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FC Twente (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛf ˈseː ˈtʋɛntə]) is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys. They are the current holders of KNVB Cup and Johan Cruijff Schaal trophies, and were Eredivisie champions in the 2009–10 season; the team have also finished as Eredivisie runners-up thrice, were runners-up in the UEFA Cup 1974–75, and have won the KNVB Cup three times. Twente's home ground since 1998 is De Grolsch Veste.

History

The club was formed in 1965 as a merger of two professional clubs, Sportclub Enschede and the Enschedese Boys. One of such predecessors, SC Enschede, had also won a single Eredivisie title in 1926.

The first successes of the club started just after the merger of 1965, under coach Kees Rijvers. Twente finished third in 1969, fourth in 1970, fifth in 1971, third in 1972 and once again in 1973. The team's key figures were local heroes, such as Epi 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 the Dutch region of 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 (0–0, 1–5).

In 1977 FC Twente wins its first trophy; the KNVB cup after beating PEC Zwolle 3–0.

After enjoying some success in the 1970s, things went downhill for Twente and the club was even relegated to the Eerste Divisie (Dutch second division) in 1983. 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 then 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 24 May 2001, Twente clinched their second triumph in 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, whereas results in the league were poor and the hardcore Twente fans Ultras Vak-P went on a rampage at the club's brand-new stadium out of frustration.

The club's mother corporation (FC Twente '65) was declared bankrupt in the 2002–03 season, almost leading to the end of the club's existence. The club, now chaired by ambitious businessman Joop Munsterman, survived such problems and made it to another KNVB Cup final in 2004, and then finishing in fourth place in 2006–07. In the season 2007–08, FC Twente placed fourth and won the play-offs for a ticket to the Champions League Qualifiers by defeating Ajax in the play-off finals.

In the season 2008–09, FC Twente hired former England manager Steve McClaren as new boss: under his tenure, unseeded Twente entered the draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League, being drawn against seeded Arsenal. The two legs were played at home on 13 August and away on 27 August 2008. Twente lost 6–0 on aggregate, resulting in their elimination from the Champions League and subsequent entry of the UEFA Cup first round. At domestic level, FC Twente placed second in the Eredivisie (11 points below the league's champion AZ Alkmaar) and got again a ticket to the Champions League qualifying rounds as Dutch runners-up, as well as KNVB Cup finalists (then defeated by SC Heerenveen).

The 2009–10 started with Twente being knocked out of the Champions League third qualifying round after a 1–1 aggregate draw against Sporting CP, which sent the Portuguese side through on away goals. The club was then admitted to the Europa League, where it enjoyed a relatively successful path which ended in a 4–2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen in the round of 32. At domestic level, Twente won its first Eredivisie title at the end of a campaign in which they lost just twice, winning 16 of 17 at home. The championship was confirmed on the final day of the season when they beat NAC 2–0 away, making Steve McClaren the first Englishman to guide a Dutch team to a national title since Bobby Robson in 1992. The victory qualified Twente for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League Group Stage onwards, the club's first appearance in the competition. At the end of the season Steve McClaren resigned as the manager, moving to German side VfL Wolfsburg, and was replaced by Belgian Michel Preud'homme. Twente continued their success by having a great run during the 2010–11 KNVB Cup. Twente reached the final on 8 May, 2011 at De Kuip. Twente recovered from 2–0 down to defeat Ajax 3–2 in extra time with a winner from Marc Janko, which claimed the club's third KNVB Cup title. One week later, the two teams faced each other in Amsterdam in the final round of matches in the Eredivisie, with Twente leading by a point. However, Ajax gained revenge for the cup defeat by winning 3–1 to claim their first title in seven years. The start of the 2011/2012 season, under new coach Co Adriaanse who succeeded Michel Preud'homme, had another clash between the duo in the Amsterdam ArenA, with this time Twente winning 2-1 in their 2nd successive Dutch Super Cup 'Johan Cruijff Schaal' victory.

Satellite clubs

The following clubs are affiliated with FC Twente:

Stadium

De Grolsch Veste, formerly named Arke Stadion, is the official stadium of FC Twente and is owned by the club. It is located at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente and between the city centers of Enschede and Hengelo. It has a spectator capacity of 24,000 with a standard pitch heating system and has a promenade instead of fences around the stands.

De Grolsch Veste replaced the old Diekman Stadion as Twente's home ground on 22 March 1998. Initially plans had been afoot to expand and renovate the old and now demolished Diekman stadium. However, with a growing fan capacity and with arguments that the location of the Diekman stadium was not strategic enough, the idea was conceived to build a new arena for the Twente fans. The Diekman ground also faced problems with its seating plans as a result of the FIFA regulations which imposes a requirement to construct a seating stand behind each goal.

The cost of the construction is estimated to be around 33 million guilders and took fourteen months to complete, with its foundation stone having been laid on 31 January 1997. Due to the tight budget available, the layout of the stadium was constructed so that future expansions are possible without the necessity to tear down entire existing stands.

On 10 May 1998 the first match played at the stadium resulted in a 3–0 victory by the home team against PSV in an Eredivisie match.

Initially the Grolsch Veste had a capacity of 13,500 spectators which was later reduced to 13,250. As of the start of the 2008/09 season the stadium has been expanded with a partial second ring increasing the capacity to the current 24,000 seats. FC Twente is planning to expand the stadium to 32,000 seats with building expected to start in September 2010.

The recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry & the Pacemakers is sung along in the whole stadium before every kick-off.

On 7th July 2011 a section of the stadium roof collapsed whilst improvement work was taking place at the stadium, killing two people.

Players

As of July 11, 2011.

For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2010–11 and List of Dutch football transfers summer 2011.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Topscorers

Honours

Domestic Results

Below is a table with FC Twente's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.

Women's section

The women's section of Twente was founded in 2007 for the creation of the Eredivisie as new top level league in the Netherlands. Twente played the opening match of the league. After three midfield positions in the first three years, Twente won the championship in 2010/11 and plays the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2011/12.

References

External links