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Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam logo.svg
Full name Sparta Rotterdam
Nickname(s) De Kasteelheren
(The Castle Lords)
De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren (The Red-White Gladiators)
Founded 1 April 1888; 137 years ago (1888-04-01)
Ground Sparta Stadion
Ground Capacity 11,026
Chairman Leo Ruijs
Head coach Maurice Steijn
League Eredivisie
2022–23 Eredivisie, 6th of 18

Sparta Rotterdam is a professional football club from Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was started on April 1, 1888. This makes Sparta Rotterdam the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.

The club is known by its nicknames De Kasteelheren (The Castle Lords) and De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren (The Red-White Gladiators). Sparta plays in the Eredivisie, which is the top football league in the Netherlands. They have won this league six times. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs in Rotterdam. The other two are Excelsior and Feyenoord.

Club History

How Sparta Started

SpartaBlackpoolRdam1957
Sparta Rotterdam playing against Blackpool F.C. in August 1957.

On April 1, 1888, eight students in Rotterdam created a cricket club. They called it the Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta. These students were between 13 and 16 years old. They came from wealthy families. At that time, only richer people had the time and money for sports like cricket.

Soon, the boys got a proper football. They started playing football, which was a new sport from the United Kingdom. In July 1888, a football part of the club was officially formed. Sparta was the first club in the Netherlands to use goals with a crossbar and nets. Before that, only a rope was used between the posts.

First Games and Growth

In their first year, Sparta members mostly played against each other. These games happened in front of the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk church. There was no official football league yet. Clubs had to challenge each other to play.

Sparta joined the Dutch Football and Athletics Association (NVAB) in March 1890. This group later became the KNVB. In 1892, Sparta stopped playing cricket to focus only on football. On December 18, 1892, Sparta won a league match 17–0. This is still a record for a Dutch league game. Freek Kampschreur scored 9 of those goals.

In 1893, Sparta became the first Dutch club to play against a foreign team. They played Harwich & Parkeston F.C. from England. The English team was much better and won 8–0. Later, Sparta helped create the Rotterdam Football Association in 1894.

New Ideas and Colors

Sparta was always trying new things in football. They were the first in the Netherlands to introduce the header (hitting the ball with your head). They also brought in goals with crossbars and nets.

In 1899, Sparta's board visited Sunderland in England. They loved Sunderland's red and white striped jerseys. They decided to make those colors their own. Today, Sparta still wears red and white striped shirts, black shorts, and red and white striped socks.

Sparta's Golden Age

From 1900, Sparta played a big role in Dutch football. Many of their board members were also on the Dutch Football Association board. In 1905, Sparta helped organize the first home match for the Dutch national team against Belgium. The Netherlands won 4–0.

Sparta became very successful starting in 1909. They won the national championship in 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1915. They also won other cups. During this time, they hired their first coach, Edgar Chadwick from England. Famous players like Bok de Korver, Huug de Groot, and Cas Ruffelse helped the team win many titles.

On October 15, 1916, Sparta moved to its new stadium, Het Kasteel (The Castle). It was named "The Castle" because of its two tower-like structures. The stadium was updated in 1999 and is still Sparta's home.

Recent Times

Sparta Rotterdam played in the top league for a long time. But in the 2002–03 season, they were moved down to a lower league. They returned to the top league in the 2005–06 season. They were moved down again in 2010.

On August 20, 2010, Sparta had a huge win. They beat Almere City 12–1. Johan Voskamp scored 8 goals in that game, which was a record. After six years, Sparta won promotion back to the Eredivisie in April 2016. However, they were moved down again in May 2018. They quickly returned to the Eredivisie in 2019.

Sparta has won six national titles and three national cups.

Youth Program

Sparta has a highly-rated youth academy called the Sparta Jeugdopleiding. It has a four-star rating and is one of the best in the country. It has won awards for being the national academy of the year many times.

Many famous international footballers have come from Sparta's youth academy. Some of these players include Danny Blind, Memphis Depay, Georginio Wijnaldum, and Kevin Strootman.

Club Achievements

National Titles

  • Netherlands Football League Championship / Eredivisie (Top League): 6 times
    • 1908–09, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1914–15, 1958–59
  • Eerste Divisie (Second League): 1 time
    • 2015–16
  • KNVB Cup (National Cup): 3 times
    • 1957–58, 1961–62, 1965–66

Domestic Results (Since 1956)

Eredivisie Eerste Divisie Eredivisie Eerste Divisie Eredivisie Eerste Divisie Eredivisie
Sparta Rotterdam League Performance
Historical chart of league performance.

This table shows Sparta Rotterdam's results in the Dutch league since 1956.

Sparta in European Competitions

Sparta Rotterdam has also played in European football tournaments. Here are some of their results:

Season Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1959–60 European Cup 1st round Sweden IFK Göteborg 4–0 1–3 4–4
(3–1 (aet))
Quarter finals Scotland Rangers F.C. 2–3 1–0 3–3
(3–2 (aet))
1962–63 Cup Winners' Cup 1st round Switzerland FC Lausanne-Sport 4–2 0–3 4–5
1966–67 Cup Winners' Cup 1st round Malta Floriana F.C. 6–0 1–1 7–1
2nd round Switzerland Servette FC 1–0 0–2 1–2
1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1st round Iceland Íþróttabandalag Akraness 6–0 9–0 15–0
2nd round Northern Ireland Coleraine F.C. 2–0 2–1 4–1
Quarter final Germany FC Bayern Munich 1–3 1–2 2–5
1971–72 Cup Winners' Cup 1st round Bulgaria PFC Levski Sofia 2–0 1–1 3–1
2nd round Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1–1 1–2 2–3
1983–84 UEFA Cup 1st round Northern Ireland Coleraine F.C. 4–0 1–1 5–1
2nd round East Germany FC Carl Zeiss Jena 3–2 1–1 4–3
3rd round Soviet Union FC Spartak Moscow 1–1 0–2 1–3
1985–86 UEFA Cup 1st round Germany Hamburger SV 2–0 0–2 2–2
(4–3 p)
2nd round Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–1 1–5 2–6

Current Team Squad

No. Position Player
1 Netherlands GK Nick Olij
2 Comoros DF Saïd Bakari
3 Netherlands DF Rick Meissen
4 Netherlands DF Marvin Young
5 Netherlands DF Patrick van Aanholt
7 Japan MF Shunsuke Mito
8 Norway MF Joshua Kitolano
9 Norway FW Tobias Lauritsen
11 Netherlands MF Pelle Clement
12 Netherlands DF Boyd Reith
13 Netherlands DF Max de Ligt
14 Venezuela DF Teo Quintero
16 Morocco MF Mohamed Nassoh
20 Netherlands GK Youri Schoonderwaldt
No. Position Player
21 Netherlands FW Ayoub Oufkir
Netherlands GK Dylan Tevreden
Netherlands GK Kaylen Reitmaier
Netherlands DF Mike Eerdhuijzen
Netherlands DF Dylan van Wageningen
Netherlands MF Jafar Bynoe
Netherlands MF Carel Eiting (on loan from Twente)
Iceland MF Kristian Hlynsson (on loan from Ajax)
Netherlands MF Jonathan de Guzmán
Netherlands MF Mike Kleijn
Netherlands MF Gjivai Zechiël (on loan from Feyenoord)
Netherlands FW Joel Ideho
Iceland FW Nökkvi Þeyr Þórisson
Netherlands FW Mitchell van Bergen (on loan from Twente)

Players on Loan

No. Position Player
Netherlands DF Tijs Velthuis (at Sassuolo until 30 June 2025)
Netherlands MF Julian Baas (at Eintracht Braunschweig until 30 June 2025)
No. Position Player
Suriname DF Djevencio van der Kust (at K Beerschot VA until 30 June 2025)
Netherlands FW Layee Kromah (at VVV-Venlo until 30 June 2026)

Jong Sparta Rotterdam (Youth Team)

Jong Sparta Rotterdam is the club's second team. It is mostly made up of young players who are not yet ready for the main team. Since 2016, this team has played in the Tweede Divisie, which is the third-highest league.

No. Position Player
Netherlands GK Rafael de Heij
Germany GK Kaylen Reitmaier
Suriname GK Dylan Tevreden
Netherlands DF Max de Ligt
Netherlands DF Jay den Haan
Togo DF Augustin Drakpe
Netherlands DF Jason Meerstadt
Netherlands DF Kjeld van den Hoek
Netherlands DF Tiziano Vianello
No. Position Player
Netherlands DF Marvin Young
Netherlands MF Hamza el Dahri
Netherlands MF Constantijn Schop
Netherlands FW Luuk Admiraal
Netherlands FW Jesse Bal
Netherlands FW Mike Frimpong
Netherlands FW Dano Lourens
Netherlands FW Mehmet Yüksel
Netherlands FW Dean Zandbergen

Famous National Team Players

Many players from Sparta Rotterdam have also played for their national teams. Here are some of them:

  • Players in bold are currently playing for Sparta Rotterdam and their national teams. Years in brackets show when they played for Sparta.

Players in International Tournaments

Here are some Sparta players who have played in big international tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship.

Cup Players
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia UEFA Euro 1976 Netherlands Wim Meutstege
Argentina 1978 FIFA World Cup Netherlands Pim Doesburg
Italy UEFA Euro 1980 Netherlands Pim Doesburg
England UEFA Euro 1996 Netherlands John Veldman
United States 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup United States Gregg Berhalter
Mali 2002 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco Nourdin Boukhari
Egypt 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Nigeria Sani Kaita
United States 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Trinidad and Tobago Darryl Roberts
South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Nigeria Dele Adeleye
Slovenia Aleksander Šeliga
South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde Toni Varela
Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations South Africa Lars Veldwijk
Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Nigeria Maduka Okoye

Club Staff

Position Name
Head coach Netherlands Maurice Steijn
Assistant coach Morocco Nourdin Boukhari
Goalkeeping coach Netherlands Frank Kooiman
Video analyst Netherlands Wesly Lisboa
Chief scout Netherlands Jesper Gudde
Scout Netherlands Bart Latuheru
Club doctor Netherlands Simon Knops
Physiotherapist Netherlands Rogier Hoek
Japan Kohei Sagara
Team Official Netherlands Ronald Hanstede
Kit Manager Netherlands Ben Wessels
Academy manager Netherlands Jason Oost
Technical director Netherlands Gerard Nijkamp

Former Coaches

  • Edgar Chadwick (1915)
  • Peter Donaghy (1929–30)
  • Doug Livingstone (1949)
  • Walter Crook (1950)
  • Denis Neville (1955–63)
  • Bill Thompson (1963–66)
  • Wiel Coerver (1966–69)
  • Georg Keßler (1970–71)
  • Elek Schwartz (1971–72)
  • Jimmy Adamson (1976)
  • Cor Brom (1976–78)
  • Mircea Petescu (1978–80)
  • Joop Brand (1980)
  • Barry Hughes (1980–83)
  • Bert Jacobs (1983–84)
  • Theo Vonk (1984–86)
  • Barry Hughes (1986–88)
  • Rob Baan (1988–90)
  • Rob Jacobs (1991–93)
  • Han Berger (1993–95)
  • Henk van Stee (1995)
  • Henk ten Cate (1995–97)
  • Hans van der Zee (1997–98)
  • Jan Everse (1998–99)
  • Dolf Roks (1999–01)
  • Willem van Hanegem (2001)
  • Frank Rijkaard (2001–02)
  • Fritz Korbach (2003)
  • Chris Dekker (2003)
  • Mike Snoei (2003–05)
  • Adri van Tiggelen (interim) (2005)
  • Wiljan Vloet (2005–07)
  • Gert Aandewiel (2007)
  • Adri van Tiggelen (interim) (2007)
  • Foeke Booy (2007–09)
  • Frans Adelaar (2009–10)
  • Aad de Mos (2010)
  • Jan Everse (2010–11)
  • Jos van Eck (2011)
  • Michel Vonk (2011–13)
  • Henk ten Cate (interim) (2013)
  • Gert Kruys (2014)
  • Alex Pastoor (2015–2017)
  • Dolf Roks (interim) (2017)
  • Dick Advocaat (2018)
  • Henk Fraser (2018–2022)
  • Maurice Steijn (2022–2023)
  • Jeroen Rijsdijk (2023–2024)
  • Maurice Steijn (2024–present)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Sparta de Róterdam para niños

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