SBV Vitesse - last updated on 5 March 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse
Foundation: May 14th 1892
City: Arnhem
Colours: Yellow and black
Website: www.vitesse.nl
Honours:
Jupiler League - 2 (1977, 1989
)
Tweede Divisie - 1 (1965-66
)
1e Klasse Oost - 7 (1897, 1898, 1903, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1953
)
2e Klasse Oost - 5 (1923, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1950
)
A bit of history:
Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse is a Dutch football club from Arnhem, which was founded on May 14, 1892. The idea of conceiving a football team stemmed from the club's early roots as a cricket club.
Vitesse has had considerable success in the Eredivisie but it has never been considered a close competitor of the top three clubs of Netherlands football, namely PSV, Feyenoord, and Ajax. Yet Vitesse once attracted big name signings into its ranks including Roy Makaay, Marc van Hintum, Sander Westerveld, Victor Sikora, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Mahamadou Diarra and Philip Cocu.
In the 1980s, the club was threatened with bankruptcy, the solution to which was to form a new administrative board to govern both the professionals and the amateur sides. This is because, up to the 1980s, the club had incorporated both its professional and its amateur players into its club structure.
The club has regularly finished in the Eredivisie top five positions and featured in the UEFA Cup competition. However, since 2003, the club has fallen on tough circumstances after it was discovered that Karel Aalbers was involved in a tax fraud back in 2000 and has since failed to reach its previous heights. The club could have gone bankrupt again had it not been for the timely intervention of the Arnhem city council who bought the Gelredome and created a financial rescue package to salvage the club.
Its home in the city of Arnhem is the unique Gelredome stadium built in 1998, featuring a retractable roof and a convertible pitch that can be retracted when unused during concerts or other events held at the stadium. Its capacity is 26,600. The average league attendance in recent years was just below 20,000.
In 2006, the current coach Edward Sturing has announced his intention to leave the club after spending 18 years both in the playing and coaching capacities. The new head coach for the 2006-2007 season is Aad de Mos.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
SBV Vitesse -
Founded on May 14th 1892
