FC Twente - last updated on 5 March 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Football Club Twente 1965
Foundation: July 1st 1965
City: Enschede
Colours: Red and white
Website: www.fctwente.nl
Honours:
UEFA Intertoto Cup - 1 (2006
)
Eredivisie - 1 (1926
)
KNVB Beker - 2 (1977, 2001
)
A bit of history:
FC Twente (also incorrectly referred to as Twente Enschede) is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede. They currently play in the Eredivisie.
The club was formed in 1965 as a merger of two professional clubs Sportclub Enschede and the Enschedese Boys. Although the current club has never won the Dutch championship, Sportclub Enschede did, in 1926.
The first successes of the club started just after the merger of 1965, under coach Kees Rijvers. Twente finished 3rd in 1969, 4th in 1970, 5th in 1971, 3rd in 1972 and once again 3rd in 1973. The team's key figures were local heroes, such as Epy Drost, Eddy Achterberg, Kick van der Vall and Theo Pahlplatz. Their finest Eredivisie season was 1973-1974, in which Twente battled for the Dutch championship with Feyenoord. A head-to-head confrontation in the very last game of the season, in Rotterdam, had to bring the decision. Feyenoord were slightly luckier: 3-2. A second slot and a UEFA Cup ticket -- that was all for FC Twente.
However, the Tukkers (as people from Twente are generally called) almost made the very most out of that UEFA Cup ticket. After beating Juventus in the semi-finals, FC Twente lost to German side Borussia Mönchengladbach in the finals.
Things went downhill for Twente after that, and the club was relegated to the Eerste Divisie in 1982. Twente returned to the top flight a year later, but the club soon became known for their amazing number of 1-1 and 0-0 draws. Their new reputation 'boring Twente' overshadowed the fact that the club kept qualifying for European football on a fairly regular basis: five times since 1985.
Re-establishment followed in the 1990s. German coach Hans Meyer led Twente to the third slot in the Eredivisie of 1997 and to the third round of the UEFA Cup the next season. On May 24 2001, Twente clinched the KNVB Cup, beating PSV in the final after being 3-1 down in the penalty shoot-out.
The season thereafter Twente crashed out of the cup against the teenagers of Ajax's second team, results in the league were poor and the hard core Twente fans Ultras Vak-P went on a rampage at the club's brand-new Arke Stadion out of frustration. The club's mother corporation (FC Twente '65 Corporation) was declared bankrupt in the 2002-03 season, almost leading to the end of the club's existence. The club survived and made it to another KNVB Cup final in 2004 and struck back with a fantastic Eredivisie season in 2006-07.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
FC Twente -
Founded on July 1st 1965
