Maastricht VV - last updated on 23 February 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Maastricht Voetbal Vereniging
Foundation: April 2nd 1902
City: Maastricht
Colours: Red and white
Website: www.mvv.nl
Honours:
Maastricht VV has currently no honours.
A bit of history:
In 1902 in an establishment on the famous Vrijthof square, plans were made to found a Maastricht football team. It started with the name MVC (Maastricht Football Club) but they changed its name often during their first years. It was not until 1908 that their current name MVV (Maastrichtse Voetbal Vereniging) was adopted. From the start in 1902 until 1976 MVV played continuously in the highest Dutch leagues. Periods of top rankings were varied with periods of anonymity. In the 1926-27 season they lost out the Dutch championship by losing a decisive match against SC Enschede. In 1932 they ranked second again, behind champions PSV. The 1935-36, 1938-39 and 1945-46 seasons were also successful with two second place finishes. In 1946-47 the team even won their league and was to participate in the champions group. This group was made up of the four champions of each region. Like in 1927, MVV had no success and finished last.
During that period some MVV players were selected for the Dutch national team. A remarkable achievement, given the fact that the KNVB (Dutch Football Association) mostly selected players from teams in the "Randstad", B?r Felix, Sjo Soons and Jeu van Bun were selected for the national team.
1952 was an important year for the team. MVV celebrated its 50th anniversary and the call to establish professional football in Holland became louder. In the 1954-55 season the official Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the professional football organisation (NBVB), supported by the newly founded professional teams, put their differences aside and a semi-professional league was born. In the new competition (Eredivisie) the top 9 teams of the NBVB and the KNVB leagues were to participate. MVV came in third and was allowed entry in the new league.
During the 1950s and 1960s MVV had some good seasons and Fons van Wissen, Giel Haenen and Gerard "Pummy" Bergholtz were selected for the national team. In 1957 the Boschpoort stadium was expanded to 18.000 seats due to increasing popularity. In 1961 the club moved to the new Geusselt ground. The popularity of the club led to a total of 100,000 fans passing the stadium entry in the 1969 season. In 1963 the club was given 14 golden stars by a committee of supporters celebrating the period of 50 years in the highest divisions. Since then, the team wore occasionally imitation golden stars, instead of the white star from the city of Maastricht weapon. The sixties were a mixed period of glory and struggling against relegation with no numerous achievements.
Times changed when MVV bought a young player from neighbouring third division team Ch?vremont. Willy Brokamp had an impressive stay there and his debut in the Eredivisie was at age 18. He led the team to some top rankings in the early seventies and in 1973 he was even voted best player in the Eredivisie and became top scorer. During that period the team arguably played their best football in history. In 11 seasons with MVV Brokamp scored 141 goals. While playing for MVV, he played 6 caps (6 goals) in the national team. Due to a conflict with MVV, who lacked his unprofessional and laid-back attitude, he moved on to AFC Ajax.
His former team-mate and currently tv-analyst, Johan Derksen, said the following about him: "He never did a warming-up, because then he would be dead-tired before the match began. In a game against Excelsior he pulled his shirt over his head and did not participate in the game any more, because he was ashamed by the performance of the team. At that time, they travelled by intercity train when playing an away-game. When he overslept, the station chief would hold up the train and waited for Brokamp to arrive."
In 1976 MVV was relegated to the second division (Eerste Divisie). A disastrous season without Brokamp, who had moved to AFC Ajax in 1974, led to the first relegation in their history. The first year in the second division ended with a third place finish and the team just missed out on promotion. The second year they finished second and the team won promotion via the promotion-relegation group (nacompetitie). In 1980 they beat Ajax in a historic match by 3-6. Still the biggest home-defeat in the old De Meer stadium for the Amsterdam squad. After some years of midtable finishes the team relegated again in 1982. In 1984 they won the second division, only to be relegated in 1986 for the third time in a short period of time. After earning a promotion in 1988, they were back in the Eredivisie. MVV finally managed to avoid the drop and remained in the highest division until 1995. During that period strikers Cees Schapendonk and Erik Meijer played their caps for the national team and defender Erik Gerets was selected for the Belgian national team. In the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons the team finished seventh for two years in a row, nearly achieving European football. In 1992 MVV was voted Team of the Year" by the KNVB, mostly because of their attacking playing style, implemented by coach Sef Vergoossen. Surprisingly, the 1995 season ended in disaster with another relegation. Once again it took the team two years to taste first division football again. A young and talented squad, led by coach and former MVV goalkeeper Frans Körver, won the second division again in 1997. A massive number of almost 50,000 fans celebrated this achievement on the market square. Yet the fifth relegation followed in 2000, forcing the renowned team to celebrate their 100th anniversary in the second division. Breaking with the tradition of promoting after two seasons, MVV even came in 18th in the 2004 season. Their poorest season in history. Currently, the club is still in the second division and occupying a 10th position on the all-time Eredivisie list.
It has been proposed that MVV will merge with Roda JC, VVV-Venlo and Fortuna Sittard to create a new club, FC Limburg.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Maastricht VV -
Founded on April 2nd 1902
