VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from

Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Low Saxon: ) is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek. The municipality had a population of in ...

, Netherlands, playing in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as t ...

, the second tier of

Dutch football Football is the most popular sport in the Netherlands. Football was introduced to the Netherlands by Pim Mulier in the 19th century when in 1879, at the age of 14, he founded Haarlemsche Football Club. Over the next 30 years, football gained ...

. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. The stadium was opened on 12 August 2000 and stands on the site of the club's old pitch. The club name is

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for "The County". They are nicknamed ''Superboeren'' ("Super Farmers"). While not a large club by European club football standards, the club has remained a semi-permanent fixture in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

(top league); although to date it has never won any silverware of importance. It also has a large stadium and a large fan base when compared to many other Dutch teams, particularly those in the

. They had a fierce rivalry with Vitesse Arnhem, but during the years due several circumstances Go Ahead Eagles began to be a rival as well. The club's colors are blue and white hooped shirts with white shorts and blue socks. The club's major sponsors are Pincvision and . De Graafschap's home base, De Vijverberg has been voted as the most atmospheric stadium in the

for the 2018–19 campaign.

History

De Graafschap had their longest streak in the Dutch top tier from 1995 until 2003. In the 1995–96 season De Graafschap finished in 8th place, an all-time high. After this season results went down and in 2003 the club was relegated after finishing in last place (18th). Since 2003, De Graafschap was relegated four times and gained promotion five times. They were crowned champions of the Eerste Divisie in 2007 and 2010, and won the promotion playoffs in 2004 and 2015. De Graafschap never finished last in the Eredivisie since 2003 but lost relegation playoffs after finishing in 17th place in 2005, 2009 and 2012. In the 2015-16 Eredivisie season De Graafschap were once again relegated through playoffs after finishing 17th but not before drawing 1–1 against

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

on the final day of the season, denying Ajax the championship. In 2018, the club gained promotion again by winning the promotion playoffs, beating

Almere City FC Almere City Football Club is a Dutch professional football club based in Almere, Flevoland. Founded in 2001, plays in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, and hosts home matches at the Yanmar Stadion. The club builds on former c ...

in the playoffs finals. They were relegated in 2019, and the next season ended in further heartbreak on April 24, 2020 as they were denied a possible promotion back to the top flight due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

forcing the Eredivisie to declare their season void with no promotion or relegation. Late in the 2020–21 season, De Graafschap were in control of their promotion hopes, only needing one win in their final two games to secure promotion. However, they were held to a 1-1 draw, followed by a goalless draw versus

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport is a professional association football club based in the city of Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 27 June 1967, as ...

, denying them an automatic promotion spot and forcing them to go through the promotion playoffs. De Graafschap crashed out of the playoffs in the first round after a 3-2 home loss to

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisi ...

, thus meaning that they would remain in the Eerste Divisie.

Honours

** Winner: 1991, 2007, 2010 *

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie ( en, Second Division) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and b ...

** Winner: 1969 * Promoted to

** Promotion: 1973, 1981, 1995, 2004, 2015, 2018 * Promoted to

** Promotion: 1966

Results

Below is a table with De Graafschap's domestic results since the introduction of the

in 1956.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable former players

The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for De Graafschap. *

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* Arnar Viðarsson * Jhon van Beukering *

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* Xhelil Abdulla * Bakary Diakité * Oussama Assaidi *

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Ernie Brandts Ernstus "Ernie" Wilhelmus Johannes Brandts (born 3 February 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former player. Playing career Club Born in Didam, he played for local club De Sprinkhanen before joining De Graafschap at 17. After three seasons ...

John van den Brom Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer and the current manager of Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Istanbulspor. After h ...

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Coaching staff

Former coaches

* Leendert IJssennagger (1954–55) * Heinz Huber (1955) * Jan Poulus (1955–59) * Wim Engel (1959) *

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(1960–62) * Evert Teunissen (1962–67) *

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(1967–71) * Bert van Lingen (1971) * Piet de Visser (1971–74) * Evert Teunissen (1974–76) * Ben Polak ''(interim)'' (1976) *

Hans Dorjee Hans Dorjee (26 July 1941 – 25 July 2002) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Playing career Dorjee came through the youth system of hometown club DHC to make his senior debut for the club aged only 17.Henk Ellens (1977–78) *

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(1978–80) *

Huib Ruijgrok Huib Ruijgrok (born 26 April 1944) is a Dutch former football coach. He coached Molde FK, Fredrikstad FK, De Graafschap, Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging, and HBS Craeyenhout HBS Craeyenhout is a omnisports club based in The Hague that fields te ...

(1980–83) * Sandor Popovics (1983–85) * Henk van Brussel (1985–87) *

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(1987–89) * Ben Zweers (1989) * Simon Kistemaker (1989–93) *

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(1993–94) * Frans Körver (1994–95) * Hans van Doorneveld (1995) *

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(1999) *

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(1999–00) *

''(interim)'' (2000) *

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(2000–01) *

(2001–02) *

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(2002–03) *

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(2004–05) * Andries Ulderink ''(interim)'' (2005) *

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(2005–08) *

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(2008–09) * Darije Kalezić (2009–11) * Andries Ulderink (2011–12) *

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''(interim)'' (2012) *

Pieter Huistra Pieter Egge Huistra (born 18 January 1967) is a Dutch football coach and former winger. Huistra played for the Scottish Premier Division club Rangers from 1990 to 1995. He left there to play for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J. League. In 2001, he ...

(2012–13) * Jan Vreman ''(interim)'' (2013–14) *

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(2014) * Jan Vreman (2014–16) *

Henk de Jong Henk de Jong (born 27 August 1964, in Drachten) is a Dutch football manager, who most recently managed Dutch Eredivisie side SC Cambuur. Managerial career After several years of being manager in amateur football and assistant manager in profe ...

(2017–2019) *

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(2019–now)

References

External links

*
Fansite ''Superboeren''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graafschap Football clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in Doetinchem Association football clubs established in 1954 1954 establishments in the Netherlands