SBV Excelsior

Excelsior Rotterdam, commonly known as Excelsior, is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of the Dutch football league system, following promotion from the Eerste Divisie in the 2024–25 season. The club was founded on 23 July 1902 and was formerly known as "Rotterdamse Voetbal en Atletiek Vereniging Excelsior" (Rotterdam Football and Athletics Club Excelsior). Excelsior's home stadium is the Stadion Woudestein – for sponsorship reasons known as the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion – which has a capacity of about 4,500, one of the smallest stadiums hosting professional football in the Netherlands.

History

Early history

Excelsior was officially formed on 23 July 1902 as ''Rotterdamse Voetbal en Atletiek Vereniging Excelsior'' (). The initial founders of the club, a group of close friends located in the Kralingen district of Rotterdam, started playing football matches on the fields of the eighteenth century buitenplaats Woudesteyn. After the actual establishment of the club, the municipality officially gave permission to use the land. As football was still an elite sport at the beginning of the 20th century, Excelsior became one of the first working class clubs in the Netherlands.

First successes

In the season 1945–46, Excelsior gained their first success by promoting to the Eerste Klasse, the highest tier of Dutch football before professional football was introduced in 1954. The deciding match against VUC was played in De Kuip and attracted 52.000 spectators. Excelsior relegated in the next season, but managed to promote for the second time in the season 1951–52. After the introduction of professional football, Excelsior won the Eerste Divisie championship three times (1974, 1979 and 2006) and promoted to the Eredivisie various times, usually to relegate not long afterwards.

Excelsior once reached the KNVB Cup final in the season 1929–30, but lost the match to fellow Rotterdam club Feyenoord (0–1). Excelsior's biggest pre-war achievement was the win of the Zilveren Bal trophy. Excelsior beat Feyenoord (5–0) in the finals of the highly rated pre-season tournament.

Founding father of Dutch professional football

In the mid-fifties, Excelsior were the leading club behind the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands. When the KNVB continued to refuse payments in football, Excelsior chairman Henk Zon and board member Aad Libregts managed to persuade association president Hans Hopster, in cooperation with the directors of Feyenoord, Sparta and ADO Den Haag. In August 1954 the KNVB accepted the proposal and professional football was introduced in the Netherlands.

Pioneers

Being the smallest professional club in Rotterdam, Excelsior always had to be creative to survive. This creativity made Excelsior play a pioneering role within Dutch football. In 1958 Excelsior became the first Dutch club with covered stands. Later, in 1974, Excelsior also were the first Dutch club with shirt advertising. Against the then existing rules, the club put an 'A' on the shirt. The character was supposed to stand for 'Team A', but in reality it stood for Akai, the company of main investor Rob Albers. The KNVB decided to ban the 'A' from the shirt and it would take until 1982 for shirt advertising to be introduced. Akai would adorn the shirts of Excelsior until the season 1999–00.

Millennium

In 2002, the year in which the club was officially 100 years old, Excelsior returned to the
Eredivisie. They did this after spending more than 20 years in the second tier of Dutch football. They were relegated after one season. In the 2005/2006 season Excelsior became champions of the Eerste Divisie and were promoted back to the Eredivisie once again.

Between 1997 and 2005 Excelsior had a partnership with Rotterdam rivals Feyenoord. Excelsior became Feyenoord's satellite club. As such, Feyenoord gave Excelsior money and players (either on loan or free transfer).

A majority of the Excelsior fans have always been against a partnership with Feyenoord. Michel van der Neut, chairman of Excelsior's supporters club, claimed: "Excelsior sold her soul with the extended partnership. Excelsior simply stops existing this way."

Recent history

In 2010 Excelsior returned to the highest tier of Dutch football, after defeating crosstown rival Sparta Rotterdam in the final of the Eredivisie promotion/relegation play-offs. The team was mostly composed by Feyenoord loanees and was coached by former Feyenoord youth coach Alex Pastoor. In the 2010–11 season Excelsior made a flying start in the Eredivisie, gaining ten points in its first five matches, including a home victory in the Rotterdam derby against Feyenoord (3–2). In the remainder of the season, Excelsior upset some of the larger league teams at home, winning against AZ and getting draws against Groningen and eventual league champions Ajax. In the final match of the regular season, Excelsior got a 4–1 win away at Vitesse Arnhem, a result that left them one goal short of staying up. Finishing 16th, Excelsior had to face FC Den Bosch and Helmond Sport in the relegation / promotion play-offs. A 4–2 home win against Helmond sport ensured another season of Eredivisie football for Excelsior.

Excelsior finished bottom of the table in the Eredivisie at the end of the 2011–12 season, managing only four wins in 34 matches. The club was again relegated to the Eerste Divisie and has had ups and downs since. In the 2022–23 season Excelsior returned to the Eredivisie after being relegated in 2019.

ImageSize = width:800 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:01/01/2025
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:16 color:white align:center

from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:19
from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:17
from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:17
from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:18
from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:18
from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/01/2023 till:01/01/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/01/2024 till:01/01/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2002 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie"
from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text:
from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2006 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie"
from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2008 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie"
from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2010 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie"
from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2012 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie"
from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2014 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text:
from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2019 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie
from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2022 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie"
from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2024 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie
from:01/01/2024 till:01/01/2025 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie"

Stadium

Excelsior's home venue is Stadion Woudestein, which has a capacity of 4,500 seats, one of the smallest stadiums hosting professional football in the Netherlands. The official name of the stadium is Van Donge & De Roo Stadion.

The club had two short spells at different locations. For the season 1907–1908 Excelsior played on the Afrikaanderplein. After returning to Woudestein, Excelsior moved to the Toepad terrain for seasons 1922–1939. When the Dutch government decided to build marine barracks on the Toepad area right before the start of the Second World War, Excelsior moved back to the familiar Woudestein.

In the early nineties Excelsior went through a difficult period. The club barely survived a financial crisis, but a newly appointed board under the chairmanship of Martin de Jager had one important goal; a new Excelsior stadium. Various plans were made, one of them being a joint stadium for Excelsior and Sparta, but eventually none of the plans were implemented. Due to financial pressure, Excelsior decided to take the plunge and started renovating Woudestein themselves. The club built two new stands themselves and with the help of the municipality the main stand got renovated as well, including business seats and office space. On 31 July 2000, the new stadium was opened with a friendly match against Feyenoord.

When Excelsior promoted to the Eredivisie after the season 2009–10, the club decided to replace the grass surface with artificial turf. Main reason for the change was the lack of financial resources to install under-soil heating, which is mandatory for clubs participating on the highest level of Dutch football.

Supporters and rivalries

Paper recycling club

Excelsior is known as the Oud papier-club (paper recycling club), because former chairman Henk Zon often used to collect old paper in order to secure the financial position of the club.

Mascot

Since 2008 'Woutje Stein' is the official Excelsior mascot. He is named after the Woudestein-stadium.

Rivalries

Rotterdam is the city with the most professional teams in the Netherlands. Besides Excelsior there are Feyenoord and Sparta Rotterdam.

Rivalry against Sparta

Excelsior is from the Kralingen-neighbourhood and Sparta Rotterdam is from the Spangen-neighbourhood. Both clubs are not always playing in the Eredivisie, hence they play matches against each other in both the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. The Feyenoord partnership Excelsior had in the past has resulted in more hatred from Sparta Rotterdam supporters.

One of the more spectacular matches between Excelsior and Sparta was the 2010 derby. Excelsior managed to gain promotion to the Eredivisie by winning against Sparta in the 94th minute of the match.

Rivalry against Feyenoord

Ever since the clubs used to work together Excelsior players and supporters have grown a more serious rivalry against Feyenoord. The majority of Excelsior supporters never wanted a cooperation with Feyenoord in the first place. On 22 May 2009, Excelsior supporters hosted a funeral as they felt like their club's identity had died due to the partnership with Feyenoord.

In 2017 Excelsior won against Feyenoord (3–0), resulting in the latter not winning the Eredivisie title on that day. This resulted in riots.

Honours

League

* Eerste Divisie
**''Winners (3):'' 1973–74, 1978–79, 2005–06
**''Promotion (7):'' 1969–70, 1981–82, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2021–22, 2024–25
* Tweede Divisie
**''Promotion (1):'' 1968–69

Domestic results

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

Current squad

Out on loan

Player of the year

The Excelsior 'Player of the Year' award is voted for by the club's supporters, in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. The annual election is organized by the supporters club ''Pro Excelsior'' since 1996.

Managers

Current staff

Former managers

Players

National team players

''The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Excelsior Rotterdam:

*;Aruba
** Mishawn Molina (2023–2024)
** Kymani Nedd (2023–present)
*;Cape Verde
** Jeffry Fortes (2016–2020)
** Toni Varela (2014–2015)
*;Curaçao
** Nathan Markelo (2022–2023)
** Rayvien Rosario (2024–present)
*;DR Congo
** Jordan Botaka (2013–2015)
*;Ghana
** Christian Gyan (1998; 2006–2007)

*;Guinea
** Ahmad Mendes Moreira (2019–2021)
*;Iceland
** Mikael Anderson (2018–2019)
** Ögmundur Kristinsson (2017–2018)
** Árni Sveinsson (1978–1979)
*;Indonesia
** Nathan Tjoe-A-On (2019-2023)
*;Japan
** Takafumi Ogura (1993–1994)
*;Netherlands
** Maarten Grobbe (1922–1932)
** Heimen Lagerwaard (1950–1963)
** Andwelé Slory (2005–2007)
** Arie Vermeer (1940–1956)

*;Republic of Ireland
** David Connolly (1999–2001)
** Troy Parrott (2023–2024)
*;Sint Maarten
** Len Bleeker (2023–2024)
** Ronan Olivacce (2023–present)
*;Trinidad & Tobago
** Levi García (2018)

* ''Players in bold actively play for Excelsior Rotterdam and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Excelsior.''

National team players by Confederation

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

Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of Excelsior Rotterdam players who have competed in international tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations. To this date no Excelsior players have participated in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, CONCACAF Gold Cup, AFC Asian Cup, Copa América or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Excelsior Rotterdam.

References

External links

*

Excelsior fans
(archived 10 January 2007)

Excelsior fansite
(archived 27 January 2007)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Excelsior

Football clubs in the Netherlands
Football clubs in Rotterdam
Excelsior
1902 establishments in the Netherlands