Football Club Dordrecht,or simplyFC Dordrecht(Dutch pronunciation:[ɛfˈseːˈdɔrdrɛxt]) is a professionalDutch association football clubbased inDordrecht,a city in the Western Netherlands, located in theprovinceofSouth Holland.They currently compete in theEerste Divisie,the second tier of the Dutch football league system.

Dordrecht
Full nameFootball Club Dordrecht
Nickname(s)Schapenkoppen(Sheep heads)
Founded16 August 1883;141 years ago(1883-08-16)
GroundStadion Krommedijk
Capacity4,235
ChairmanHans de Zeeuw
Head coachMelvin Boel
LeagueEerste Divisie
2023–24Eerste Divisie, 4th of 20
Websitewww.fcdordrecht.nl
Current season

Originally founded on 16 August 1883 asDordrechtsche Cricket Club(DCC) which later becameDordrechtse Football Club(DFC), it became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands. In 1972, the professional branch separated from the parent club and continued under the name FC Dordrecht, before becoming DS '79 in 1979. On 1 July 1991, the club merged withSV SVVfromSchiedamto becomeSVV/Dordrecht'90,before becomingDordrecht '90the following year. Since 1994, the club has been calledFC Dordrecht.A two timeKNVB Cupwinner, Dordrecht has spent most of its existence as a second-tierEerste Divisieside, with short stints in the top-tierEredivisie.

Since 1948, Dordrecht has played its home games at theStadion Krommedijk(currently known as the Matchoholic Stadion for sponsorship reasons), which saw a major renovation in 1998–99. The stadium has a capacity of 4,235.

History

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Beginnings

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Founded on 16 August 1883 as the cricket clubDCC,the club branched out and added association football club to their club which changed its name toDCFCin 1891, before completely abandoning cricket in 1899 and continuing asDFC.It became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands. The next significant events were in 1972, at which time the professional branch of DFC was renamed FC Dordrecht, and in 1974 when the professionals and amateurs severed their ties.[1]

1979–1990: DS '79

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In 1979, under the leadership of chairman and investorNico de Vries,the organisation was professionalised and an attempt was also made to gain more supporters to the fanbase. This included a new name,DS '79(Drechtsteden'79), referring to theDrechtstedenregion.[2]The club colours were also changed, and red-white colour scheme was replaced by a yellow-blue outfit. New players came to the club, includingHuub Smeetswho signed from theLos Angeles Aztecs,Wim BerendsandChris Bossefrom theSpartareserve team, andHarry van den HamandJoop Oostdamfrom the reserves ofFC Utrecht.The team became known as the "local heroes, and popularity grew and increasing interest in the games atStadion Krommedijk.In January 1981, the most famous player in club history,Johan Cruyff,made three appearances for DS '79. These came atStamford BridgeagainstChelsea(4–2), at home againstAjax(2–1) and in Belgium againstCharleroi(1–7).[2]

In 1983, the team won the second-tierEerste Divisieand as a result, DS '79 won promotion to theEredivisie.The following season, DS'79 was led by the coaching duoHans DorjeeandJoop van Daele,and suffered direct relegation to the Eerste Divisie.

At the end of the 1986–87 season, DS '79 won promotion again, this time via play-offs. The yellow-blues were then led bySimon Kistemaker,he neither could prevent the club from Dordrecht from relegating again at the end of the season.

Former playerEpi Drosttook over the position of head coach at the start of the 1989–90 season, but only managed to lead the team to a 19th and last place in the Eerste Divisie. New investor,Cees den Braven,became chairman in the club and changed the name of the club, its third name:Dordrecht '90.[3]The outfit was also changed to a green jersey with white shorts. These were the colours of De Braven Sealants, the chairman's company.Margo Gerritssigned a contract as commercial manager at Dordrecht '90, making her the first female manager in professional football.[4]

1991–2001: Dordrecht '90

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The club just missed promotion to the Eredivisie in 1991. It was finally admitted when Dordrecht '90 surprisingly merged with neighbouringSchiedamse Voetbal Vereniging(SVV) ofSchiedamand becameSVV/Dordrecht '90.Under the new name, the club immediately returned to the highest level.[3]Under the leadership ofDick AdvocaatandHan Berger,the team reached fifteenth place in the league table. That year, the club played its only European matches in theUEFA Intertoto Cup,consisting only of a group stage againstHammarby IFfrom Sweden,AaBfrom Denmark and1. FC Saarbrückenfrom Germany. The following year, Han Berger andNico van Zoghelonly reached last place in the table, meaning that SVV/Dordrecht '90 suffered another relegation.

After relegation, the club abandoned the 'SVV' and continued asDordrecht '90.Van Zoghel remained as head coach and led the club to the Eerste Divisie championship at the end of the 1993–94 season with automatic promotion. Again, the Eredivisie was too big of a mouthful for the Dordrecht team, who again relegated directly. ChairmanCees den Bravenresigned from the position and handed over the leadership of the club to former refereeFrans Derks.Much success was not achieved in the following years, and the club slowly fell to the lower echelons of the Eerste Divisie. A small revival occurred at the end of the 1998–99 season, as Dordrecht '90 qualified for promotion play-offs through a period championship, despite only reaching a 14th place in the table, but did not find success there.[3]

2002–present: FC Dordrecht

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Management changes

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Finally in 2002, the club was renamed once again, to the name it bore from 1972 to 1979: FC Dordrecht, which remains the name today. For a number of years, Dordrecht was one of the clubs with the lowest average attendance of all Dutch professional teams.[5]

When at the end of the 2002–03 season, FC Dordrecht ended bottom of the Eerste Divisie, Derks resigned from his position as chairman andAd Heijsmantook over. Heijsman was previously chairman of DFC, the club from which FC Dordrecht originated. Former playerMarco Boogerswas appointed technical director.[6]After a number of lean years, Dordrecht slowly crept back up from the sporting trough. In 2009 and 2010, head coachGert Kruysled the team to straight promotion play-off appearances.

With Marco Boogers as technical director of the club, a new direction was initiated. Partly due to the disappointing financial results, the budget for players decreased to €5.5 thousand. FC Dordrecht then began a partnership with Eredivisie clubADO Den Haag,who provided players on one-season loan agreements, includingTom Beugelsdijk,Giovanni KorteandSanty Hulst.[7]Boogers also managed to sign talented players from other clubs, includingJoris van Overeem,Marvin PeersmanandJafar Arias.

Eredivisie 2014–15

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On 18 May 2014, Dordrecht won promotion to the Eredivisie for the first time in 19 years, after a 3–1 win overSparta Rotterdamin the second leg of the promotion play-off finals, after the first leg had ended in a 2–2 draw.[8]Shortly afterwards, head coachHarry van den Hamannounces that he would leave the club to joinFC Utrecht's managing staff. In the Eredivisie, Dordrecht won their first match againstSC Heerenveen,but suffered relegation in the last matchday afterGo Ahead Eagleswon the away match againstFeyenoord.[9]Chairman Ad Heijsman stepped down at the end of March 2015, and supermarket manager Cees van der Poel took over.[10]After relegation of 2015, almost all regular starters had left. An almost completely new team was brought in, including talented players from other Dutch clubs such asAlvin Daniels,Jeroen Lumuand Jafar Arias, but experience was also gained in the form ofGeert Arend Roorda.[11]

Eerste Divisie since 2015

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Back in theEerste Divisiefor the 2015–16 season, the club finished in a disappointing 14th place. The following season, a whole new squad was put together after the departure of many players. Halfway through the season, it became clear that it could be an even more disappointing year than the last. Dordrecht was at the bottom of the league and faced the risk of relegation to the third-tierTweede Divisie,as this was possible in the2016–17 seasonunlike before. Just before the end of the season, there was a matchup between the bottom two clubs inAchilles '29and Dordrecht, which ended in a 2–2 draw, leaving the latter in 19th place and safe from relegation. Achilles '29 were later deducted points were for their financial problems, so that Dordrecht was finally safe and could continue their professional football operations.[12]

A large number of players were signed again ahead of the2017–18 season,and it soon became apparent that Dordrecht would bounce back from a disappointing previous season. The club did not play well in the first half of the season, but after the winter break, the team accomplished a strong winning streak. This ensured that Dordrecht becameperiod championon 12 March 2018 after a 1–0 win overRKC Waalwijk.Thereby, the club qualified for the promotion play-offs for the Eredivisie.[13]In the play-offs. Dordrecht facedSC Cambuurin the first round. In the home game, they lost 1–4 loss, but in the return, Dordrecht put down a strong performance and ended up winning 1–4 inLeeuwardento eventually advance after the penalty shootout.[14]Sparta Rotterdamawaited in the semi-finals of the play-offs. The first game at home was lost 1–2, and in the return match atHet Kasteel,Dordrecht were up 0–2 in the first half; enough to reach the final, but lost their lead in the second half as the match ended 2–2. This ended their promotion run and Dordrecht remained in the second tier.[15]

The club introduced a new policy of signing players on longer contracts ahead of the 2018–19 season, which meant that other clubs would have to put down larger transfer fees to convince Dordrecht to sell.[16]However, like the previous season, Dordrecht started the competition poorly and were in last place in mid-November. As a result, head coachGérard de Nooijerwas fired.[17]After assistantScott Calderwoodtook over as caretaker until the winter break, and subsequently left the club,Cláudio Bragawas appointed the new head coach.[18]Dordrecht also entered into partnerships withFeyenoordand English clubNorwich City.[19]In the winter break, the squad received a quality boost with the arrival ofJoël Zwarts,Crysencio SummervilleandJari Schuurman,among others. The latter even signed a three-year permanent contract with theSchapekoppen.Under the new coach and with a squad strengthened by new loanees, Dordrecht performed better in the second half of the season, among others beating eventual championsFC Twente.[20]Dordrecht finished the competition in seventeenth place and started the following season with a number of new loanees on the books.

Honours

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League

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Results

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Eerste DivisieEredivisie

Domestic results

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Historical chart of league performance

Below is a table with FC Dordrecht's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.

Club officials

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Position Staff
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Hans de Zeeuw
Technical director Leon Vlemmings
Head coach Melvin Boel
Assistant coach Rick Adjei
Goalkeeper coach Rody Hoegee
Video analyst Kenny Basteleus
Youth chief scout Han Schipperen
Caregiver & Condition/Recovery Trainer Michael Koedam
Exercise Physiologist Ajey Raghosing
Physiotherapist Patricia Maasland
Paul Amakodo
Bart Kant
Masseur Jan van Zadelhoff
Team Manager Soufiane Haddad

Current squad

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As of 4 February 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules;some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF ITA Lorenzo Codutti
3 DF NED Sem Valk
4 DF TOG Augustin Drakpe
5 DF USA John Hilton
6 MF NED Daniel van Vianen
7 FW NED Vieiri Kotzebue(on loan fromDen Bosch)
8 MF ITA Gabriele Parlanti(on loan fromFeyenoord)
9 FW NED Devin Haen(on loan fromFeyenoord)
10 MF NED Jari Schuurman
11 MF USA Joshua Pynadath
12 MF NED Kwame Tabiri
13 GK NED Tijn Baltussen
14 DF NED Chiel Olde Keizer
15 DF GAB Yannis M'Bemba
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF SUI Léo Seydoux
17 DF NED Reda Akmum
18 MF NED Ben Scholte
19 FW GER Tom Sanne(on loan fromHamburger SV)
20 MF NED Joep van der Sluijs
22 FW BEL Joseph Amuzu
23 FW NED Marouane Afaker
24 MF BRA Igor
27 FW SWE Jayson Ezeb(on loan fromFeyenoord)
28 FW NED Jaden Slory(on loan fromFeyenoord)
29 FW AUT Rene Kriwak
31 GK LVA Vladislavs Razumejevs
63 GK GNB Celton Biai
MF USA Lawson Sunderland

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules;some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK IRL Liam Bossin(atFeyenoorduntil 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW NED Joey de Bie(atFeyenoordU21 until 30 June 2025)

Players

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National team players

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The following players were called up to represent theirnational teamsininternational footballand receivedcapsduring their tenure with FC Dordrecht:

  • Players in bold actively play for FC Dordrecht and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Dordrecht.

National team players by Confederation

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

Total national team players by confederation
Confederation Total (Nation) Association
AFC 2 Afghanistan(1),Philippines(1)
CAF 8 Cape Verde(6),Mali(1),Nigeria(1)
CONCACAF 7 Curaçao(5),Bonaire(2)
CONMEBOL 0
OFC 1 New Zealand(1)
UEFA 13 Netherlands(12),Estonia(1)

Players in international tournaments

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The following is a list of FC Dordrecht players who have competed in international tournaments, including theFIFA World Cup,Africa Cup of Nations,OFC Nations Cupand theCaribbean Cup.To this date no Dordrecht players have participated in theUEFA European Championship,CONCACAF Gold Cup,AFC Asian Cup,or theCopa Américawhile playing for FC Dordrecht.

Cup Players
1934 FIFA World Cup Kees Mijnders
1938 FIFA World Cup Piet Punt
2000 OFC Nations Cup Raf de Gregorio
2013 Africa Cup of Nations Josimar Lima
2014 Caribbean Cup Rihairo Meulens
2015 Africa Cup of Nations Jeffry Fortes

References

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  1. ^"Scheiding DFC en FC Dordrecht".Het Vrije Volk: Democratisch-Socialistisch Dagblad(in Dutch). No. 30. Rotterdam: De Arbeiderspers. 8 May 1974. p. 11.Retrieved22 October2020.
  2. ^ab"DS'79, de jaren tachtig".FC Dordrecht.Retrieved15 October2020.
  3. ^abc"Dordrecht'90, de jaren negentig"(in Dutch). FC Dordrecht.Retrieved15 October2020.
  4. ^"GROUND // Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion - FC Dordrecht (Netherlands)".Pitch'd. 3 April 2018.Retrieved15 October2020.
  5. ^Historical attendancesArchived9 November 2010 at theWayback Machine
  6. ^Slotboom, Anton (19 August 2015)."Marco Boogers dreigt met opstappen bij FC Dordrecht"(in Dutch). BN DeStem.Retrieved15 October2020.
  7. ^"ADO wil samenwerking met FC Dordrecht verstevigen"(in Dutch).Voetbal International.11 March 2011.Retrieved15 October2020.
  8. ^"FC Dordrecht stunt met promotie naar Eredivisie".Algemeen Dagblad(in Dutch). 18 May 2014.Retrieved15 October2020.Na 19 jaar keert FC Dordrecht terug in de Eredivisie en dat feit leidde vandaag tot groot feest in het knusse stadionnetje aan de Krommedijk. De club met de op één na laagste begroting binnen het betaalde voetbal was in de finale van de play-offs om promotie/degradatie met 3-1 te sterk voor Sparta, nadat het eerste duel in Rotterdam in 2-2 was geëindigd.
  9. ^Bogaert, Glenn (19 April 2015)."Go Ahead Eagles stunt tegen Feyenoord, Dordrecht degradeert".hln.be(in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws.Retrieved15 October2020.De degradatie van FC Dordrecht uit de Nederlandse eredivisie is een feit. Door de verrassende overwinning van concurrent Go Ahead Eagles op het veld van Feyenoord (0-1) kan de ploeg van trainer Jan Everse niet meer ontsnappen van de laatste plaats. Dat betekent dat de 'Schapenkoppen' na één jaar op het hoogste niveau weer terug moeten naar de Jupiler League.
  10. ^De Groot, Ingrid (2 April 2015)."Supermarktmanager aan het roer bij FC Dordrecht".Algemeen Dagblad(in Dutch).Retrieved15 October2020.
  11. ^"Geert Arend Roorda tekent contract bij FC Dordrecht"(in Dutch).Omrop Fryslân.31 July 2015.Retrieved15 October2020.
  12. ^Bomgaars, Arco; Verheij, Jan-Dirk (19 April 2017)."Degradatie is de doodsteek voor de club".Algemeen Dagblad(in Dutch).Retrieved30 November2020.
  13. ^"FC Dordrecht pakt periodetitel en mag dromen van Eredivisie".Voetbal International(in Dutch). 12 March 2018.Retrieved30 November2020.
  14. ^"Dordrecht flikt megastunt en klopt Cambuur".Fox Sports(in Dutch). 5 May 2018.Retrieved30 November2020.
  15. ^"Deze keer geen superstunt van Dordrecht: Sparta leeft nog maar steun is ver te zoeken".De Volkskrant(in Dutch). 13 May 2018.Retrieved30 November2020.
  16. ^"FC Dordrecht presentatiemagazine 2018-19".FC Dordrecht Presentatiemagazine(in Dutch). 2018/19:8–11. 3 October 2018.
  17. ^Bongaars, Arco (20 November 2018)."Gérard de Nooijer over ontslag: 'Dit voelt als een scheiding'".Algemeen Dagblad(in Dutch).Retrieved30 November2020.
  18. ^Bomgaars, Arco (21 December 2018)."Claudio Braga nieuwe trainer FC Dordrecht".Algemeen Dagblad(in Dutch).Retrieved30 November2020.
  19. ^Bomgaars, Arco (30 November 2018)."FC Dordrecht wordt geen filiaal van Norwich City".BN De Stem(in Dutch).Retrieved30 November2020.
  20. ^"Belabberd FC Twente lijdt tegen FC Dordrecht tweede nederlaag op rij".RTV Oost(in Dutch). 5 April 2019.Retrieved30 November2020.

Notes

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  1. ^Brutil HosérepresentedNetherlands Antillesinternationally, prior to the countries dissolution in 2010, with Curaçao considered by both UEFA and FIFA as the only inherit successor to the national team of former Netherlands Antilles.


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