Heracles Almelo is a Dutch 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 ...

club based in

Almelo Almelo () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie, and Bornerbroek. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle o ...

, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won 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 ...

title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to 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 ...

for the first time in 28 years. The club remained in the top division for 17 seasons before suffering relegation at the end of the 2021–22 season. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, they reached the

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 ...

final for the first time in the club's history, losing to PSV in the final. The club's main rival is

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

History

The club was founded on 3 May 1903 as

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

, after the demigod son of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. They changed their name on 1 July 1974 to SC Heracles '74 and finally settled on the current name in 1998. Heracles finished sixth in the Eredivisie during the 2015–16 season, qualifying for the end of season European play-offs. The club first defeated

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

and then

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and thus qualified for the first time in club history for European football, starting in the third qualifying round of the

2016–17 UEFA Europa League The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League was the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the eighth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played between Ajax and ...

. A run of three consecutive losses saw Heracles end the 2021–22 season in sixteenth place, condemning them to the promotion/relegation play-offs. The club were relegated to the

after losing 6–1 to

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 ...

on aggregate in the semifinals. Less than a year later, the ''Heraclieden'' sealed an immediate return to the top flight, with a 3–0 home win over

Jong PSV Jong PSV is a Dutch football team based in Eindhoven. It is the reserve team of PSV Eindhoven and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2013–14 season. History Until 2013, Jong PSV played in the Beloften Eredivisie, a league exclusively fo ...

securing them a top two finish in the

2022–23 Eerste Divisie The 2022–23 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, is the 67th season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1956. Teams A total of 20 teams will take part in the league: 17 teams from the 2021–22 ...

and only a week after

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

had done so. On 19 May 2023, Heracles won their third Eerste Divisie title after defeating

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 ...

in the last round of play.

Stadium

Heracles Almelo currently play at the

Asito Stadion Asito Stadion, formerly the Erve Asito () and the Polman Stadion, is a multi-use stadium in Almelo, Netherlands. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 12.080 spectators and was built in 1999. It is the of ...

. The

was built in 1999 with a capacity 6,900, this was expanded in 2005 to hold 8,500. The pitch at the

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

. After renovation of the stadium at the beginning of 2015–16 season, it currently holds 13,500 spectators.

Honours

National

**Champions: 1926–27, 1940–41 *

**Winners: 1984–85, 2004–05,Eerste Divisie Champions
RSSSF.com, Retrieved 7 June 2013

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

**Runners-up: 2011–12

Domestic results

Below is a table with Heracles Almelo's domestic results since the introduction of the

in 1956.

European record

;Notes * 3Q: Third qualifying round

Current squad

Out on loan

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 Heracles Almelo: *;Algeria ** Karim Bridji (2006–2009) *;Australia **

Jason Davidson Jason Alan Davidson (born 29 June 1991) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for Greek club Panserraikos. Club career Hume City On 26 January 2009, Davidson signed with Victorian Premier League club Hume City, ...

(2011–2014) **

Ajdin Hrustić Ajdin Hrustic (; born 5 July 1996) is an Australian professional association football, soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for club US Salernitana 1919, Salernitana and the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national ...

(2024) *;Burundi **

Mohamed Amissi Mohamed Amissi (born 3 August 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Burundi national team. Club career On 13 August 2019, Amissi signed a two-year contract with an option for one further se ...

(2020–2022) *;Cameroon **

Willie Overtoom Willie Overtoom (born 2 September 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Early life The son of a Dutch father and a Cameroonian mother, Overtoom lived the first three ye ...

(2008–2013) *;Canada **

Rob Friend Robert Douglas Friend (born 23 January 1981) is a Canadian former professional Association football, soccer player, the president and Organizational founder, co-founder of Vancouver Football Club, Vancouver FC, the chief executive officer, ceo ...

(2007) *;Curaçao ** Brandley Kuwas (2016–2019) *;Estonia **

Ragnar Klavan Ragnar Klavan (born 30 October 1985) is an Estonian former professional footballer who played as a defender. A left-footed centre back, he also played as a left back during his career. Klavan played for Elva, Tulevik and Flora in Estonia, wi ...

(2005–2009) *;Finland ** Mika Nurmela (2005–2006) *;Ghana ** Kwame Quansah (2004–2014) *;Indonesia **

Joey Pelupessy Joey Mathijs Pelupessy (born 15 May 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Belgian Challenger Pro League club Lommel. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Indonesia national team. Club career Twente P ...

(2014-2018) *;Kazakhstan **

Alexander Merkel Alexander Merkel (; born 22 February 1992) is a Kazakh-German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Persian Gulf Pro League club Nassaji Mazandaran. Born in Kazakhstan to parents of German descent, Merkel initially represented G ...

(2018–2020) *;Morocco **

Oussama Tannane Oussama Tannane (; born 23 March 1994) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a winger for Qatari club Umm Salal. A youth international for the Netherlands, he plays for the Morocco national team. Club career Heerenveen Tannane m ...

(2013–2016) *;Netherlands **

Bertus Freese Bertus Freese (20 February 1902 – 21 November 1959) was a Dutch footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1928 Summer Olympics. During his career, he played for Heracles where he was part of the title-winning team in 1926– ...

(1918–1936) ** Hennie van Nee (1960–1962; 1963–1965) **

Frits Schipper Frits Schipper (24 December 1904 – 23 January 1989) was a Dutch footballer. He played in one match for the Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represente ...

(1923–1939) **

Frans van der Veen Franciscus Christian van der Veen (25 March 1919 – 4 May 1975) was a Dutch football forward who played for the Netherlands in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.

(1936–1941; 1948–1954) *;Nigeria **

Cyriel Dessers Cyriel Kolawole Dessers (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League Greece club AEK Athens. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Nigeria national team. Dessers has spent the majority of his club c ...

(2019–2020) *;United States ** Luca de la Torre (2020–2022) *;Suriname **

Navajo Bakboord Navajo Bakboord (born 29 January 1999) is a footballer who plays as a right back for League of Ireland Premier Division club Waterford. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Suriname national team. Club career Bakboord made his Eerste Divis ...

(2019–2024) **

Kelvin Leerdam Kelvin Leerdam (; born 24 June 1990) is a Surinamese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Heracles Almelo and Suriname national team. Club career Early career Leerdam was born in Paramaribo, the capital and largest city of Su ...

(2024–present) *;Syria ** Mohammed Osman (2018–2020) *;Tanzania **

Sunday Manara Sunday Ramadhan Manara (born 23 November 1952) is a Tanzanian former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. Career Nicknamed 'Computer', Manara signed for Dutch side Heracles Almelo ...

(1977–1978) * ''Players in bold actively play for Heracles Almelo and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Heracles.''

National team players by Confederation

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

Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of Heracles Almelo 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 ...

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 ...

and the

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 ...

. To this date no Heracles players have participated in the

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 ...

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 ...

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 Heracles Almelo.

Coaching staff

Former coaches

Horace Colclough Albert Horace Colclough (3 November 1888 – 25 May 1976) was an English international footballer, who played as a left back. He played his club football for Crewe Alexandra and Crystal Palace in the years immediately prior to World War I. His p ...

(1920–21) * Ted Magner (1921–23) *

(1923–32) *

Robert Roxburgh Robert Roxburgh (5 February 1896 – 1974) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle u ...

(1932–35) *

Leslie Lievesley Leslie Lievesley (23 June 1911 – 4 May 1949) was an English football player and manager. During his playing career, his regular position was at full-back. Born in Staveley, Derbyshire, Lievesley started his career as an amateur with Rossing ...

(1 March 1946 – 30 June 1947) * David Davison (July 1948 – February 1949) * Gilbert Richmond (1949–53) *

Duggie Lochhead Dougald "Duggie" Lochhead (16 December 1904 – 29 August 1968) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. Career Playing career Lochhead joined St Johnstone in summer 1925, just after the club had been promoted to the First Divis ...

(1953–56) * Jan Bilj (1956–60) *

Michael Keeping Alexander Edwin Michael Keeping (22 August 1902 – 28 March 1984) was an English footballer and manager. He coached Real Madrid CF from January 1948 to October 1950. Family His father was the Olympic medal winning cyclist Frederick Keeping. Pl ...

(Sept. 1960 – 30 January 1961) * Frits van der Elst /

Freek Jaarsma Freek or Freeks may refer to: Music * Freek (album), ''Freek'' (album), a 1994 album by Keller Williams * "Freek", a 2017 single by Tom Budin * Freek FM, a pirate radio station that broadcasts UK garage * Freek (rapper), Freek, a UAE-based Somali ...

(1961 interim) *

Jaap van der Leck Jaap van der Leck (10 September 1911, Oudshoorn – 18 November 2000 in Tilburg) was a Dutch football manager. He worked for DSO, RFC Rotterdam, UVV Utrecht, De Volewijckers, the Netherlands national football team, SC Enschede, Feyenoord, D ...

(March 1961–63) * Keith Spurgeon (1 July 1963 – 30 June 1964) * Jan de Bouter (1964–66) * Les Talbot (1 July 1966 – 30 June 1967) * Toon Valks (1967–69) * Evert Teunissen (1 July 1969 – 30 June 1970) *

Rinus Gosens Rinus Gosens (1 January 1920 – 22 May 2008) was a Dutch football player and manager. As a player, he won the Dutch championship with SVV in 1949. After his active career he became a football manager, who worked for Fortuna Vlaardingen, SVV, H ...

(1 July 1970 – 30 June 1972) * Ron Dellow (1 July 1972 – 30 June 1975) *

Jan Verhaert Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

(1975–76) *

Hennie Hollink Hendrikus ("Hennie") Hollink (1 October 1931 – 31 January 2018) was a Dutch association football player and manager who managed Roda JC, FC Twente and Heracles Almelo. A forward, he played professional football himself in the 1950s and 1960s. H ...

(1 July 1976 – 30 June 1979) *

Theo Laseroms Matheus Wilhelmus Theodorus "Theo" Laseroms (8 March 1940 – 25 April 1991) was a Dutch football player and manager. A defender, he made a name for himself when he played for Feijenoord. He gained six caps for the Netherlands national team. ...

(1979–81) *

Jan Morsing Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

(1 July 1981 – 3 November 1982) * Arie Stehouwer (1982–83) *

Gerard Somer Gerard Somer (born 24 November 1943) is a retired Dutch football defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. ...

(1983–87) *

(1988) *

Henk van Brussel Henk van Brussel (; 12 June 1936 – 7 October 2007) was a Dutch football player and manager. Playing career Van Brussel played for local side Excelsior '31 and was part of the Go Ahead squad that won promotion to the Eredivisie in 1963. ...

(1989–90) *

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 ...

(21 November 1990 – 30 June 1992) * Azing Griever (1 February 1993 – 1 March 1995) * Jan van Staa (1 July 1995 – 30 June 1996) * Gerard Marsman (1 July 1996 – 30 June 1998) *

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 ...

(8 March 1998 – 30 June 1999) *

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, ...

(1 July 1999 – 30 June 2001) *

Gertjan Verbeek Gertjan Verbeek (; born 1 August 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who last managed Eerste Divisie side Almere City. Coaching career Netherlands After retiring from his playing career in 1994, Verbeek stayed with SC Heerenveen as ...

(1 July 2001 – 30 June 2004) *

Peter Bosz Peter Sylvester Bosz (, born 21 November 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He is currently the head coach of Dutch Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. He had previously ...

(1 July 2004 – 30 June 2006) *

Ruud Brood Ruud Brood (born 19 October 1962) is a Dutch football manager and a former player who was most recently the manager of TOP Oss. Football career Player Brood was born in Gorinchem. After joining the Feyenoord youth academy from hometown amateur ...

(1 July 2006 – 24 December 2007) * Gert Heerkes (2 January 2008 – 30 June 2009) *

(1 July 2009 – 30 June 2010) *

(1 July 2010 – 30 June 2013) *

Jan de Jonge Jan de Jonge (born 8 May 1963) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Dutch ninth-tier Vierde Klasse club Waskemeer. As a player, he played as a striker for three clubs in the Netherlands: ...

(1 July 2013 – 31 August 2014) * John Stegeman (1 September 2014 – 30 June 2018) *

Frank Wormuth Frank Wormuth (born 13 September 1960) is a German 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 ...

(1 July 2018 – 16 May 2022) * John Lammers (25 June 2022 – 12 December 2023) *

Erwin van de Looi Erwin van de Looi (born 25 February 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, he was most recently the head coach of Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo. Playing career Van de Looi played in the youth academies of RKHVV and ...

(21 December 2023 – Present)

References

External links

Fansite
– HAFC.nl
Tactical formations
at football-lineups.com {{Eredivisie Association football clubs established in 1903 1903 establishments in the Netherlands Football clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in Overijssel Sport in Almelo