Vitesse

1892-1922

The Vitess team in 1894.

The history of the Vitesse football club began on May 14, 1892 with the creation of the cricket club of the same name ^[4] . The name of the club is taken from the French language and means " speed " . Only a few months later, on September 10, it was decided to create a football team ^[4] . The club played its first friendly game only two years later ^[4] . Since 1894, Vitesse began to take part in the championship of the province of Gelderland , in which football teams from the east of the Netherlands participated ^[4] . In 1895 and 1896, Vitesse won the Gelderland Championship and after that the club was promoted to the first football class in the East.

Five times “Vitesse” became the winner of the first class of the East: in 1898, 1899, 1903, 1913, 1914 and 1915 ^[4] . In the seasons 1897/98 and 1898/99, the team was close to the title of champion of the country, but in the decisive matches Vitesse was inferior to the Amsterdam club RAP . During this period, two well-known players played for the team , Willem Hesselink - the first Vitesse footballer to play for the Netherlands national team , as well as goalkeeper Just Goebel - silver medalist at the Olympic Games . But the club had no major achievements in the championship, the team was the middle peasant championship ^[4] . In 1912, “Vitesse” reached the final of the Netherlands Cup for the first time, but lost to Haarlem 2-0 in it ^[5] .

In the 1913/14 season, Vitesse defeated the eastern group and entered the playoffs of the Netherlands Championship, where the Willem II and HVV teams were competitors for the championship title. In the first game, which took place on May 3, 1914, Vitess beat the HVV club at home with a score of 4: 1 ^[6] . In two subsequent matches, the team won two victories over Willem II, first away ^[7] , and then at home in Arnhem. After three of the four games, Vitessa had 6 points, the team was in the leaderboard before the decisive match with the HVV club from The Hague , which took second place ^[8] .

At the decisive match of the season, which took place on May 31 in The Hague , more than 2 thousand Vitesse fans came to support their team. The HVV defeated the opponent with a score of 2: 1 ^[9] , and due to the difference in goals scored and the goals conceded, the club led the standings and became the champion ^{[10] [11]} , for the club from The Hague it was already the tenth Dutch champion title.

In 1914, the club was headed by the first foreign coach - Englishman John Sutcliffe ^[4] . Before the start of World War I, the Netherlands Football Union decided to make changes to the structure of the national championship. Instead of the usual classes, the teams were divided into two groups - eastern and western, whose winners determined the strongest team in the Netherlands. In the 1914/15 season, Vitesse easily became the winner of its eastern group, and in the west Sparta from Rotterdam became the strongest team ^[12] . After the victory in Arnhem with a score of 2: 1, Vitesse lost to Sparta in Rotterdam 1-4; the winner of the championship was to reveal the third match. The decisive game took place on June 6, 1915 in Amsterdam , Sparta won 3-0 ^[13] , and Vitess again missed the chance to become the champion of the Netherlands. After the 1914/15 season, the game “Vitessa” began to decline, the team fought for survival in the championship for five seasons. After taking fourth place in the season, the club ended up last in the season and went to the second football class in the Netherlands.

1922-1955

After Vitessa left for the second grade, the team had only one season to return back to the first grade ^[4] . Having won in his group, for a ticket to the first class, the team won up over the winner of the other group by the Ritgersbleck club ^{[14] [15]} . In the same season, the team was led for the first time by a Dutch coach, former player of Ajax Amsterdam Jan van Dort , although Bram Evers was temporarily replacing him on the coach bridge during the season, but since the beginning of the season van Dort was again the head coach.

In 1924, Vitesse was led by English coach Bob Jefferson . Under his leadership, the team performed for three seasons, taking 3, 4 and 5 places in the championship. In 1927, the team for the second time in its history reached the finals of the Netherlands Cup, but in the decisive game Vitesses 1–3 lost to the VYUK club.

1954—2009

since 2010

In the Europa League 2012/13, the team started with a victory over the Bulgarian Lokomotiv . However, in the next round, the club lost to the Russian team Anji .

On March 9, 2018, the technical director of the Dutch club, Mark van Hintum, confirmed to De Telegraaf ^[16] that a basic agreement was reached with coach Leonid Slutsky , who will be introduced to the team as soon as he receives permission to work in the Netherlands. Slutsky will start working in Vitesse at the end of the 2017/18 season, he will become the first Russian coach in the Dutch championship ^{[17] [18]} . The owner of the team, a Russian businessman Alexander Chigirinsky , invited Slutsky to the club, and a close partnership between Vitessa and Chelsea was also noted ^[19] . March 12, 2018 Slutsky signed a contract with the club. The agreement will enter into force in the summer and is designed for two years ^[20] .

On May 27, 2018, the club’s press service announced that Slutsky and his assistant Oleg Yarovinsky had successfully obtained permission to work in the Netherlands. The first training session in Vitesse Slutsky held on June 24 ^{[21] [22] [23]} . On August 17, 2018, the team (for the fourth consecutive year) was unable to overcome the qualifying stage of the Europa League , losing to Basel in the 3rd qualifying round (0: 1, 0: 1) ^[24] .

Gelredom Stadium is located in Arnhem . It was built between 1996 and 1998. The construction of the stadium cost 70 million euros. At the time of the football matches, the capacity of the arena is 25,000 spectators. At the time of the concerts, the stadium is able to accommodate 34,000 people.

Gelred was one of the stadiums that hosted the matches of the 2000 European Football Championship , which was jointly held in the Netherlands and Belgium. In addition, the Netherlands sometimes plays their matches at GelreDome.

Gelderland Championship Winner (2)

1894/95, 1895/96.

First Class Winner East of the Netherlands (7)

1896/97, 1898/98, 1902/03, 1912/13, 1913/14, 1914/15, 1952/53.

Second Class East Dutch Winner (7)

1922/23, 1940/41, 1943/44, 1945/46, 1949/50.

Netherlands Cup Winner (1)

2017.

Netherlands Cup Finalist (3)

1912, 1927, 1990.

Netherlands First Division Winner (2)

1976/77, 1988/89

Winner of the Second Division of the Netherlands (2)

1965/66

The Vitessa players playing for the Netherlands national team ^[27] :

• Official Website (nid .)
• Profile on eredivisie.nl (nid.)