Sportvereniging Spakenburg is a football club based in Bunschoten-Spakenburg, Netherlands, that competes in the Tweede Divisie, the third tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 15 August 1931, and is regarded as one of the most successful amateur clubs in the Netherlands, having won three championships of the top tier in amateur football.[1][2] In 2023 season, the club reached the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup by eliminating two Eredivisie clubs.

SV Spakenburg
Full nameSportvereniging Spakenburg
Nickname(s)De Blauwen ("The Blues")
Founded15 August 1931; 93 years ago (1931-08-15)
GroundSportpark De Westmaat, Bunschoten
Capacity8,500
ChairmanMarc Schoonebeek
ManagerChris de Graaf
LeagueTweede Divisie
2023–24Tweede Divisie, 1st of 18 (champions)
Websitehttps://spakenburg.com/

Spakenburg plays its home matches at Sportpark De Westmaat. Their colours are blue and white stripes. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Bunschoten-Spakenburg neighbours IJsselmeervogels.[3]

History

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Foundation and early years (1931–1947)

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On Saturday, 15 August 1931, a group of enthusiasts founded the football club, initially named Stormvogels. At that time, several local football clubs were also established, such as Strandvogels, Noordster, and Spakenburgse Boys. However, there was no formal competition structure as we know it today, and the clubs mainly engaged in friendly matches and tournaments.[4]

After a few years, the club changed its name to Windvogels. In 1935 the club participated in an organised league for the first time, joining the third division of the Utrecht Provincial Football Association (UPVB). Remarkably, in its inaugural year in the league, the team achieved the title of undefeated champions.[4]

As the club continued to grow rapidly, reaching a membership of 200, it underwent another name change. In 1947, the club merged with local gymnastics team Lycurgus, leading to the renaming of the club to Sport Vereniging Spakenburg. This was also the year when SV Spakenburg achieved promotion to the highest possible amateur division for a Saturday club.[4]

Located in the heart of the Dutch Bible Belt of Reformed Protestantism,[5] playing football on Sundays was forbidden due to religious beliefs.[6] As a result, both SV Spakenburg and their town rivals IJsselmeervogels explicitly stated in its statutes that it does not participate in Sunday football. Consequently, the clubs have historically played matches exclusively on Saturdays.[3] To ensure the continuation of this tradition, SV Spakenburg signed a covenant with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the Association for Saturday Football (BZV).[7]

Eerste Klasse

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Spakenburg joined the Eerste Klasse in the 1970–71 season under coach Joop van Basten, father of legendary Dutch striker Marco van Basten, and clinched their first league title in 1974. It became champions again in 1985, also winning the overall Dutch amateur league title, and in 1987, 2000 and 2008.[4]

 
SV Spakenburg celebrates the 1985 championship.

Topklasse (2010–2016)

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It joined the Topklasse for its inaugural season in 2010. In the 2011–12 season and the 2013–14 season SV Spakenburg became champions of the Topklasse. In 2013/2014 Spakenburg also takes home the title of best amateur squad of the Netherlands after beating AFC Amsterdam in the championship for Algeheel Amateurkampioen.

Historic cup run and Tweede Divisie win (2022–present)

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Spakenburg's squad and fans celebrate the 4-1 victory against Utrecht

In the 2022–23 season, Spakenburg advanced significantly in the KNVB Cup competition. On 28 February 2023, Spakenburg defeated Eredivisie side Utrecht 4–1 away in the quarter-finals, becoming the third amateur team ever to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.[8]

Earlier, on 12 January 2023, Spakenburg had defeated another Eredivisie club, Groningen, 3–2 away at the Euroborg.[9]

In the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup, PSV visited De Westmaat and narrowly won 2–1. Dwayne Green scored for Spakenburg, becoming the first amateur player to score a goal in the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup.[10]

 
Spakenburg celebrates the 2023–24 Tweede Divisie title.

Spakenburg enjoyed a remarkable 2023–24 season. Already by the winter break, it was clear that SV Spakenburg would be crowned champions. The team's coaching duo, Chris de Graaf and Jorg Hartog, who were both born and raised in Spakenburg and former players of the club, played a key role in their success. On 11 May 2024, SV Spakenburg won the championship with a 3–2 away victory over GVVV.[11]

The team's season saw them accumulate 82 points, a record for the Tweede Divisie.[12] This was achieved through a 19-match unbeaten streak (16 wins and 3 draws).[13] Despite a challenge from De Treffers early on, SV Spakenburg ultimately emerged victorious. The team also set another new record on 6 April 2024 with an 8–0 win over Noordwijk, the biggest league victory in club history and Tweede Divisie history.[14]

SV Spakenburg's Ahmed El Azzouti's became top goalscorer in the Tweede Divisie with 25 goals, while Chris de Graaf was named the best amateur coach of the year for the West 1 division.[15][16]

Spakenburg and the KNVB Cup

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The next table shows the results of SV Spakenburg against professional clubs.

Match Date Result
PEC Zwolle - SV Spakenburg 5-okt-1974 2-0
SV Spakenburg - FC Groningen 8-okt-1983 1-4
SV Spakenburg - Cambuur (replay-systeem) 20-okt-1984 1-1
Cambuur - SV Spakenburg (replay-wedstrijd) 31-okt-1984 3-1
SV Spakenburg - ADO Den Haag (replay-systeem) 27-nov-1985 1-1
ADO Den Haag - SV Spakenburg (replay-wedstrijd 8-feb-1986 2-0
SV Spakenburg - MVV 7-okt-1987 0-0 (0–1)
SV Spakenburg - FC Dordrecht 1-okt-1988 3-2
SV Spakenburg - AZ 18-nov-1988 1-4
SV Spakenburg - Heracles Almelo 2-sep-1989 2-0
SV Spakenburg - De Graafschap 4-okt-1989 3-2
SV Spakenburg - Feyenoord (gespeeld in De Kuip) 13-dec-1989 0-4
TOP Oss - SV Spakenburg 12-okt-1991 2-1
FC Utrecht - SV Spakenburg (poulewedstrijd) 18-aug-1999 6-1
NEC - SV Spakenburg 23-sep-1999 3-0
SV Spakenburg - Volendam (poulewedstrijd) 11-aug-2000 1-4
SV Spakenburg - Cambuur (poulewedstrijd) 30-aug-2000 2-8
SV Spakenburg - NEC (poulewedstrijd) 11-aug-2001 0-0
SV Spakenburg - Veendam 19-sep-2001 1-2
SV Spakenburg - PEC Zwolle (poulewedstrijd) 10-aug-2002 0-3
SV Spakenburg - Volendam 9-aug-2003 0-2
SV Spakenburg - Vitesse 7-aug-2004 0-1
SV Spakenburg - Roda JC 25-sep-2007 0-2
SV Spakenburg - Telstar 24-sep-2008 0-1
SV Spakenburg - MVV 22-sep-2009 3-1
AZ - SV Spakenburg 28-okt-2009 2-2 (5–2)
SV Spakenburg* - RBC Roosendaal 21-sep-2010 0-0* (wns)
PSV - SV Spakenburg 10-nov-2010 3-0
SV Spakenburg - NAC Breda 23-sep-2014 3-4
SV Spakenburg - Fortuna Sittard 21-sep-2016 2-1
Willem II - SV Spakenburg 31-okt-2018 5-0
Ajax - SV Spakenburg 22-jan-2020 7-0
SV Spakenburg - FC Dordrecht 26-okt-2021 3-0
Telstar - SV Spakenburg 14-dec-2021 3-3 (5–3)
FC Groningen - SV Spakenburg 12-jan-2023 2-3
FC Utrecht - SV Spakenburg 28-feb-2023 1-4
SV Spakenburg - PSV 4-apr-2023 1-2
SV Spakenburg - Helmond Sport 31-okt-2023 3-1
SV Spakenburg - Excelsior Rotterdam 19-dec-2023 2-2 (2–3)

Current squad

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As of 8 july 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF   NED Nick Verhagen
3 DF   IRQ Masies Artien
4 DF   NED Koos Werkman
5 DF   BRB Dwayne Green
6 MF   NED Tom Noordhoff
7 FW   NED Ahmed El Azzouti
8 MF   NED Sam van Huffel
9 FW   NED Floris van der Linden
10 MF   NED Wimilio Vink
11 FW   SOM Mukhtar Suleiman
12 GK   NED Menno Heus
13 GK   NED Indy Groothuizen
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF   NED Koen Wesdorp
15 DF   NED Hero van Lopik
16 MF   NED Jan van Diermen
18 FW   NED Ferebory Kourouma
19 DF   NED Luc Ruizendaal
20 MF   NED Ian Beelen
21 DF   NED Mark Veenhoven
22 FW   NED Killian van Mil
24 GK   NED Thomas van den Akker
29 MF   NED Youri Koelewijn
43 DF   NED Tobias Kleijweg

Derby IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg

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IJsselmeervogels and SV Spakenburg have been playing at the same level since it was founded. Over the years there an atmosphere had emerged around the derby matches which is unique in amateur football. The club of "the people and the fishermen" (IJsselmeervogels, also known as "The Reds") against the "farmers and clerks" (SV spakenburg, "the Blues"). Their rivalry reached boiling point in 1987, when during the second but last match a bomb made by a supporter of IJsselmeervogels exploded and a linesman was wounded. In the years that followed, until the mid-1990s, the clubs were separated. In 1999, however, the relationship between the two clubs cooled considerably when Spakenburg offered a much money to sign two star players from the "red championship team" (Gérard van der Nooij and Pascal de Bruijn) and have them play for "the Blues". The affair becomes so big that local government banned the derby for a few year. Since 2002 the peace has returned and IJsselmeervogels and Spakenburg are playing against each other again.[17]

It is estimated that the edition of 16 April 2011 was visited by almost 9,000 people. In the stands there are many crowd chants and there is always a great atmosphere. The media spend much time on the derby, which is covered in sports magazines like Voetbal International and Dutch National broadcaster NOS.

Results of the derby since 1970 (introduction First Class)

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Season Date First Match Date Second Match
1972/73 2 September 1972 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 2–1 2 December 1972 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–1
1982/83 8 January 1983 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–1 4 April 1983 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 1–1
1985/86 16 November 1985 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–1 17 May 1986 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–2
1986/87 1 November 1986 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 0–0 9 May 1987 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 1–0
1989/90 9 September 1989 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 0–0 24 February 1990 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 2–4
1992/93 12 December 1992 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–0 20 March 1993 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–1
1993/94 25 September 1993 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 1–0 19 March 1994 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 3–1
1994/95 5 November 1994 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 0–0 22 April 1995 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 1–1
2002/03 28 September 2002 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–2 12 April 2003 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 3–0
2003/04 Oktober 25, 2003 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 0–2 13 March 2004 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 4–1
2004/05 Oktober 23, 2004 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–3 12 March 2005 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–0
2005/06 5 November 2005 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 0–2 1 April 2006 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 0–0
2006/07 11 November 2006 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 1–2 21 April 2007 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 2–1
2007/08 17 November 2007 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–5 26 April 2008 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 7–1
2008/09 13 December 2008 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 1–3 9 May 2009 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–1
2009/10 7 November 2009 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 0–2 10 April 2010 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–3
2010/11 6 November 2010 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–3 16 April 2011 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 3–2
2011/12 8 October 2011 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 2–2 24 March 2012 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–1
2012/13 22 September 2012 Spakenburg – IJsselmeervogels 2–1 9 March 2013 IJsselmeervogels – Spakenburg 1–0

References

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  1. ^ "Spakenburg zet de toon voor amateurclubs: "Dit gaat vaker gebeuren"". VoetbalPrimeur.nl (in Dutch). 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  2. ^ "SV Spakenburg gekroond tot Koning van de Amateurs". TOTO KNVB Beker (in Dutch). 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b Barneveld, Jeroen van (4 April 2023). "Vis, brood en voetbal: welkom in het dorp van bekersensatie Spakenburg". NU.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Historie". SV Spakenburg (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  5. ^ Bouma, Kaya (1 January 2021). "Waarom is juist Bunschoten-Spakenburg zo'n coronahaard? 'Wat er gebeurt, gebeurt er. We gaan uiteindelijk allemaal het graf in'". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Waarom speelt amateurclub en bekersensatie Spakenburg geen voetbal op zondag?". VoetbalNieuws.nl (in Dutch). 3 April 2023. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Statuten". SV Spakenburg (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Megastunt Spakenburg: amateurclub halvefinalist KNVB-beker na winst bij Utrecht". NOS (in Dutch). 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Spakenburg deelt Groningen nieuwe dreun uit met megastunt". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ "PSV beëindigt bekersprookje amateurs Spakenburg en gaat naar finale KNVB-beker". NOS (in Dutch). 4 April 2023. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Spakenburg kampioen na nederlaag De Treffers". RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). 11 May 2024. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Op Spakenburg staat dit seizoen geen maat". De Bunschoter (in Dutch). 25 May 2024. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  13. ^ Leeuwen, Thera van (9 March 2024). "Ongeslagen reeks Spakenburg ten einde". EEMLAND1 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Koploper Spakenburg geeft Noordwijk een enorm pak slaag (8-0)". Bollenstreek Omroep (in Dutch). 6 April 2024. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  15. ^ "De Namen & Rugnummers topscorer: El Azzouti zegeviert met 25 treffers". RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). 27 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  16. ^ Ineveld, Harold van (10 May 2024). "Eervolle vermelding Sander Middelbeek, Chris de Graaf wint VVON Award". Het Amsterdamsche Voetbal (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  17. ^ Klippus, Stofkooper, Hans, Lex (2008). De derby, de waarheid achter de Spakenburgse rood-blauwe twisten (in Dutch). Tirion Sport, Baarn. ISBN 9789043910583.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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