# Willem II Tilburg

Willem II Tilburg (Dutch pronunciation:), commonly known simply as Willem II, is a Dutch football club based in Tilburg, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion from the Eerste Divisie in the 2023–24 season. The club was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia. On 12 January 1898, the club was renamed Willem II after Dutch king William II (1792–1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830, spent much time in the city after becoming king, and died there.
Notable former players for the club include Dutch internationals Jan van Roessel, Joris Mathijsen, Jaap Stam, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Overmars, Virgil Van Dijk and Finland's Sami Hyypiä. The club's shirt 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 Koning Willem II Stadion, also named after the King. The stadium, opened on 31 May 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004–05 was 12,500 people.
The club has won the Eredivisie three times, and the Eerste Divisie four times.

## History

Established on 12 August 1896 in Tilburg as Tilburgia, the club first played at the Gemeentelijk Sportpark Tilburg and in 1995 relocated to the Koning Willem II Stadion, the ground where they have played ever since. Willem were champions of the Eredivisie in 1916, 1952 and 1955. The Tricolores also won two KNVB Cups in 1944 and 1963 and were also crowned champs of the Eerste Divisie in 1958, 1965 and 2014.
With regard to European competition, Willem II first appeared in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup of 1963 where they lost to Manchester United in the first round by an aggregate score of 7–2. In 1998–99, Willem once again competed in the Cup Winners' Cup and after beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6–0 in both legs, Willem then lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4–1 on aggregate. A second place in the Eredivisie of 1999 guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth for the first time. At the tournament's group stage, Willem only attained two points in their six group G matches and were thus eliminated. After reaching the KNVB Cup final in 2005 where they lost 4–0 against PSV Eindhoven, Willem II again qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round by 5–1 on aggregate.
At the end of the 2010–11 season, Willem II were relegated from the Eredivisie for the first time in 24 years. In the 2011–12 season under new manager Jurgen Streppel Willem II was promoted back to the Eredivisie, but they went right back down the next season after finishing bottom of the table. The club became champions of the Eerste Divisie in the subsequent season and were thus promoted back to the Eredivisie.
In early 2015, journalists at De Volkskrant revealed that Willem II had its matches fixed by an "Asian gambling syndicate", who had paid Willem's players a total sum of €100,000 to lose matches against Ajax and Feyenoord (in October and December 2009). According to the journalists, midfielder Ibrahim Kargbo was the Asians' main contact within the club; Kargbo denies having accepted their money. The Royal Dutch Football Association called the affair "the most concrete case of match fixing in the Netherlands" and took legal action as well as asking UEFA and FIFA to reevaluate previous matches.
In 2019, Willem II reached the KNVB Cup final for the fourth time in their history. They beat AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out, but were heavily beaten by in the final by Ajax.
The fans of Willem II have close links with the fans of English championship club Bristol City. Willem supporters have been known to travel to Bristol, with Bristol City fans heading the other way to Tilburg. At Bristol City's game on 31 October 2009 against Sheffield Wednesday, some Willem II fans were seen in the 'Eastend' of the Ashton Gate Stadium, and songs were sung about Willem II by City fans. On the 3rd of August 2024, the teams played each other for the first time in a pre-season friendly at Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol.

## Rivalries

Willem II longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their neighbour, NAC Breda. This rivalry originated in the 1920s. Matches between the two are referred to as the derby of Brabant. The two cities of Breda and Tilburg are just 20 kilometres apart, leading to an intense feeling of a cross-town rivalry, heightened by a feeling that it is city against city with local pride at stake.

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 4 February 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FRA | Thomas Didillon-Hödl |
| 4 | DF | NED | Erik Schouten (2nd captain) |
| 5 | DF | ISL | Rúnar Þór Sigurgeirsson |
| 6 | MF | BEL | Boris Lambert |
| 7 | FW | NED | Nick Doodeman |
| 8 | MF | NED | Jesse Bosch |
| 9 | FW | BEL | Kyan Vaesen (on loan from Westerlo) |
| 11 | FW | GER | Emilio Kehrer |
| 14 | MF | BEL | Cisse Sandra (on loan from Club Brugge) |
| 15 | DF | SRB | Miodrag Pivaš (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| 16 | MF | NED | Ringo Meerveld |
| 17 | FW | NED | Patrick Joosten |
| 18 | FW | COD | Jeremy Bokila |
| 19 | FW | BEL | Youssuf Sylla (on loan from Charleroi) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | DF | NED | Valentino Vermeulen |
| 21 | FW | SWE | Amar Fatah (on loan from Troyes) |
| 22 | DF | BEL | Rob Nizet |
| 24 | GK | NED | Connor van den Berg |
| 25 | DF | BEL | Mickaël Tırpan |
| 27 | MF | NED | Dani Mathieu |
| 30 | DF | AUT | Raffael Behounek |
| 33 | DF | NED | Tommy St. Jago |
| 34 | DF | NED | Amine Lachkar |
| 41 | GK | NED | Maarten Schut |
| 48 | DF | NED | Jens Mathijsen |
| 50 | MF | NED | Per van Loon |
| 77 | MF | TUR | Dennis Kaygin (on loan from Rapid Wien) |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | NED | Niels van Berkel (at VVV-Venlo until 30 June 2026) |
| — | MF | NED | Max de Waal (at VVV-Venlo until 30 June 2025) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | NED | Khaled Razak (at Roda JC until 30 June 2025) |

## Notable players
### National team players

The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Willem II:
* Players in bold actively play for Willem II and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Willem II.

### National team players by Confederation

Member associations are listed in order of most to fewest current and former Willem II players represented internationally
Total national team players by confederation :
| Confederation | Total | (Nation) Association |
| AFC | 0 | |
| CAF | 10 | Morocco (3), Guinea (2), Burkina Faso (1), Cape Verde (1), Gambia (1), Ghana (1), Sierra Leone (1) |
| CONCACAF | 7 | Curaçao (5), Suriname (1), United States (1) |
| CONMEBOL | 3 | Ecuador (2), Peru (1) |
| OFC | 2 | New Zealand (2) |
| UEFA | 40 | Netherlands (18), Finland (5), Belgium (3), Armenia (2), Greece (2), Hungary (2), Sweden (2), Czech Republic (1), Israel (1), Kosovo (1), Luxembourg (1), Northern Ireland (1), Slovakia (1) |

## Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of Willem II players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, CONCACAF Gold Cup, Copa América, Africa Cup of Nations, Amílcar Cabral Cup, and the Caribbean Cup. To this date no Willem II players have participated in the AFC Asian Cup, or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Willem II.
| Cup | Players |
| 1994 Africa Cup of Nations | Sékou Soumah Mohamed Sylla |
| 1994 FIFA World Cup | Earnie Stewart |
| 1995 Copa América | Earnie Stewart |
| 1995 Amílcar Cabral Cup | Jatto Ceesay |
| 1998 Africa Cup of Nations | Ousmane Sanou |
| 2000 Africa Cup of Nations | Adil Ramzi Ousmane Sanou |
| UEFA Euro 2000 | Geert De Vlieger |
| 2002 FIFA World Cup | Geert De Vlieger |
| 2014 Caribbean Cup | Charlton Vicento Jason Wall |
| UEFA Euro 2016 | Adam Němec |
| 2017 Caribbean Cup | Darryl Lachman |
| 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup | Darryl Lachman |
| 2019 Copa América | Renato Tapia |

## Domestic results

| 17 ↓ | 1 ↑ | 16 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 15 ↓ | 10 | 1 ↑ | 10 | 18 ↓ | 4 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 3 ↑ | 8 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 17 ↓ | 8 | 4 | 2 ↑ | 4 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 18 ↓ | 5 ↑ | 18 ↓ | 1 ↑ | 9 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 17 ↓ | 4 | 1 ↑ |
| 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Eredivisie* Eerste divisie ↓ relegation ↑ promotion ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Below is a table with Willem II's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.
Domestic results since 1956 :
| Domestic league | League result | Qualification to | KNVB Cup season | Cup result |
| 1956–57 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1956–57 | ? |
| 1957–58 Eerste Divisie | 1st (group A) | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1957–58 | ? |
| 1958–59 Eredivisie | 16th | – | 1958–59 | ? |
| 1959–60 Eredivisie | 8th | – | not held | not held |
| 1960–61 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 1960–61 | ? |
| 1961–62 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1961–62 | ? |
| 1962–63 Eredivisie | 15th | Cup Winners' Cup Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1962–63 | winners |
| 1963–64 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 1963–64 | second round |
| 1964–65 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1964–65 | first round |
| 1965–66 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 1965–66 | group stage |
| 1966–67 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1966–67 | first round |
| 1967–68 Eerste Divisie | 4th | – | 1967–68 | round of 16 |
| 1968–69 Eerste Divisie | 14th | – | 1968–69 | first round |
| 1969–70 Eerste Divisie | 6th | – | 1969–70 | second round |
| 1970–71 Eerste Divisie | 14th | – | 1970–71 | second round |
| 1971–72 Eerste Divisie | 15th | – | 1971–72 | first round |
| 1972–73 Eerste Divisie | 14th | – | 1972–73 | second round |
| 1973–74 Eerste Divisie | 18th | – | 1973–74 | round of 16 |
| 1974–75 Eerste Divisie | 14th | – | 1974–75 | first round |
| 1975–76 Eerste Divisie | 9th | – | 1975–76 | first round |
| 1976–77 Eerste Divisie | 11th | – | 1976–77 | round of 16 |
| 1977–78 Eerste Divisie | 7th | – | 1977–78 | first round |
| 1978–79 Eerste Divisie | 3rd | Eredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs) | 1978–79 | second round |
| 1979–80 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1979–80 | second round |
| 1980–81 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 1980–81 | quarter-final |
| 1981–82 Eredivisie | 14th | – | 1981–82 | second round |
| 1982–83 Eredivisie | 14th | – | 1982–83 | second round |
| 1983–84 Eredivisie | 17th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1983–84 | first round |
| 1984–85 Eerste Divisie | 8th | – | 1984–85 | first round |
| 1985–86 Eerste Divisie | 5th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 1985–86 | first round |
| 1986–87 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1986–87 | first round |
| 1987–88 Eredivisie | 4th | – (losing UC play-offs) | 1987–88 | quarter-final |
| 1988–89 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 1988–89 | semi-final |
| 1989–90 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 1989–90 | semi-final |
| 1990–91 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 1990–91 | quarter-final |
| 1991–92 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 1991–92 | third round |
| 1992–93 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 1992–93 | third round |
| 1993–94 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1993–94 | round of 16 |
| 1994–95 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 1994–95 | round of 16 |
| 1995–96 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 1995–96 | second round |
| 1996–97 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 1996–97 | semi-final |
| 1997–98 Eredivisie | 5th | UEFA Cup | 1997–98 | round of 16 |
| 1998–99 Eredivisie | 2nd | Champions League | 1998–99 | second round |
| 1999–2000 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 1999–2000 | quarter-final |
| 2000–01 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 2000–01 | second round |
| 2001–02 Eredivisie | 11th | Intertoto Cup (R2) | 2001–02 | second round |
| 2002–03 Eredivisie | 11th | Intertoto Cup (R2) | 2002–03 | third round |
| 2003–04 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 2003–04 | round of 16 |
| 2004–05 Eredivisie | 10th | UEFA Cup | 2004–05 | final |
| 2005–06 Eredivisie | 17th | – (surviving promotion/relegation play-offs) | 2005–06 | round of 16 |
| 2006–07 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 2006–07 | quarter-final |
| 2007–08 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 2007–08 | second round |
| 2008–09 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 2008–09 | third round |
| 2009–10 Eredivisie | 17th | – (surviving promotion/relegation play-offs) | 2009–10 | second round |
| 2010–11 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 2010–11 | third round |
| 2011–12 Eerste Divisie | 5th | Eredivisie (winning promotion/relegation play-offs) | 2011–12 | second round |
| 2012–13 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 2012–13 | second round |
| 2013–14 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 2013–14 | second round |
| 2014–15 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 2014–15 | second round |
| 2015–16 Eredivisie | 16th | – (surviving promotion/relegation play-offs) | 2015–16 | round of 16 |
| 2016–17 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 2016–17 | first round |
| 2017–18 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 2017–18 | semi-final |
| 2018–19 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 2018–19 | final |
| 2019–20 Eredivisie | 5th | Europa League (Q2) | 2019–20 | round of 16 |
| 2020–21 Eredivisie | 14th | – | 2020–21 | second round |
| 2021–22 Eredivisie | 17th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 2021–22 | first round |
| 2022–23 Eerste Divisie | 4th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2022–23 | first round |
| 2023–24 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 2023–24 | second round |

## Club officials

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Peter Maes |
| Assistant coach | Peter van den Berg |
| Goalkeeper coach | Peter den Otter |
| Data and Video analyst | Rick Mennes |
| Chief scout | Steven Aptroot |
| Club doctor | Jan de Waal Malefijt Pieter Vioen |
| Physiotherapist | Gijs van der Bom |
| Manual therapist | Jasper de Langen |
| Team official | Henry van Amelsfort |
| Manager | Jos de Kruif |
| Team Manager | Jos van Nieuwstadt |
| Kit Manager | Paul Coehorst Guus Bierings |
| Performance manager | Nils Thörner |
| Technical director | Tom Caluwe |
| General director | Martin van Geel |

## Coaches

| Year | Coach |
| 1949–1956 | František Fadrhonc |
| 1956–1962 | Heinrich "Wudi" Müller |
| 1963–1966, 1967–1971 | Jaap van der Leck |
| 1971–1972 | Henk Wullems |
| July 1980–June 1982 | Bert Jacobs |
| 1982 | George Knobel |
| 1982–1984 | Jan Brouwer |
| 1984–1985 | Jan Notermans |
| July 1985–June 1990 | Piet de Visser |
| 1990–91 | Adrie Koster |
| July 1991–Oct 1991 | Piet de Visser |
| Oct 1991–March 1995 | Jan Reker |
| March 1995–June 1996 | Theo de Jong |
| July 1996–June 1997 | Jimmy Calderwood |
| July 1997–May 2000 | Co Adriaanse |
| May 2000–June 2000 | Hans Verèl (interim) |
| July 2000–June 2002 | Hans Westerhof |
| July 2002–Jan 2004 | Mark Wotte |
| Feb 2004–June 2004 | André Wetzel |
| Year | Coach |
| July 2004–Nov 2005 | Robert Maaskant |
| Nov 2005–June 2006 | Kees Zwamborn |
| July 2006–Nov 2007 | Dennis van Wijk |
| Nov 2007–Feb 2009 | Andries Jonker |
| Feb 2009–Feb 2010 | Alfons Groenendijk |
| Feb 2010 | Mark Schenning (interim) |
| Feb 2010–April 2010 | Arno Pijpers |
| April 2010–May 2010 | Theo de Jong (interim) |
| July 2010–April 2011 | Gert Heerkes |
| April 2011–June 2011 | John Feskens (interim) |
| July 2011–May 2016 | Jurgen Streppel |
| July 2016–March 2018 | Erwin van de Looi |
| March 2018–May 2018 | Reinier Robbemond (interim) |
| July 2018–January 2021 | Adrie Koster |
| January 2021–June 2021 | Željko Petrović |
| July 2021–March 2022 | Fred Grim |
| March 2022–December 2022 | Kevin Hofland |
| December 2022-September 2023 | Reinier Robbemond |
| September 2023–present | Peter Maes |

## Honours

* National Football League Championship/Eredivisie
** Winners (3): 1915–16, 1951–52, 1954–55
** Runners-up (1): 1998–99
* Eerste Divisie
** Winners (4): 1956–57, 1964–65, 2013–14, 2023–24
** Runners-up (1): 1986–87
* KNVB Cup
** Winners (2): 1943–44, 1962–63
** Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2018–19