Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

, the top flight of Dutch professional football, which they have won six times, having earned promotion from the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

in 2018–19. The club is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being

Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...

(est. 1902) and

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

(est. 1908).

History

Origins

On the Easter Sunday of 1 April 1888, eight students from Rotterdam founded a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club called Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta. It was established in the garden of the house of the first treasurer, Hartevelt Hoos Oostvestple, a building located on the 11 in Rotterdam. The club was founded by eight students between the ages of 13 and 16. Five of them were students of the then HBS at the Van Alkemadeplein, and the remaining three were students of the Gymnasium Erasmianum on the Coolvest, the name of the

Coolsingel Coolsingel is a street in central Rotterdam. It is located in the Cool district. The street leads from the Hofplein to the Churchillplein. Plans were announced in 2016 to reduce traffic congestion on the street. The redevelopment is expected t ...

before it changed in 1888. All the founders came from wealthy families in Rotterdam, because at the time, it was only the high and middle classes who had the time and money to practice sports, such as cricket. All the founders, along with the other early members of Sparta, lived in the Stadsdriehoek, Cool, Rubroek or

Crooswijk Crooswijk () is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands. Crooswijk lies between the districts Kralingen, Oude Noorden and Centrum. Crooswijk was once known for its Marines barracks. Many streets bear witness to a military history of the Marine ...

neighborhoods of Rotterdam, which had become a fast-growing port city of the Netherlands in the second half of the 19th century. Sparta initially started as a cricket club, with the Dutch newspaper NRC of May 1888 already reporting a victory for Sparta over Achilles by 45 runs. However, when the boys were given a suitable ball, they also engaged in the sport of football, which had recently come over from the United Kingdom. The young Sparta members began playing this sport in the terrain that was located on the

Noordereiland Noordereiland is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Noordereiland owes its name to the Noorderhaven (nowadays :nl:Koningshaven, Koningshaven) which, under the leadership of :nl:Christiaan Bonifacius van der Tak (1814-1878), C.B. van der ...

, west of the Burgmeester Hoffmanplein, and in July 1888, a football branch of the club was thus established. In the Netherlands, it was Sparta who introduced the goal with a crossbar and nets. Before them, only a rope was stretched between the posts.

First Matches

The members of Sparta only played matches against each other in the first year. These matches were played in various compositions between the 35-hour lesson week and the subsequent 20-hour working week at the Delftse Poort, usually on the square in front of the church of the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk. In 1888 there was not yet an umbrella organization for football, so there were no organized competitions. Therefore, the clubs had to invite or challenge each other, which resulted in a lot of mutual challenges between the existing clubs. The first football challenge that Sparta received dates back to 28 December 1888, more than 38 weeks after the foundation date, but the game, scheduled for 30 December 1888, was not played due to the unplayability of the opponent's field. From April 1889, the training and matches began to take place on a site designated by the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

to the west of De Heuvel in Rotterdam. In the same period, the club also got its first clubhouse on the Delfshavensedijk.

Federal Football

In March 1890, Sparta joined the Dutch Football and Athletics Association (''Nederlandse Atletiek en Voetbal Bond'', NVAB), founded by

Pim Mulier Willem Johan Herman Mulier, known as Pim Mulier (10 March 1865 – 12 April 1954) was one of the leading figures in the sporting history of the Netherlands. He was a co-founder of the oldest Association football, football club still in existence ...

on 8 December 1889, the predecessor of today's

KNVB The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women ...

, and they played their first real match later that year. In 1892 Sparta disbanded the cricket branch. On 18 December 1892, Sparta defeated the Amersfoortsche FC ( AFC Quick 1890) with what still is a record result for a Dutch league match: 17–0. The right winger Freek Kampschreur scored 9 of the 17 goals and is still the shared record holder for the most goals in a single Dutch league match. The next home match against from

Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a ...

is an important one as both teams have a shot at winning the 2nd division championship, and thus it attracted 1500 spectators. Sparta lost 2–4, which still is their only loss in the 2nd division, but then won the away game (0–2) in February, thus finishing the season with the same amount of points, and since there were no tie-breakers at the time, both teams were promoted to the highest league of Dutch football on 23 April 1893. Earlier that same year, on 18 March 1893, Sparta was the first Dutch club to play a match against a foreign opponent, Harwich & Parkeston F.C. of England, whose football was much more developed, and they showed their clear superiority with a resounding 8–0 victory. When another match against an English team, Felixstowe FC, was scheduled for 5 February 1894, the NVAB, in order to avert another humiliation to Sparta, forced them to field a team that included a few non-Spartan players, and the plan worked as the game ended in a 1–1 draw. On the following day, 6 February, Felixstowe FC played another match, this time against a Dutch squad with the best players of the Netherlands, which fielded only two players from Sparta, Weinthal and Freek Kampschreur. They did no better than the Sparta squad as they lost 0–1, but this game is now considered to be the first unofficial match of the Netherlands national team. In August 1893, Sparta debuted a new field on the Binnenweg which had a real fence and some seats. The players could even dress up and wash in a nearby house, but because it was continuously flooded, Sparta received permission from the municipality to move to the Schuttersveld in

. There, they remained undefeated from January 1894 until the end of the season as they finished in fourth. Sparta then founded the Rotterdam Football Association in 1894.

Innovations

Sparta introduced women's football in late 1896 by trying to organize a competition between a women's team from Sparta and the English Ladies Football Club from London. However, no permission for this match was given by the Dutch Football Association, which forbids it from happening. Sparta also showed itself to be an innovator in other areas during this period. Over the years, Sparta introduced in the Netherlands, among other things: the header, a goal with a crossbar and nets, and brightly colored shirts. That red and white outfit was copied in 1899 during a visit by the Sparta board to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in England. Apart from being an innovator, Sparta was also known as a club that was sometimes difficult to deal with. For instance, in March 1897, Sparta temporarily withdrew from the Dutch league because of the alleged continuous dubious arbitration of Sparta matches, but especially due to turmoil at a match in Amsterdam against the apparently rather arrogant RAP, in which the referee did not act against the verbal abuse of the RAP players. Sparta's remaining two matches were awarded to their opponents (5–0) and the club was fined 10 Dutch coins, but despite this, it still finished fourth. In 1899 the board of Sparta visited a match of

. Impressed with the red-and-white jersey of the English club, the board decided that Sunderland's colours (red-white striped jersey, black shorts) would henceforth be the colours of Sparta. The first Sparta shirts were purchased second-hand Sunderland shirts. Today, the signature red and white shirt is combined with black trousers and red and white striped stockings.

First golden age

From 1900 Sparta played a pioneering role in the organization of Dutch football because, at the time, the board of the Dutch Football Association consisted largely of Spartans, and in 1901, Sparta began to organize competitions for the Zilveren Bal, the most important cup tournament at the time. In 1905, Sparta initiated and organized the first home match of the Netherlands national team, against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The match, won 4–0 by the Netherlands, was a rematch of a game two weeks prior, when the Netherlands beat Belgium 4–1 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium. The match took place in what had been the Sparta stadium for about ten years at the time, the Schuttersveld in Crooswijk, and the Dutch squad was coached by former Sparta player

Cees van Hasselt Cornelis Wilhelmus van Hasselt (5 October 1872 – 16 January 1951) was a Dutch Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who coached the Netherlands national team from its Belgium national football team result ...

. From 1893 onwards, the football players of Sparta built up a reputation as "the eternal number 2" because, in its first fifteen years in the top division of Dutch football, Sparta reached second or third place six times. This changed in 1909, as Sparta won the national championship in that year as well as in 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1915; while the Silver Ball was won in 1910 and 1913, and the NBLO Cup in 1909, 1910, and 1911. During this period, Sparta hired a coach for the first time, the Englishman

Edgar Chadwick Edgar Wallace Chadwick (14 June 1869 – 14 February 1942) was a left-sided association football, footballer who had a long and distinguished career with Everton F.C., Everton during the 1890s. He was also the national coach for the Netherlan ...

, which undoubtedly contributed to the success. Star players

Bok de Korver Johannes Marius ("Bok") de Korver (27 January 1883 in Rotterdam – 22 October 1957 in Rotterdam) was a football player from the Netherlands, who twice won a bronze medal with the Netherlands national football team at the Summer Olympics: in ...

, Huug de Groot, and Cas Ruffelse also played a pivotal role in helping Sparta dominate the nation during these years. On 15 October 1916, Sparta moved for the last time, this time to Sparta's new stadium,

Het Kasteel The Sparta Stadion, nicknamed Het Kasteel (; "The Castle"), is a football stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is the home ground of Sparta Rotterdam. It has a capacity of 11,026. History and layout The stadium is located in the neighbourhood o ...

(The Castle), in the Spangen area of west Rotterdam. The move was largely privately funded by a group of 27 residents of Rotterdam. Following the English example, the Sparta stadium became the center of the later-built residential area and was soon known as ''Het Kasteel'' because of its facade with two turrets. The stadium was renovated in 1999 and is still Sparta's stadium. In 1918, Prince Hendrik was the first member of the Royal House to pay an official visit to a Sparta match. In the years that followed, Queen Wilhelmina, Princess Juliana, and Prince Bernhard also visited the stadium, among other things to attend the annual Blood Transfusion Competition, a charity initiative that earned Sparta a high award from the Dutch Red Cross on its golden jubilee.

Recent years

Until the 2002–03 season, Sparta had always played at the highest level, but after they appointed the former international player

Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...

as a manager they were relegated from the top-level

in 2002. That made Rijkaard resign from his position. Sparta returned to the Eredivisie for the 2005–06 season. They were relegated again in 2010. On 20 August 2010, they equalled

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

's and

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

's Dutch league record win when they defeated Almere City 12–1 with Johan Voskamp scoring an

record 8 goals on his debut. After six years in the Eerste Divisie, Sparta again won promotion to the Eredivisie in April 2016 after a 3–1 win over

Jong Ajax Jong Ajax (; ), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2, is a Dutch association football team. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Jong Ajax is the only reserve team to have won a title in Dutch professional foot ...

won them an unassailable lead over second placed

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch association football, football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutc ...

. However, they were relegated for the third time in their history in May 2018 after they were beaten 1–3 on aggregate by

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch professional football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1925, the club ...

in the promotion/relegation play-offs. The result proved to be a historical one since Emmen won their first ever promotion to the

. Sparta has won six national titles (1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915 and 1959) and three national cups (1958, 1962 and 1966).

Meuse/Scheldt Cup

The best footballers of Rotterdam and

contested a yearly match between 1909 and 1959 for the Meuse- and Scheldt Cup (Maas- en Schelde Beker). It was agreed to play the game at stadium Het Kasteel in Rotterdam and at the

Bosuilstadion The Bosuilstadion is an association football stadium in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The stadium was opened in 1923 and has been the home of Royal Antwerp ever since. It has a capacity of 16,144,

in Antwerp. The cup was provided in 1909 by Kees van Hasselt from Rotterdam and P. Havenith from Antwerp.

Youth program

The Sparta Jeugdopleiding (English: Sparta Youth Academy) is a four-star certified youth academy and amongst the strongest in the nation, having won the national academy of the year award on several occasions. Several International footballers have progressed through the ranks of the academy, including

Danny Blind Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national t ...

Danny Koevermans Danny Koevermans (born 1 November 1978) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Born in Schiedam, Koevermans began his career with the amateurs of Excelsior'20, then went to Sparta Rotterdam ...

David Mendes da Silva David Miquel Mendes da Silva Gonçalves (; born 4 August 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer. During his career, he played for Red Bull Salzburg, AZ, Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax, Panathinaikos and NAC Breda. He was a versatile player ...

Ed de Goey Eduard Franciscus "Ed" de Goeij (; born 20 December 1966), anglicised to de Goey, is a Dutch former professional football goalkeeper. In a 20-year career, he played for Sparta Rotterdam, Feyenoord, Chelsea, Stoke City and Ilkeston Town FC. He ...

Winston Bogarde Winston Lloyd Bogarde (born 22 October 1970) is a Dutch retired professional footballer. He was known for his physical strength, and played mostly as a centre-back although he could occasionally play as left-back. He had spells at Ajax, Barcelon ...

Memphis Depay Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known mononymously as Memphis, is a Dutch professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Sport Club Corin ...

, Henk Fräser,

Jan van Beveren Jan van Beveren (; 5 March 1948 – 26 June 2011) was a Dutch footballer and coach, who played as a goalkeeper. Van Beveren was born in Amsterdam, but moved to Emmen as a teenager. After reaching the first team with amateur side VV Emmen in ...

Georginio Wijnaldum Georginio Gregion Emile Wijnaldum (; born 11 November 1990) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq FC, Al-Ettifaq, whom he captain (association football), captains, ...

Anwar El Ghazi Anwar El Ghazi (; born 3 May 1995) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger or a Inside forward (association football), forward for club Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City. Club ...

Jetro Willems Jetro Danovich Sexer Willems (born 30 March 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back or left-back. Willems represented the Netherlands national team at UEFA Euro 2012; he played in the Netherlands' opening match o ...

John de Wolf Johannes Hildebrand de Wolf (born 10 December 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. He earned six caps for the Netherlands national team, scoring two goals. Career Club De Wolf was born in Schiedam. He beg ...

Kevin Strootman Kevin Johannes Willem Strootman (born 13 February 1990) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Sparta Rotterdam Born in Ridderkerk, Strootman began his career with Sparta Rotterdam, making hi ...

Rick van Drongelen Rick van Drongelen (born 20 December 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Turkish club Samsunspor. Career Van Drongelen is a youth exponent from Sparta Rotterdam. He made his team debut on 4 December 2015 aga ...

and

Nick Viergever Nick Viergever (born 3 August 1989) is a Dutch professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for FC Utrecht, Utrecht. He also made three appearances for the Netherlands national football ...

Marten de Roon Marten Elco de Roon (born 29 March 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Atalanta and the Netherlands national team. After representing various Dutch youth teams, he started his career at Spart ...

amongst others.

Honours

National

Netherlands Football League Championship The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start ...

: 6 ** 1908–09, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1914–15, 1958–59 *

: 1 ** 2015–16 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 3 ** 1957–58, 1961–62, 1965–66

Others

*Rotterdam Easter Tournament ** Runners-up (2): 1934, 1948

Domestic results

ImageSize = width:700 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2023 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1990 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1) PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2002 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2005 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2010 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2016 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2018 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

" from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2023 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

Below is a table with Sparta Rotterdam's domestic results since the introduction of the

in 1956.

Sparta in Europe

Current squad

Out on loan

Jong Sparta Rotterdam

Jong Sparta Rotterdam is the second team of Sparta Rotterdam, consisting mainly of players who are not yet eligible for a spot in the first team's squad. The team has been competing in the third-tier

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

since 2016. Previously, it played in the

Beloften Eredivisie The Beloften Eredivisie (; ''"Promised Honor Division"'') was the highest football league for reserve teams in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The league was founded in 1992 as ''Reserve Teams Eredivisie'' ...

Former players

National team players

''The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

during their tenure with Sparta Rotterdam: *;Aruba ** David Abdul (2008–2011) **

Gregor Breinburg Gregor Breinburg (born 16 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Aruba national team. Club career He formerly played for De Graafschap and joined NEC in 2014. After a s ...

(2018–2019) *;Australia ** James Holland (2011–2012) *;Austria ** Wilhelm Kreuz (1972–1974) *;Burkina Faso **

Ousmane Sanou Ousmane Sanou (born 11 March 1978) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, Ameri ...

(2001–2003) *;Canada ** Charles-Andreas Brym (2022–present) *;Cape Verde ** Lorenzo Fonseca (2019–2021) ** Jeffry Fortes (2020–2021) ** Cecílio Lopes (2007–2008) ** Rui Monteiro (2000–2003) ** Toni Varela (2011–2013) *;Comoros ** Saïd Bakari (2023–present) *;Curaçao ** Suently Alberto (2020–2022) ** Kenneth Cicilia (2001–2004)A Curaçao-born footballer, Kenneth Cicilia represented

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

internationally, prior to the countries dissolution in 2010, with Curaçao considered by both UEFA and FIFA as the only inherit successor to the national team of former Netherlands Antilles. ** Bradley Martis (2018–2020) ** Jeremy de Nooijer (2012–2015) ** Rayvien Rosario (2023–2024) *;Denmark **

Jørgen Kristensen Jørgen Kristensen (born 12 December 1946), nicknamed ''Troldmanden'' (the Wizard), is a Danish former football player who played professionally for a number of foreign clubs and won the 1974 UEFA Cup with Dutch club Feyenoord Rotterdam. He p ...

(1968–1972) ** Claus Larsen (1975–1976) **

Ole Madsen Ole Eduard Fischer Madsen (21 December 1934 – 26 March 2006 Camilla Dam ''Danmarks Radio'', 26 March 2006) was a Danish international association football, footballer, who scored 42 goals in 50 matches for the Denmark national football team, D ...

(1965–1968) *;Finland ** Janne Saksela (2017) *;Ghana ** Anthony Obodai (2003–2005) *;Guinea **

Mathias Pogba Mathias Fassou Pogba (born 19 August 1990) is a Guinean former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. His twin brother Florentin Pogba, Florentin and younger brother Paul Pogba, Paul ...

(2016–2017) *;Hungary ** Krisztián Vermes (2008–2009) *;Iceland ** Kristian Hlynsson (2025–present) *;Israel **

Ariel Harush Ariel Harush (or Harosh, ; born 25 May 1988) is an Israeli footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for F.C. Ashdod and the Israel national team. Harush's time at Beitar Jerusalem was featured in the 2016 documentary ''Forever Pure'', where he stoo ...

(2019–2020) *;Luxembourg ** Laurent Jans (2021–2022) ** Mica Pinto (2020–2023) *;Morocco **

Nourdin Boukhari Nourdin Boukhari (; born 30 June 1980) is a Moroccan former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. After retiring, he worked as a youth coach, and is the currently assistant coach of Eredivisie club Sparta Rotte ...

(2000–2002; 2007–2008; 2014) ** Mourad Mghizrat (1996–1999) *;Netherlands ** Luuk Balkestein (1974–1980) **

(1965–1970) **

(1979–1986) ** Willem Boerdam (1908–1921) ** Rein Boomsma (1895–1907) **

Tinus Bosselaar Martinus Bosselaar (January 16, 1936 – June 6, 2018) was a Dutch footballer who played as a left winger. Club career He became the head subject in the "Bosselaar-affair" in 1956. Bosselaar and Sparta both agreed on a return to the club as hi ...

(1953–1954; 1956–1966) ** Pim Doesburg (1962–1967; 1970–1980) ** Daaf Drok (1939–1944) ** Tonny van Ede (1947–1964) **

Hans Eijkenbroek Hans Eijkenbroek (5 January 1940 – 17 August 2024) was a Dutch football player and manager. Playing career Club Born in Schiedam, he started his career at local side Hermes DVS and was scouted by Sparta Rotterdam legend Denis Neville in 1962 ...

(1963–1973) ** Jo Eshuijs (1904–1909) ** Ok Formenoij (1924–1933) ** Huug de Groot (1908–1917) ** Herman Jurgens (1903–1908) **

Jan Klijnjan Jan Klijnjan (26 February 1945 – 15 June 2022)

(1968–1973) **

(1902–1923) ** Wim Landman (1949–1953) ** Theo Laseroms (1963–1967) ** Wim Meutstege (1973–1977) ** Kees van Nieuwenhuizen (1908–1911) ** Jan Oosthoek (1924) ** Miel Pijs (1967–1969) ** Cas Ruffelse (1907–1926) *Netherlands (''continued'') ** Henk Steeman (1919–1922; 1923–1925) ** Rinus Terlouw (1948–1958) ** John Veldman (1991–1996) ** Hans Venneker (1968–1975) ** Piet de Vries (1956–1965) ** Jaap Weber (1925–1929) ** Piet van der Wolk (1908–1921) ** Willy van Zwieteren (1921–1933) *;Nigeria ** Dele Adeleye (2007–2010) ** Sani Kaita (2005–2008) ** Christopher Kanu (2002) ** Maduka Okoye (2020–2022) *;Northern Ireland ** Johnny Crossan (1959–1961) ** Sammy Morgan (1978–1979) *;Republic of Ireland ** Peter Fitzgerald (1959–1960) *;Slovenia **

Aleksander Šeliga Aleksander Šeliga (born 1 February 1980) is a Slovenian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Early career Šeliga played most of his career for hometown club Celje in the Slovenian PrvaLiga. With this club, he also parti ...

(2009–2011) *;South Africa ** Lars Veldwijk (2018–2020) *;Suriname ** Ishan Kort (2021–2023) ** Djevencio van der Kust (2023–present) *;Syria ** Mohammed Osman (2021–2022) *;Trinidad & Tobago ** Darryl Roberts (2007–2008) *;United States **

Gregg Berhalter Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the current head coach and director of football for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire, a role he assumed following the end of the 2024 s ...

(1996–1998) * ''Players in bold actively play for Sparta Rotterdam and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Sparta.''

National team players by Confederation

Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Sparta players represented Internationally

Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of Sparta players who have competed in international tournaments, including the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

and the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

. To this date no Sparta players have participated in the

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

or the

OFC Nations Cup The OFC Men's Nations Cup, known as the OFC Nations Cup before the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup, 2024 edition, is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's natio ...

while playing for Sparta Rotterdam.

Club staff

Former coaches

(1915) * Peter Donaghy (1929–30) * Doug Livingstone (1949) *

Walter Crook Walter Crook (28 April 1913 – 27 December 1988) was an English football player and manager. Career Playing career Crook, who played as a full back, played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers, making a total of 2 ...

(1950) *

Denis Neville Denis Charles Neville (6 May 1915 – 11 January 1995) was an English association football, football player and manager who managed the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team between 1964 and 1966. Upon leaving the Nether ...

(1955–63) * Bill Thompson (1963–66) *

Wiel Coerver Wiel Coerver (; 3 December 1924 – 22 April 2011) was a Dutch football manager and the developer of the "Coerver Method", a football coaching technique. Playing career Coerver played five years for local side Rapid JC, with whom he won the Du ...

(1966–69) *

Georg Keßler Georg Kessler (born 23 September 1932) is a German former football manager. Honours Sparta Rotterdam *KNVB Cup runner-up: 1970–71 Anderlecht *Belgian First Division: 1971–72 *Belgian Cup: 1971–72 Hertha BSC *DFB-Pokal runner-up: 197 ...

(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 Bert Jacobs (5 March 1941 – 14 November 1999) was a Dutch football manager and player. Having become a football coach at a young age, he worked for Roda JC, FC Utrecht, Fortuna Sittard, Vitesse Arnhem, RKC Waalwijk and Sporting de Gijón. R ...

(1983–84) *

Theo Vonk Theo Vonk (born 16 December 1947) is a Dutch former football player and manager, most recently in charge of Gibraltar Premier Division side Glacis United, where he also served as technical director. Career Vonk was born in Uitgeest. He spent ...

(1984–86) * Barry Hughes (1986–88) *

Rob Baan Robert Baan (born 1 April 1943 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch football coach. He was coach of FC VVV, Roda JC, and FC Twente, assistant coach of PSV and assistant and interim coach of the Dutch national football team. He won Dutch First Division c ...

(1988–90) *

Rob Jacobs Rob Jacobs (born 15 October 1943) is a Dutch former association football player and manager. A right-back, played for Feijenoord, Xerxes DHC and SBV Excelsior. He coached SBV Excelsior, FC Groningen, Roda JC, Feyenoord, P.A.O.K., Sparta Rotter ...

(1991–93) * Han Berger (1993–95) * Henk van Stee (1995) *

Henk ten Cate Hendrik Willem ten Cate (born 9 December 1954) is a Dutch football coach and former player. In the 2005–06 season, he was assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona when the team won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles. He then serve ...

(1995–97) * Hans van der Zee (1997–98) *

Jan Everse Jan Everse (born 5 January 1954 in Rotterdam) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch football (soccer), football player and manager, who is currently head coach at amateur side BVCB. Playing career Club He made his professional debut for Feyenoord in ...

(1998–99) *

Dolf Roks Dolf Roks (born 21 November 1962 in Zierikzee) is a former amateur football player from the Netherlands. As a football coach he had a long time spell with Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in ...

(1999–01) *

Willem van Hanegem Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former Association football, football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as ...

(2001) *

(2001–02) *

Fritz Korbach Fritz Korbach (18 July 1945 – 14 August 2011) was a German professional football player and manager. He was particularly well known in the Netherlands, where he served eleven different teams, including FC Wageningen, FC Zwolle, FC Volendam, ...

(2003) * Chris Dekker (2003) *

Mike Snoei Mike Snoei (born 4 December 1963) is a former Dutch football player and manager. During his playing days, Snoei played for Excelsior and Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie from 1982 to 1993. He was a member of the Dutch squad ...

(2003–05) * Adri van Tiggelen ''(interim)'' (2005) *

Wiljan Vloet Wiljan Vloet (born 10 September 1962) is a Dutch football manager, executive and former player. He serves as the sporting director of FC Den Bosch. Playing career As a footballer, Vloet never played for a professional club. He started his caree ...

(2005–07) * Gert Aandewiel (2007) * Adri van Tiggelen ''(interim)'' (2007) *

Foeke Booy Foeke Booy (born 25 April 1962) is a Dutch football manager, executive, and former player. He serves as the technical manager of Cambuur. Club career Booy played for eight clubs in sixteen seasons. After hometown club Cambuur Leeuwarden, De G ...

(2007–09) * Frans Adelaar (2009–10) *

Aad de Mos Adriaan "Aad" de Mos (born 27 March 1947) is a Dutch retired professional football manager whose career spanned for almost thirty years. He has managed teams in his home country, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Greece, as well m ...

(2010) *

(2010–11) * Jos van Eck (2011) *

Michel Vonk Michel Vonk (born 28 October 1968) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a centre-back from 1986 to 2001, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchester City. He also played in England for Oldham ...

(2011–13) *

''(interim)'' (2013) * Gert Kruys (2014) * Alex Pastoor (2015–2017) *

''(interim)'' (2017) *

Dick Advocaat Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former association football, football player and coach. He is currently the manager of the Curaçao national football team. Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a ...

(2018) * Henk Fraser (2018–2022) * Maurice Steijn (2022–2023) * Jeroen Rijsdijk (2023–2024) * Maurice Steijn (2024–present)

References

Notes

External links

*
Sparta Rotterdam at Football-lineups.comitwmdespartasupporterUnofficial website
{{Authority control Football clubs in Rotterdam Football clubs in the Netherlands 1888 establishments in the Netherlands Association football clubs established in 1888