Excelsior Rotterdam, commonly known as Excelsior, is a Dutch professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands. They play 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 ...

, the top 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 ...

from the 2022–23 season following promotion. The club was founded on 23 July 1902 and was formerly known as "Rotterdamse Voetbal en Atletiek Vereniging Excelsior" (Rotterdam Football and Athletics Club Excelsior). Excelsior's home stadium is the Stadion Woudestein – for sponsorship reasons known as the

Van Donge & De Roo Stadion The Stadion Woudestein (; known as the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion for sponsorship reasons), is a multi-use stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is currently used mainly for football matches and is the home stadium of Excelsior, as well as for ...

– which has a capacity of about 4,500, one of the smallest stadiums hosting professional football in the Netherlands.

History

Early history

Excelsior were officially formed on 23 July 1902 as ''Rotterdamse Voetbal en Atletiek Vereniging Excelsior'' ( en, Rotterdam Football and Athletics Club Excelsior). However, the initial founders of the club, a group of close friends located in the Kralingen district of

, were already playing their football matches together on the fields of the eighteenth century

buitenplaats A buitenplaats (literally "outside place") was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy. Many of them boug ...

Woudesteyn. After the actual establishment of the club, the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

officially gave permission to use the land. As football was still an elite sport at the beginning of the 20th century, Excelsior became one of the first working class clubs in the Netherlands.

First successes

In the season 1945–46, Excelsior gained their first success by promoting to the Eerste Klasse, the highest tier of Dutch football before professional football was introduced in 1954. The deciding match against VUC was played in

De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

and attracted 52.000 spectators. Excelsior relegated in the next season, but managed to promote for the second time in the season 1951–52. After the introduction of professional football, Excelsior won 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 the ...

championship three times (1974, 1979 and 2006) and promoted to the

various times, usually to relegate not long afterwards. Excelsior once reached the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

final in the season 1929–30, but lost the match to fellow Rotterdam club

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

(0–1). Excelsior's biggest pre-war achievement was the win of the Zilveren Bal trophy. Excelsior beat Feyenoord (5–0) in the finals of the highly rated pre-season tournament.

Founding father of Dutch professional football

In the mid-fifties, Excelsior were the leading club behind the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands. When the

KNVB The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch Netherlands nati ...

continued to refuse payments in football, Excelsior chairman

Henk Zon Henk is a Dutch male given name, originally a short form of Hendrik. It influenced "Hank" which is used in English-speaking countries (mainly in the US) as a form of "Henry". People named "Henk" include: Academics *Henk Aertsen (born 1943), Dutc ...

and board member

Aad Libregts AAD may refer to: Organizations * ''Ad Altare Dei'', a Boy Scouts of America award * Advanced Automotive Design, a South African car manufacturer * Ardent Leisure, an Australian-based leisure company * AAD Education, Health and Sports (for ...

managed to persuade association president

Hans Hopster Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

, in cooperation with the directors of Feyenoord, Sparta and ADO Den Haag. In August 1954 the KNVB accepted the proposal and professional football was introduced in the Netherlands. Elftal Excelsior (22 september 1963)

Pioneers

Being the smallest professional club in Rotterdam, Excelsior always had to be creative to survive. This creativity made Excelsior play a pioneering role within Dutch football. In 1958 Excelsior became the first Dutch club with covered stands. Later, in 1974, Excelsior also were the first Dutch club with shirt advertising. Against the then existing rules, the club put an 'A' on the shirt. The character was supposed to stand for 'Team A', but in reality it stood for

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

, the company of main investor Rob Albers. The KNVB decided to ban the 'A' from the shirt and it would take until 1982 for shirt advertising to be introduced. Akai would adorn the shirts of Excelsior until the season 1999–00.

Millennium

In 2002, the year in which the club was officially 100 years old, Excelsior returned to the

. They did this after spending more than 20 years in the second tier of Dutch football. They were relegated after one season. In the 2005/2006 season Excelsior became champions of the

and were promoted back to the Eredivisie once again. Between 1997 and 2005 Excelsior had a partnership with Rotterdam rivals

. Excelsior became Feyenoord's satellite club. As such, Feyenoord gave Excelsior money and players (either on loan or free transfer). A majority of the Excelsior fans have always been against a partnership with Feyenoord. Michel van der Neut, chairman of Excelsior's supporters club, claimed: "Excelsior sold her soul with the extended partnership. Excelsior simply stops existing this way."

Recent history

In 2010 Excelsior returned to the highest tier of

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 ...

football, after defeating crosstown rival Sparta Rotterdam in the final of the

promotion/relegation play-offs. The team was mostly composed by Feyenoord loanees and was coached by former Feyenoord youth coach

Alex Pastoor Alexander Pastoor (; born 26 October 1966) is a Dutch football manager and former player, who is currently manager of Almere City. Playing career A former midfielder, Pastoor spent most of his career at FC Volendam, playing with the North-Hollan ...

. In the 2010–11 season Excelsior made a flying start in the Eredivisie, gaining ten points in its first five matches, including a home victory in the

Rotterdam derby The term Rotterdam derby refers to the local derbies in Rotterdam played between two of the three professional football clubs Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam or Excelsior. It specifically refers to individual matches between the clubs, but can also ...

against Feyenoord (3–2). In the remainder of the season, Excelsior upset some of the larger league teams at home, winning against AZ and getting draws against Groningen and eventual league champions Ajax. In the final match of the regular season, Excelsior got a 4–1 win away at Vitesse Arnhem, a result that left them one goal short of staying up. Finishing 16th, Excelsior had to face FC Den Bosch and Helmond Sport in the relegation / promotion play-offs. A 4–2 home win against Helmond sport ensured another season of Eredivisie football for Excelsior. Excelsior finished bottom of the table in the

at the end of the 2011–12 season, managing only four wins in 34 matches. The club was again relegated to the

and has had ups and downs since. In the 2022–23 season Excelsior will be playing in the Eredivisie after being relegated in 2019. ImageSize = width:800 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2022 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1990 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1) PlotData= bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:19 from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2002 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "

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Stadium

Excelsior's home venue is

Stadion Woudestein The Stadion Woudestein (; known as the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion for sponsorship reasons), is a multi-use stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is currently used mainly for football matches and is the home stadium of Excelsior, as well as for ...

, which has a capacity of 4,500 seats, one of the smallest stadiums hosting professional football in the Netherlands. The club had two short spells at different locations. For the season 1907–08 Excelsior played on the

Afrikaanderplein Afrikaanderplein was a football ground in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was the first home of the professional football club Feyenoord – then known as Wilhelmina (1908–09), HFC (1909), Celeritas (1909–12) and eventually Feijenoord – from ...

. After returning to Woudestein, Excelsior moved to the Toepad terrain for seasons 1922–39. When the Dutch government decided to build marine barracks on the Toepad area right before the start of the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Excelsior moved back to the familiar Woudestein. In the early nineties Excelsior went through a difficult period. The club barely survived a financial crisis, but a newly appointed board under the chairmanship of

Martin de Jager Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

had one important goal; a new Excelsior stadium. Various plans were made, one of them being a joint stadium for Excelsior and

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, but eventually none of the plans were implemented. Due to financial pressure, Excelsior decided to take the plunge and started renovating Woudestein themselves. The club built two new stands themselves and with the help of the

the main stand got renovated as well, including business seats and office space. On 31 July 2000, the new stadium was opened with a friendly match against

. When Excelsior promoted to the

after the season 2009–10, the club decided to replace the grass surface with

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

. Main reason for the change was the lack of financial resources to install

under-soil heating Under-soil heating is a method used in various sports stadia (with a grass surface) which heats the underside of the pitch to avoid any elements from bad weather, such as snow and ice, from building up and ultimately helps the club avoid having to ...

, which is mandatory for clubs participating on the highest level of Dutch football.

Supporters and rivalries

Paper recycling club

Excelsior is known as the Oud papier-club (aper recycling club), because former chairman Henk Zon often used to collect old paper in order to secure the financial position of the club.

Mascot

Since 2008 'Woutje Stein' is the official Excelsior mascot. He is named after the Woudestein-stadium.

Rivalries

Rotterdam is the city with the most professional teams in the Netherlands. Besides Excelsior there are

and Sparta Rotterdam.

Rivalry against Feyenoord

Ever since the clubs used to work together Excelsior players and supporters have grown a more serious rivalry against Feyenoord. The majority of Excelsior supporters never wanted a cooperation with Feyenoord in the first place. On 22 May 2009, Excelsior supporters hosted a funeral as they felt like their club's identity had died due to the partnership with Feyenoord. In 2017 Excelsior won against Feyenoord (3–0), resulting in the latter not winning the Eredivisie title on that day. This resulted in riots.

Rivalry against Sparta

Excelsior is from the Kralingen-neighbourhood and Sparta Rotterdam is from the

Spangen Spangen is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is in the west of the city with about 10000 inhabitants. From the entrance of Spangen to the center is formed by the Mathenesserbrug across the Delfshavense Schie. The design of the area is ...

-neighbourhood. Both clubs are not always playing in the

, hence they play matches against each other in both the Eredivisie and the

. The Feyenoord partnership Excelsior had in the past has resulted in more hatred from Sparta Rotterdam supporters. One of the more spectacular matches between Excelsior and Sparta was the 2010 derby. Excelsior managed to gain promotion to the Eredivisie by winning against Sparta in the 94th minute of the match.

Honours

League

:''Winners (3):'' 1973–74, 1978–79, 2005–06 :''Promotion (4):'' 1969–70, 1981–82, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2021–22 *

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 ...

:''Promotion (1):'' 1968–69

Domestic results

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

in 1956.

Current squad

Out on loan

Player of the year

The Excelsior 'Player of the Year' award is voted for by the club's supporters, in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. The annual election is organized by the supporters club ''Pro Excelsior'' since 1996.

Managers

Current staff

Former managers

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 Excelsior. *

Brett Holman Brett Trevor Holman (born 27 March 1984) is a former Australian professional footballer who last played for Brisbane Roar in the A-League as an attacking midfielder. Born in Sydney, Holman played youth football for Northern Spirit before maki ...

Thomas Buffel Thomas Buffel (, born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He represented the Belgium national team at international level. Club career Early career Buffel began hi ...

Gill Swerts Gill Toby Todor Swerts (born 23 September 1982) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Career Swerts was born in Brasschaat, Belgium and made his debut in professional football as part of the Excelsior squad in ...

Michel Bastos Michel Fernandes Bastos (born 2 August 1983) is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who mainly played as a left winger. Bastos started his career at hometown club Pelotas before moving to the Netherlands, where he played for Feyenoord ...

* Sebastián Pardo *

Patrick Mtiliga Patrick Jan Mtiliga (; born 28 January 1981) is a Danish retired professional footballer and currently the Assistant Academy Director of FC Nordsjælland. He played as a defender, most frequently used as a left-back. He played six games for the ...

Marc Nygaard Marc Stephen Griffith Nygaard (born 1 September 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Nygaard started his professional career in SC Heerenveen in 1995. He stayed with Heerenveen until 1997. He was ...

Jordan Botaka Jordan Rolly Botaka (born 24 June 1993) is a Congolese professional footballer. He represents DR Congo at international level. He formerly played for Club Brugge, Belenenses (on loan), Excelsior, Sint-Truiden, Gent, Charleroi and Fortuna Sit ...

Christian Gyan Christian Atta Gyan (2 November 1978 – 29 December 2021) was a Ghanaian professional footballer who played as a defender. He was known primarily for his time at Feyenoord where he won the 1998–99 Eredivisie and the 2001–02 UEFA Cup. Cl ...

David Connolly David James Connolly (born 6 June 1977) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs including Feyenoord and Excelsior in the Netherlands as well as Wigan Athletic and Sunderland in the Premier Le ...

Salomon Kalou Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou (born 5 August 1985) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward and winger for Djiboutian club Arta/Solar7. He previously played for Feyenoord from 2003 to 2006 and Chelsea from 2006 to 2012. ...

Mounir El Hamdaoui Mounir El Hamdaoui ( ar, منير الحمداوي; born 14 July 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in the Netherlands, he represented Morocco internationally. He played for clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, ...

Mario Been Marinus Antonius Been (born 11 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player. As a footballer, Been played for Feyenoord, Pisa, Roda JC, Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck and Excelsior. He played in an attacking mid ...

George Boateng George Antwi Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is Assistant Coach of the Ghana national team. Born in Ghana, raised in Holland and he represented the Netherlands interna ...

Winston Bogarde Winston Lloyd Bogarde (born 22 October 1970) is a Dutch retired professional footballer, and was the assistant coach at Ajax. He was known for his physical strength, and played mostly as a central defender although he could occasionally play as ...

Royston Drenthe Royston Ricky Drenthe (born 8 April 1987) is a Dutch footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Murcia. Although primarily a left winger, he has also played as a left-back. Drenthe started his professional career with Eredivisie side Feyenoord i ...

(youth) *

Tim Vincken Tim Joost Christiaan Vincken (born 12 September 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger for Feyenoord, Excelsior, De Graafschap, Atlético Baleares, and VV Capelle. Vincken currently works as a youth coach for h ...

Ferry de Haan Ferry de Haan (born 12 September 1972) is a Dutch former professional footballer who has been the general manager of Excelsior Rotterdam since 2012. Club career De Haan was born in Capelle aan den IJssel. He played club football for Excelsior ...

Oscar Moens Oscar Moens (born 1 April 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After his retirement, he has held positions in the coaching staff of Sparta Rotterdam and Feyenoord. Club career Early career A youth pro ...

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball co ...

(youth) *

Graeme Rutjes Graeme Wayne Rutjes (born 26 March 1960 in Sydney, Australia) is a former Australian-born Dutch footballer, who played as a defender for Excelsior Rotterdam (1980–85), Y.R. K.V. Mechelen (1985–90) and R.S.C. Anderlecht (1990–96). Rutjes ...

* Andwelé Slory *

Gaston Taument Gaston Taument (born 1 October 1970) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right winger but also as a second striker. He played the vast majority of his 14-year professional career with Feyenoord, amassing Eredivisie t ...

Luigi Bruins Luigi Bruins (born 9 March 1987) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for VV Smitshoek. After being declined by Feyenoord at the age of six, the Rotterdam ...

Kamohelo Mokotjo Kamohelo Mokotjo (born 11 March 1991) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Sekhukhune United. After beginning his career in his native South Africa, he came to prominence in the Netherlands with ...

Ahmad Mendes Moreira Ahmad Mendes Moreira (born 27 June 1995) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club PAS Giannina. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Guinea national team. Club career On 4 April 2018, Mendes ...

Nol van der Vin Arnold Wouter van der Vin is an Indonesian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Semarang and nicknamed Nol, he made several appearances for the Indonesia national team. Career Van der Vin was the second player after Mo Heng ...

References

External links

Official website

Excelsior Fans

Excelsior Fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Excelsior Football clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in Rotterdam

Excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...

1902 establishments in the Netherlands