24 October 2010 when they lost 10-0 to PSV Eindhoven. Feyenoord coach, Been, called it a "black page in the history of Feyenoord, while the club's technical director Leo Beenhakker maintained his support for the underfire manager.

Stadium

The club's Feijenoord Stadion, located in the IJsselmonde district of Rotterdam, is nicknamed De Kuip, Dutch for The Tub. It was built in 1937 and is one of the major European stadiums. It has 51,117 seats and has hosted a record of 10 finals of UEFA club competitions, including the 2002 UEFA Cup Final which was won by Feyenoord. Former Feyenoord player Mike Obiku once said "Every time you enter the pitch, you're stepping into a lion's home."

In May 2008 Woerts announced further details: the club is aiming for a stadium with a capacity of around 100.000 seats. If possible, a capacity of over 130.000 should be realized according to Woerts, which would earn the title of biggest stadium in Europe. The club emphasized its efforts to make it a true football stadium with seats close to the pitch. The stadium will get a retractable roof so that other events can be held as well. According to plans, the stadium should be ready in 2016.

Stadium songs

Unofficial Feyenoord hymn

Feyenoord's unofficial hymn since 1961 is called "Hand in Hand". Its melody was written in the 19th century by German Wilhelm Speidel. In 1961 Jaap Valkhoff wrote the lyrics which became popular among Feyenoord supporters who adopted the song as their unofficial hymn. Valkhoff wrote lyrics on the same melody for several other teams as well. Among them were Feyenoord's arch rivals Ajax. Nowadays the song is heard wherever Feyenoord play their matches, but also fans of MVV and Club Brugge have their own version that they sing.

Other songs

When a goal is scored by Feyenoord in their home matches the song I Will Survive, covered by the Hermes House Band, but made famous by Gloria Gaynor in the 1970s is played.

Feyenoord supporters are known to be creative and have a lot of various songs and chants in their equipment during matches. Among the most important Feyenoord songs are "Mijn Feyenoord" by Lee Towers, "Feyenoord, wat gaan we doen vandaag?"' by Cock van der Palm and "De laatste trein naar Rotterdam" by Dorus. During the 2001/02 season when Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup a parody was launched of the song "Put your hands up" by Black and White Brothers called "Put your hands up for Pi-Air" as a tribute to Pierre (Pi-Air) van Hooijdonk. In the 1970s Coen Moulijn also had a song dedicated to him named "Coentje Coentje Coentje".

Supporters

The supporters of Feyenoord are said to be one of the most loyal supporter groups in the world supporting the team during both good or bad times. They are nicknamed Het Legioen, Dutch for The Legion and can be found everywhere in The Netherlands and far across the Dutch borders. Squad number 12 is never given to a player, but is reserved for Het Legioen instead.

Feyenoord supporters are known to have a connection with fans of English Premier League club, Sunderland AFC. It is thought to have started in the 1970s when supporters of Sunderland moved to Rotterdam to work in the ports and docks, some of which remained in Rotterdam and settled there, thus taking an interest in the local team, Feyenoord. As the years passed, the interest from both sides grew and more people got involved. Supporters of Feyenoord often travel to the Stadium of Light on matchdays to support Sunderland, and vice versa with some Sunderland fans travelling to watch Feyenoord at De Kuip. It is common to find Sunderland shirts in De Kuip on a matchday and at the Stadium of Light, a St George's England flag with Feyenoord Mackems written across the red cross is on show at every match. Images of this flag can be found by searching 'Feyenoord Mackems' into Google Images.

Popularity

Feyenoord is a popular club in The Netherlands with a large number of supporters. The team's first training session of a season alone attracts thousands of fans; 20,000 attended 2007–08's inaugural session.

In 1963 about 3000 fans boarded on two ships, among thousands of others by train or car and they travelled to Lisbon where Feyenoord faced Benfica in the European Cup. When Feyenoord plays abroad in European Cup about 8000 travel together to support their team. Almost 15,000 fans were cheering for their team in 1996 when Feyenoord played in Germany versus Borussia Mönchengladbach. About 40,000 fans visit a regular match at home while top classes versus Ajax, PSV and European Cup opponents are sold out most of the time. After Feyenoord beat Internazionale in the 2002 UEFA Cup semi final, Inter midfielder Clarence Seedorf said: "I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the Kuip. As an ex-Ajax player I was really given the bird, but that’s all part of the emotions in football. It also illustrates the intense way in which the Feyenoord supporters experience their club’s matches."

Beyond the Netherlands, Feyenoord opened a fanshop in the center of Tokyo, Japan when Japanese player Shinji Ono was a key player at the club, and also in South Korea when Song Chong-Gug played for Feyenoord.

Supporters organisations

Feyenoord have one official fan supporters club, the Feyenoord Supportersvereniging. Independent of the club, FSV has a membership of about 23,000, as of 2006.

In 1998 the Feyenoord Supporters Vereniging were wondering about whether or not it would be possible to create more atmosphere inside the stadium mainly during important matches. As a result, a few huge flags were produced and brought into the stadium prior to matches played by Feyenoord. The flags were a success, but people started asking for more activities and a meeting between fans and officials were arranged. In 2000 Harry Veth was given permission to establish a group of five Feyenoord fans called TIFO team Feyenoord Rotterdam.

Jeugdproject

Feyenoord's Jeugdproject (Youth Project) concentrate on children between 6 and 12 years of age, playing football at schools and amateur teams. To show the kids the importance of sports and sportsmanship, Feyenoord invite the children to De Kuip to see what sport can do to people: happiness, disappointment, excitement, emotions, fear and cosines, it brings people together. De Kuip already opens in the morning when there are many activities around the stadium mainly for kids and promotional activities for companies which have a partnership with Feyenoord. A minute of silence will be held for all former Feyenoord players who have died and for known fans who have died in the previous year. Former Feyenoord players return to De Kuip every year to play versus a team of Dutch celebrities. The stadium activities end after the squad for the upcoming season is presented to the fans. This is always a special happening, mainly for the new signings of the team. They will be flown into the stadium with helicopters when a full stadium is cheering for them when they arrive. The opening day is known as a unique event in the Netherlands.

Notable supporters

Notable supporters of Feyenoord include Craig Bellamy,Gerard Cox, Wouter Bos, Jan Marijnissen, Robert Eenhoorn, Arjan Erkel, Dennis van der Geest, DJ Paul Elstak, Raemon Sluiter, and Renate Verbaan.

Sluiter, Towers, Van der Geest, Eenhoorn and Verbaan have all officially been Feyenoord ambassadors. Gerard Meijer is the current ambassador, and was appointed 'ambassador for life' on 19 July 2008.

Rivalries

Ajax from Amsterdam are Feyenoord's arch rivals. The two clubs share a long history together and matches between the two clubs are called the Klassieker (The Classic) The rivalry is not only between the two teams, but also a confrontation between the two largest cities of the country, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, two cities with extreme differences in attitude and culture. Another Feyenoord player, Robin van Persie had to be rescued by Ajax coach John van 't Schip and player Daniël de Ridder. There is a rivalry between the teams, mostly between Feyenoord and Sparta as Excelsior can be seen as Feyenoord's feeder club, but it is not comparable to other local derbies. The rivalry between Sparta and Feyenoord is mostly seen on the Sparta side. Some Sparta fans have refused to enter Feyenoord's De Kuip stadium, even when Sparta had reached the KNVB Cup final, which was played in De Kuip.

Honours

National

International

European Cup

*Winners: 1969–70

Intercontinental Cup

*Winners: 1970

UEFA Cup

*Winners: 1973–74, 2001–02

UEFA Super Cup

*Runners-up: 2002

Feyenoord managers

Feyenoord have had managers from all over Europe. In the early years the club mainly had English managers, as football was already professional there. Feyenoord's first Dutch manager was Engel Geneugelijk (ad interim), while Richard Dombi is seen as the first successful coach. He led the team in three different periods. During the club's weakest period in history Feyenoord was managed by two managers at once, Dutchman Pim Verbeek and Swede Gunder Bengtsson. Bengtsson was the last foreign manager to lead Feyenoord. Feyenoord's international trophies were won by Ernst Happel, Wiel Coerver and Bert van Marwijk. Bill Julian (1921–22) Harry Waites (1924–25) Engel Geneugelijk (1925–26) (a.i.) Jack Hall (1926–29) Joseph Lamb (1929–30) Jaap Kruys (1930–31) (a.i.) Eddy Donaghy (1931–35) Richard Dombi (1935–39) Jack Hall (1939–40) Karel Kaufman (1940) (a.i.) Theo Huizenaar (1940–41) Kees van Dijke (1941–42) Kees Pijl (1942–46) Adriaan Koonings (1946–50) Harry Topping (1950–51) Richard Dombi (1951–55) Piet de Wolf (1955–56) (a.i.) Jaap van der Leck (1956–58) Piet de Wolf (1958–59) (a.i.) George Sobotka (1959–61) Franz Fuchs (1961–63) Norberto Höfling (1963–64) Willy Kment (1964–67) Ben Peeters (1967–69) Ernst Happel (1969–73) Ad Zonderland (1973) (a.i.) Wiel Coerver (1973–75) Antoni Brzezanczyk (1975–76) Ad Zonderland (1976) (a.i.) Vujadin Boškov (1976–78) Vaclav Jezek (1978–82) Clemens Westerhof (1982) (a.i.) Hans Kraay (1982–83) Ab Fafié (1983) (a.i.) Thijs Libregts (1983–84) Ab Fafié (1984–86) Rinus Israël (1986–88) Rob Jacobs (1988–89) Pim Verbeek (1989–91) (dual) Gunder Bengtsson (1989–91) (dual) Wim Jansen (1991) (a.i.) Hans Dorjee (1991–92) Wim Jansen (1992) (a.i.) Willem van Hanegem (1992–95) Geert Meijer (1995) (a.i.) Arie Haan (1995–97) Geert Meijer (1997) (dual a.i.) John Metgod (1997) (dual a.i.) Leo Beenhakker (1997–00) Henk van Stee (2000) (a.i.) Bert van Marwijk (2000–04) Ruud Gullit (2004–05) Erwin Koeman (2005–07) Leo Beenhakker (2007) (a.i.) Bert van Marwijk (2007–08) Gertjan Verbeek (2008–09) Leon Vlemmings (2009) (a.i.) Mario Been (July 2009-)

Feyenoord chairmen

Where Feyenoord's managers came from all over Europe the chairmen were mainly Dutch, with Amandus Lundqvist from Sweden as the only exception. With 28 years Cor Kieboom was the longest reigning chairman in the club's history.

G.D. van Leerdam (1908–11) Leen van Zandvliet (1911–18) Jan van Bennekom (1918–19) Johan Weber (1920–25) Leen van Zandvliet (1925–39) Cor Kieboom (1939–67) Guus Couwenberg (1967–73) Leo van Zandvliet (1973–79) Guus Couwenberg (1979–82) Gerard Kerkum (1982–89) Carlo de Swart (1989–90) Amandus Lundqvist (1990–92) Jorien van den Herik (1992–06) Gerard Kerkum (2006–07) Dick van Well (2007–)

Media

Since 2000 Feyenoord have had its own television programme, shown weekly on SBS6. The show features interviews with players and other team members as well as documentaries about the team.

In 1993 Feyenoord introduced their own newspaper, the Feyenoord Krant, the first and only Dutch club to do so. The newspaper is published fortnightly, with a print run of 25,000. Extra editions are published to coincide with European matches. The site is available in Dutch and English, plus other languages depending upon the nationalities of the club's high profile players. As of 2007, Japanese and Korean editions are available due to the popularity of Shinji Ono and Song Chong-Gug in their home countries. Since 2004 Feyenoord have shared a website 2 teams 1 goal with UNICEF as part of Feyenoord's children's welfare project in Ghana. To mark Feyenoord's centenary another site was launched in January 2007 to publicise events related to the occasion. Feyenoord also opened official Live.com and YouTube pages in 2006.

Retired numbers

12 Het Legioen (reserved for the club supporters)

Personnel

Current Technical Staff

Mario Been}} Leon Vlemmings}} Patrick Lodewijks}} Toine van de Goolberg}} Martin van Geel }} Stanley Brard}} Andre Hoekstra}}

Partnerships

Sportclub Feyenoord

Sportclub Feyenoord are Feyenoord's amateur and youth side, who have played at Varkenoord, directly behind De Kuip since 1949. Sportclub Feyenoord's annual youth trials attract a large number of hopefuls, with thousands of boys attempting to impress the coaches. The purpose of this is to allow them to experience regular first-team football, aiding their development while simultaneously strengthening Excelsior's squad. The highest profile players to have played at Excelsior as part of this arrangement are Thomas Buffel and Salomon Kalou, who were both subsequently involved in transfer deals worth several million Euros. The partnership between Feyenoord and Excelsior was scaled back in 2006, though the clubs still work together.

Feyenoord's co-operation with Újpest FC started when Hungarian ex-footballer and former Feyenoord player Jószef Kiprich joined the Hungarian team as a under 19 coach and started as a scout for Feyenoord.

The academy in Ghana arose form a visit by Feyenoord chairman Jorien van den Herik to Abidjan to sign the then unknown Bonaventure Kalou, when Van den Herik contacted with the education institute at Kalou’s club.

Sponsorships

As of the 1981–82 Eredivisie season the KNVB allowed the teams participating in the league to use sponsor names on their shirts in exchange for money. At the time Feyenoord's shirts were produced by Adidas and the first main sponsor became the Dutch Yellow Pages called Gouden Gids. Feyenoord's kits are currently produced by Kappa, which replaced Adidas in 2000.

Feyenoord's contract with Kappa ended after the 2008/09 season. After that season, Puma produces Feyenoord's kits.

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See also

Dutch football league teams

References

External links

;Official sites Feyenoord.com – Official website Feyenoord.nl – Official website

Official Feyenoord Academy website

;Other sites Official website of Feyenoord's TIFO Team Feyenoord Poland website

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Association football clubs established in 1908 Category:Dutch football clubs Category:Sport in Rotterdam Category:1908 establishments in the Netherlands