Willem_II_Tilburg

Willem II Tilburg

Willem II

Full name Willem II

Nickname(s) Red White Blue Army
King's Army
Tricolores

Founded August 12, 1896

Ground Willem II Stadion
Tilburg
(Capacity: 14,637)

Chairman Hans Verbunt

Manager Andries Jonker

League Eredivisie

2007/2008 Eredivisie, 15th

Home colours

Away colours

Willem II is a Dutch football club playing in Tilburg. The club was founded as Tilburgia on August 12, 1896. On January 12, 1898, the club was renamed Willem II, after Dutch king Willem II (1840-1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830.

The club has had many famous players, such as Jaap Stam. The club jersey consists of red-white-blue vertical stripes, inspired by the colours of the flag of the Netherlands. Willem II plays its home matches in the Willem II Stadion. The stadium, opened on May 31, 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004/05 was 12,500 people.

Willem II has won three national titles (1916, 1952 and 1955) and two national cups (1944 and 1963). In 1987, 1990 and 1999, Willem II were voted Dutch Club of the Year. In 1999, a second place in the league guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth. In the first group stage (Group G), Willem II were eliminated. They scored 2 points in 6 matches. In 1963, Willem II lost to Manchester United (7-2 on aggregate) in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1998-99, Willem II competed in the UEFA Cup. After beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6-0 on aggregate in the first round, Willem II lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4-1 on aggregate. After reaching the Dutch cup final in 2004 (4-0 loss against PSV Eindhoven), Willem II qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round (5-1 on aggregate).

1 Honours
2 Current squad
- 2.1 Players out on loan
- 2.2 Reserve squad
3 Notable former players
4 Former managers
5 See also
6 External links

Honours

Eredivisie
- Winners (3): 1916, 1952, 1955
Eerste Divisie
- Winners (2): 1957, 1965
KNVB Cup
- Winners (2): 1944, 1963

Current squad

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Maikel Aerts (captain)
2	DF	Jens Janse
3	DF	Danny Schenkel
4	DF	Arjan Swinkels
5	DF	Léo Veloso
6	MF	Danny Mathijssen
7	MF	Boy Deul
8	MF	Christophe Grégoire
9	FW	Frank Demouge
10	MF	Saïd Boutahar
11	FW	George Mourad
12	MF	Mehmet Akgün

No.	Position	Player
14	MF	Mohamed Messoudi
15	DF	Rens van Eijden (on loan from PSV)
16	GK	Oscar Moens
17	FW	Sergio Zijler
18	MF	Paul Quasten
19	FW	Ibad Muhamadu
20	MF	Niels Vorthoren
21	DF	Daan van Dinter
22	DF	Ibrahim Kargbo
23	MF	Steef Nieuwendaal
24	DF	Angelo Martha
26	GK	Bruno Appels

Players out on loan

No.		Position	Player
		DF	José Valencia (on loan to FC Eindhoven)

Reserve squad

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Jeroen van Binsbergen
		GK	Ariën Pietersma
		DF	Bart Biemans
		DF	Josimar Lima
		DF	Marlon Pereira
		DF	Danny van der Ree
		MF	Thijs van den Berg
		MF	Faysal Bouchkachkhe
		MF	Marc Corman
		MF	Lars Lambooij

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Michael de Leeuw
		MF	Junior Livramento
		MF	Wojciech Luczak
		FW	Jelle van Kruijssen
		FW	Ronnie Reniers
		FW	Sidney Schmeltz
		FW	Ratko Vansimpsen
		FW	Thomas Verhaar
		FW	Bram Weyten

Notable former players

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