Nickname(s) Vitas Chairman Bert Roetert League Eredivisie Location Arnhem, Netherlands Owner Aleksandr Tsjigirinski | Ground Capacity 25,000 Arena/Stadium GelreDome Manager Henk Fraser Headquarters Arnhem, Netherlands | |
Full name Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Founded 14 May 1892; 124 years ago (1892-05-14) Ground GelreDome
Arnhem, Netherlands Profiles | ||
Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse, commonly known as SBV Vitesse, Vitesse or Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch football club based in Arnhem, which was founded on 14 May 1892. The club has enjoyed some success in the Eredivisie, has featured in the UEFA Cup competition and became the first Dutch football club to be owned by a foreigner when it was taken over by Russian businessman Alexander Chigirinsky in 2010. Since 1998, the club has played its home games at the GelreDome.
Contents
History
The idea of conceiving a football team stemmed from the club's early roots as a cricket club.
Vitesse once attracted big name signings into its ranks including Roy Makaay, Nikos Machlas, Sander Westerveld, Danko Lazović, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Mahamadou Diarra, Philip Cocu, Wilfried Bony and Nemanja Matić. In 1990, the club reached its most recent KNVB Cup final when it was defeated by PSV on a penalty kick in the 75th minute from Stan Valckx at De Kuip on 25 April 1990.
Karel Aalbers was the president of the club from 1984 until February 2000. Aalbers' goal was to bring Vitesse from the bottom of the Second League (Eerste divisie, now Jupiler League), where the club was when he started, to the top 40 soccer clubs of Europe. He developed the basic idea for the Gelredome, a stadium with a sliding pitch that can be moved out of the building. Later, the same system was applied in Gelsenkirchen (Schalke 04) and in Japan. Events such as pop concerts can be held without damaging the grass. Gelredome opened in 1998. It has a roof that can be opened and closed. It is fully climate controlled as well. In the first season after the opening, Gelredome's attendance rose to 20,000, (from less than 8,000 in the old stadium.) Vitesse ranked top four positions, made profit and showed a solid balance sheet in the final years of his presidency. Aalbers resigned on 15 February 2000, after the main sponsor, Nuon, threatened to pull the plug if he did not. Nuon, as a public utility company, owned by local authorities, had trouble explaining why it invested heavily in Aalbers' ambitious plans. His successor was Jan Koning (former chief of Sara Lee/DE who resigned after four months). In a short period of time, Vitesse began to show negative financial results, due to poor deals on the transfer market. The club survived numerous financial crises, such as the last one in 2008, when debts were bought of, under the threat of bankruptcy.
In 2010, the club was bought by Georgian businessman Merab Jordania, a friend with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Shortly thereafter, the two clubs agreed to a partnership and in the years following, many young Chelsea players have moved to Vitesse on loan, including Nemanja Matić, Gaël Kakuta, Patrick van Aanholt and Bertrand Traoré twice.
Stadium
Its home is the unique GelreDome stadium opened in 1998, featuring a retractable roof and a convertible pitch that can be retracted when unused during concerts or other events held at the stadium.
The stadium was finished in time to host three group stage matches during the Euro 2000 tournament held in the Netherlands and Belgium. Its current capacity for football is 25,000, the maximum capacity for shows is around 34,000, and the average league attendance in recent years was just below 20,000. Their previous home was the Nieuw Monnikenhuize.
Training accommodation
The club's training ground and youth development system are based at the National Sports Centre Papendal. As of 2012 the club's pitches have been renewed, where under-soil heating was introduced; one pitch has artificial turf. The new accommodation was completed and opened in the first half of 2013.
Players
As of 4 March 2017.For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2016
First team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see 2016–17 Vitesse season.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Retired numbers
04 — Theo Bos, defender (1983–98) — posthumous honour.
12 — reserved for the club supporters
Managerial history
League
Cup
Other
Individual Achievements
Vitesse in Europe
Club records
Domestic results
Below is a table with Vitesse's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.
Affiliated teams
Everton
Twin teams
On 18 May 2016, a cooperation was announced between Vasas Kubala Akadémia and Vitesse. According to the cooperation, the two club will organize common showcases, take part in a common conference and educational programmes. Gerry Hamstra said that it is very important for the Dutch club to initiate new cooperation in the Central European region, like Hungary.