SC Heerenveen
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| Full name | Sportclub Heerenveen | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
De Superfriezen (The Super Frisians) Fean | ||
| Founded | 20 July 1920 | ||
| Ground | Abe Lenstra Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 26,800 | ||
| Chairman | Luuc Eisenga | ||
| Manager | Jurgen Streppel | ||
| League | Eredivisie | ||
| 2015–16 | Eredivisie, 12th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Sportclub Heerenveen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈspɔrtklɵp ˌɦeːrə(n)ˈveːn]; Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club currently playing in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July 1920 in the town of Heerenveen, Friesland, as Athleta.[1] They changed name twice, first to Spartaan, and then to v.v. Heerenveen in 1922.[1] Whilst the Netherlands was occupied by Germany Heerenveen won three successive North of the Netherlands championships, and following the end of the Second World War they went on to win the same title six times in a row; the club's dominance partly ascribed to the presence of Abe Lenstra.[1] During this period Lenstra led Heerenveen to a famous victory over AFC Ajax in one of the most noted games in Dutch domestic football history.[2] Trailing 5-1 with 25 minutes remaining, the Frisian team inexplicably fought back for a 6–5 victory.[2]
During the 1950s, Heerenveen regional dominance faded and after Dutch football turned professional Lenstra left to join Sportclub Enschede, before the club he departed was relegated to the Tweede Divisie.[1] By the end of the decade, Heerenveen were in the Eerste Divisie, but they found themselves relegated again.[1] In 1969–1970, the Frisian club won the Tweede Divisie to return to the Eerste Divisie and for two seasons in the 1970s, the club was close to achieving promotion to the Eredivisie.[1] By 1974 the club were in financial trouble and to ensure survival was split into amateur and professional sections, the professional part being renamed sc Heerenveen.[1]
In the 1980s, Heerenveen twice made the promotion playoffs, but were unsuccessful both times.[1] They finally reached the Eredivisie in 1990, becoming the first Frisian club to reach the top level, at the expense of near-neighbours Cambuur Leeuwarden.[2] The achievement was overseen by Frisian coach Foppe de Haan. Heerenveen's first season in the Netherlands' top division was not at all successful and they were relegated, before returning in 1993, though they reached the final of the KNVB Cup whilst still an Eerste Divisie club.[2] Having established themselves as a top-flight club Heerenveen moved to a new stadium, named after their most celebrated player, the Abe Lenstra Stadion and reached the final of the KNVB Cup for a second time.[2] The 1998 semi-final in the cup competition was lost to Ajax. Due to the fact Ajax and the other finalist (PSV) both qualified for the cupfinal a decision match was needed to fill in the vacant spot to the next UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Heerenveen had to play against the other losing semifinalist, Twente. Heerenveen won that match in which Ruud van Nistelrooy scored his last goal for Heerenveen. The match ended 3–1.
Heerenveen became regular competitors in the UEFA Cup, and in 1999–2000 finished second in the Eredivise, their highest ever finish, and qualified for the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League.[1]
The club was led from 1983 until September 2006 by president Riemer van der Velde, the longest tenure of any president with a professional club in the Netherlands. As the results of recent transfers that include Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Afonso Alves, Michael Bradley, Miralem Sulejmani, Petter Hansson and Danijel Pranjic (and earlier players like Jon Dahl Tomasson, Marcus Allbäck, Erik Edman, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Igor Korneev and Daniel Jensen), Heerenveen is one of the most financially secure Eredivisie clubs. A 2010 report by the Dutch football association showed that Heerenveen is the only Eredivisie club that has a financially secure budget.[3] Under the tenure of Trond Sollied, Heerenveen won their first KNVB Cup in the club's history, their first ever major prize. Trond Sollied was sacked on 31 August 2009 due to a weak opening of the season and a conflict with the board.
On 17 May 2009, they defeated Twente 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out to win the Dutch Cup for the first time after a 2–2 draw in the final, with Gerald Sibon scoring the winning penalty.[4] On 13 February 2012 it was announced that Marco van Basten will replace Ron Jans, who had then lead SC Heerenveen for 2 years, as team manager for the 2012/2013 season.
Stadium
The team plays its home games at the Abe Lenstra Stadium which opened in 1994 and holds 26,100 people. Throughout the years, the club developed several plans to further expand the stadium. One of the plans was to extend at least one side stand towards the pitch, as seen in English football stadiums. However, due to deteriorating league results and financial limitedness, those plans were shelved. It is uncertain whether or not the club will ever carry them out. Before the move to the Abe Lenstra Stadion, Heerenveen played at the Sportpark Noord.
Colours, crest, and anthem
The crest on the club emblem is the symbol of the flag of Friesland. The flag of Friesland is based on the arms of the 15th century. The stripes and waterlily leaves represent the districts of Friesland. A unique tradition in the Dutch Eredivisie is that the Frisian national anthem is played and sung before every domestic match. UEFA does not allow this tradition in European matches. Nevertheless, the anthem is sung by the supporters anyway.
Rivalry
SC Cambuur
Heerenveen's main rivals are SC Cambuur from Leeuwarden. The rivalry is partly based on geographical location, as the distance between Heerenveen and Leeuwarden is a mere thirty kilometres. For this reason, supporters of both teams usually call each other DKV (Dertig Kilometer Verderop), which translates to Thirty Kilometres Ahead. However, the most important, and by far the most complicated reason for the rivalry is the origin of both sides. In fact, the rivalry appears to be difficult to understand for those who aren't involved. Most Heerenveen fans live in villages throughout the province of Friesland and are proud of being Frisians. Especially since the 1980s, the club has been propagating and emphasising this Frisian nature by using the famous Frisian flag and also the Frisian anthem, which is played and sung before every home game. In this way, Heerenveen managed to make people automatically link Friesland with the club, which basically put Cambuur out of the spotlights. Therefore, Cambuur fans started to oppose and even hate this attitude by claiming not to be Frisians, but Leeuwarders (inhabitants of the city of Leeuwarden). They consider themselves as city folks and mockingly they consider Heerenveen fans as farmers, as they mostly live in villages. Also, Heerenveen itself isn't officially a city. Throughout the years, the derby had become less known, due to the absence of Cambuur in the top flight. After their promotion at the end of the 2012-13 season, the derby revived. Before the clash on September 29, 2013, Heerenveen and Cambuur hadn't played each other for 13 years, making it the ultimate opportunity for Cambuur to show themselves. However, Heerenveen won the game by 2-1.
FC Groningen
The absence of Cambuur caused FC Groningen to be the nearest Eredivisie team and soon it became rivals with Heerenveen. Strikingly, both northern sides used to maintain more or less of a friendship in the past. Therefore, this Northern Derby rivalry is only based on geographical location. Because most Heerenveen fans have always considered Cambuur as main rivals, this derby is often referred to as a surrogate derby. However, Groningen fans do consider Heerenveen as main rivals, which created a situation in which there is hatred from Groningen towards Heerenveen, but not vice versa. Traditionally, the winner claims the title Pride of the North. Days before the game, Heerenveen and Groningen fans tease each other by means of playful actions, usually with no violence. Heerenveen fans once stole the centre spot from the Euroborg, and raised the Frisian flag at the Martinitoren, the highest tower in Groningen, combined with a banner saying "SCH op eenzame hoogte" (SCH on lonely height). The front yard of a Groningen chairman once got filled with rubble from a construction site. This was because the construction of the Euroborg had to be halted due to a major design mistake. Groningen fans countered by painting a statue of all-time Heerenveen hero Abe Lenstra green and white, the colours of Groningen. They also transformed a viaduct near Heerenveen to green and white.[5] [6]
Honours
- Eredivisie
- Runners-up (1): 1999–2000
- KNVB Cup
- Eerste Divisie
- Tweede Divisie
Domestic results
Below is a table with sc Heerenveen's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.
| Domestic Results since 1956 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic league | League result | Qualification to | KNVB Cup season | Cup result |
| 2015–16 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 2015–16 | round of 16 |
| 2014–15 Eredivisie | 7th | – (losing EL play-offs) | 2014–15 | second round |
| 2013–14 Eredivisie | 5th | – (losing EL play-offs) | 2013–14 | round of 16 |
| 2012–13 Eredivisie | 8th | (losing UC play-offs) | 2012–13 | fourth round |
| 2011–12 Eredivisie | 5th | Europa League (Q3) | 2011–12 | semi-final |
| 2010–11 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 2010–11 | fourth round |
| 2009–10 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 2009–10 | round of 16 |
| 2008–09 Eredivisie | 5th | Europa League (Q4) | 2008–09 | winners |
| 2007–08 Eredivisie | 5th | UEFA Cup (losing CL play-offs) | 2007–08 | third round |
| 2006–07 Eredivisie | 5th | UEFA Cup (losing CL play-offs) | 2006–07 | second round |
| 2005–06 Eredivisie | 7th | UEFA Cup (winning UC play-offs) | 2005–06 | quarter final |
| 2004–05 Eredivisie | 5th | UEFA Cup | 2004–05 | round of 16 |
| 2003–04 Eredivisie | 4th | UEFA Cup | 2003–04 | round of 16 |
| 2002–03 Eredivisie | 7th | Intertoto Cup (R3) | 2002–03 | quarter final |
| 2001–02 Eredivisie | 4th | UEFA Cup | 2001–02 | quarter final |
| 2000–01 Eredivisie | 10th | Intertoto Cup (R2) | 2000–01 | semi-final |
| 1999–2000 Eredivisie | 2nd | Champions League | 1999–2000 | second round |
| 1998–99 Eredivisie | 7th | Intertoto Cup (R3) | 1998–99 | second round |
| 1997–98 Eredivisie | 6th | Cup Winners' Cup | 1997–98 | 3rd place |
| 1996–97 Eredivisie | 7th | Intertoto Cup | 1996–97 | final |
| 1995–96 Eredivisie | 7th | Intertoto Cup | 1995–96 | second round |
| 1994–95 Eredivisie | 9th | Intertoto Cup | 1994–95 | semi-final |
| 1993–94 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 1993–94 | third round |
| 1992–93 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs) | 1992–93 | final |
| 1991–92 Eerste Divisie | 3rd | – | 1991–92 | third round |
| 1990–91 Eredivisie | 17th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1990–91 | first round |
| 1989–90 Eerste Divisie | 16th | Eredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs) | 1989–90 | second round |
| 1988–89 Eerste Divisie | 6th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 1988–89 | round of 16 |
| 1987–88 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 1987–88 | first round |
| 1986–87 Eerste Divisie | 12th | – | 1986–87 | first round |
| 1985–86 Eerste Divisie | 17th | – | 1985–86 | second round |
| 1984–85 Eerste Divisie | 6th | – | 1984–85 | second round |
| 1983–84 Eerste Divisie | 13th | – | 1983–84 | first round |
| 1982–83 Eerste Divisie | 8th | – | 1982–83 | second round |
| 1981–82 Eerste Divisie | 6th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 1981–82 | second round |
| 1980–81 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 1980–81 | second round |
| 1979–80 Eerste Divisie | 11th | – | 1979–80 | second round |
| 1978–79 Eerste Divisie | 11th | – | 1978–79 | second round |
| 1977–78 Eerste Divisie | 11th | – | 1977–78 | first round |
| 1976–77 Eerste Divisie | 13th | – | 1976–77 | second round |
| 1975–76 Eerste Divisie | 13th | – | 1975–76 | first round |
| 1974–75 Eerste Divisie | 7th | – | 1974–75 | first round |
| 1973–74 Eerste Divisie | 3rd | – | 1973–74 | second round |
| 1972–73 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 1972–73 | second round |
| 1971–72 Eerste Divisie | 3rd | – | 1971–72 | first round |
| 1970–71 Eerste Divisie | 9th | – | 1970–71 | first round |
| 1969–70 Tweede Divisie | 1st | Eerste Divisie (promotion) | 1969–70 | first round |
| 1968–69 Tweede Divisie | 9th | – | 1968–69 | round of 16 |
| 1967–68 Tweede Divisie | 15th | – | 1967–68 | group stage |
| 1966–67 Tweede Divisie | 19th | – | 1966–67 | DNC |
| 1965–66 Tweede Divisie | 9th (group A) | – | 1965–66 | group stage |
| 1964–65 Tweede Divisie | 9th (group A) | – | 1964–65 | second round |
| 1963–64 Tweede Divisie | 4th (group A) | – | 1963–64 | first round |
| 1962–63 Tweede Divisie | 12th (group A) | – | 1962–63 | first round |
| 1961–62 Eerste Divisie | 11th (group B) | Tweede Divisie (relegation) | 1961–62 | third round |
| 1960–61 Eerste Divisie | 7th (group B) | – | 1960–61 | ? |
| 1959–60 Tweede Divisie | 3rd (group B) | Eerste Divisie (winning promo./releg. play-off) | not held | not held |
| 1958–59 Tweede Divisie | 11th (group B) | – | 1958–59 | round of 16 |
| 1957–58 Tweede Divisie | 10th (group B) | – | 1957–58 | ? |
| 1956–57 Tweede Divisie | 8th (group A) | – | 1956–57 | ? |
In Europe
SC Heerenveen played 16 seasons in one of the European clubfootball competitions.
- score marked with * = first played match
| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Group 4 |  Næstved BK | 2-1 | |
 Ton Pentre F.C. | 7-0 | ||||
 Békéscsaba Előre | 4-0 | ||||
 U.D. Leiria | 0-1 | ||||
| Round of 16 |  Farul Constanţa | 4-0 | |||
| Quarterfinals |  FC Girondins de Bordeaux | 0-2 | |||
| 1996 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Group 5 |  Sligo Rovers F.C. | 0-0 | |
 Lillestrøm SK | 0-1 | ||||
| FC Nantes | 1-3 | ||||
 FBK Kaunas | 3-1 | ||||
| 1997 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Group 1 |  FC Dinamo-93 Minsk | 0-1 | |
 Polonia Warsaw | 0-0 | ||||
 MSV Duisburg | 0-2 | ||||
| Aalborg BK | 8-2 | ||||
| 1998-99 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | First round | Amica Wronki | 3-1 * | 1-0 |
| Second round |  NK Varaždin | 2-1 * | 2-4 (aet) | ||
| 1999 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Third round |  Hammarby IF | 2-0 * | 2-0 |
| Semi-finals |  West Ham United F.C. | 0-1 | 0-1 * | ||
| 2000-01 | UEFA Champions League | Group C |  Valencia CF | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| Olympique Lyonnais | 0-2 | 1-3 | |||
 Olympiacos F.C. | 1-0 | 0-2 | |||
| 2001 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Second round |  FK Liepājas Metalurgs | 6-1 | 2-3 * |
| Third round |  FC Basel | 2-3 | 1-2 * | ||
| 2002-03 | UEFA Cup | First round | FC Naţional Bucureşti | 2-0 | 0-3 * |
| 2003 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Third round | .svg.png){kind=small} Lierse S.K. | 4-1 * | 1-0 |
| Semi-finals |  FC Koper | 2-0 * | 0-1 | ||
| Finals | Villarreal CF | 1-2 * | 0-0 | ||
| 2004-05 | UEFA Cup | First round |  Maccabi Petah Tikva FC | 5-0 | n.p. * |
| Group G | S.L. Benfica | 2-4 | |||
| VfB Stuttgart | 1-0 | ||||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2-2 | ||||
| K.S.K. Beveren | 1-0 | ||||
| Third round | Newcastle United F.C. | 1-2 * | 1-2 | ||
| 2005-06 | UEFA Cup | First round |  FC Baník Ostrava | 5-0 | 0-2 * |
| Group F | FC Dinamo Bucureşti | 0-0 | |||
 CSKA Moscow | 0-0 | ||||
| Olympique de Marseille | 0-1 | ||||
 Levski Sofia | 2-1 | ||||
| Third round | Steaua Bucureşti | 1-3 * | 1-0 | ||
| 2006-07 | UEFA Cup | First round | Vitória Setúbal | 0-0 | 3-0 * |
| Group D | CA Osasuna | 0-0 | |||
| Odense BK | 0-2 | ||||
 Parma F.C. | 1-2 | ||||
| RC Lens | 1-0 | ||||
| 2007-08 | UEFA Cup | First round | Helsingborgs IF | 5-3 * | 1-5 |
| 2008-09 | UEFA Cup | First round | Vitória Setúbal | 5-2 | 1-1 * |
| Group E | A.C. Milan | 1-3 | |||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1-5 | ||||
| Sporting Braga | 1-2 | ||||
| Portsmouth F.C. | 0-3 | ||||
| 2009-10 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | PAOK Thessaloniki | 1-1 (a) * | 0-0 |
| Group D | Sporting CP | 2-3 | 1-1 | ||
| Hertha BSC | 2-3 | 1-0 | |||
| FK Ventspils | 5-0 | 0-0 | |||
| 2012-13 | UEFA Europa League | Third Q-round | FC Rapid București | 4-0 * | 0-1 |
| Play-off round | Molde FK | 1-2 | 0-2 * | ||
- ^1 Due to safety concerns in Israel, the first leg was cancelled by UEFA.
- ^2 Played in Estádio José Alvalade, Lissabon.
Current squad
- As of 30 July 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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On loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
Had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for SC Heerenveen
Managerial history
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 Foppe de Haan – manager from 1992 until 2004 and from 2015 until 2016 (int.). |
Women's team
In 2007 SC Heerenveen created a women's football team, which competed first in the Vrouwen Eredivisie and since 2012 in the BeNe League. While it has ranked mostly in the table's bottom positions in 2011 it reached the national cup's final, lost against AZ Alkmaar.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The history of Heerenveen". www.sc-heerenveen.nl. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "sc Heerenveen: EVERY DUTCHMAN'S SECOND FAVORITE TEAM". www.ajax-usa.com. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ↑ "Financiële problemen voor profclubs". RTL Nieuws. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
- ↑ "Heerenveen prevail in Dutch final shoot-out". Uefa.com. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ↑ Frisian flag in Groningen
- ↑ The painted statue
- ↑ van Cuilenborg, C. (Ed.) (2007). Voetbal international, seizoengids 2007–2008. (p. 92). Amsterdam: WP Sport Media BV.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to SC Heerenveen. |
- Official website of sc Heerenveen (Dutch) / (English)
- Official website of the supportsclub of sc Heerenveen (Dutch)
- Unofficial website of sc Heerenveen (Dutch)
- Unofficial website of sc Heerenveen (Dutch)