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 Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, with 36 Eredivisie titles and 20 KNVB Cups. It has continuously played in the Eredivisie, since the league's inception in 1956 and, along with Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, it is one of the country's "big three" clubs that have dominated that competition.
Reinier Lambertus van de Kerkhof is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team.
Football Club Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Boys. It was the holder of the 2011 KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield trophies, and was Eredivisie champion in the 2009–10 season; the club has also finished as Eredivisie runner-up twice, was runner-up in the 1974–75 UEFA Cup, and has won the KNVB Cup three times. Twente's home ground since 1998 is De Grolsch Veste. Since 2019, the team have played in the Eredivisie, the top division of Dutch football.
SBV Vitesse Arnhem, widely known as Vitesse or internationally as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional football club located in the municipality of Arnhem. Established on 14 May 1892, Vitesse is one of the oldest professional football clubs in the Eredivisie. Since 1998, the club has played its home games at the GelreDome.
The Eredivisie 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. As of the 2022–23 season, it is ranked the sixth-best league in Europe by UEFA.
Allan Rodenkam Simonsen is a Danish former footballer and manager. He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barcelona in Spain, winning the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup. Simonsen is the only footballer to have scored in the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals. Simonsen was named 1977 European Footballer of the Year.
Arnold Johannes Hyacinthus Mühren is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. His older brother Gerrie, also a midfield player, won three European Cup titles with Ajax in the early 1970s. Mühren is among the few players to have won all three major UEFA-organised club competitions, the European Cup (1972–73), the Cup Winners' Cup (1986–87) and the UEFA Cup (1980–81). The last of these was won with Ipswich Town, while the other titles were won while playing for Ajax. He is also one of the two Dutch players, together with Danny Blind, to have won all UEFA club competitions.
Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to the Eredivisie for the first time in 28 years. The club remained in the top division for 17 seasons before suffering relegation at the end of the 2021–22 season. In 2012, they reached the KNVB Cup final for the first time in the club's history, losing to PSV in the final. The club's main rival is FC Twente.
Football Club Volendam is a professional football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion. Nicknamed "de Palingboeren", the club was founded as Victoria in 1920, changed its name to RKSV Volendam in 1923 and emerged as an exclusively professional club, FC Volendam, in 1977, following a split from its parent club. The team plays its home matches in the 6,984-capacity Kras Stadion, where it has been based since 1975.
Patrick Gerritsen is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Geertruida "Ruud" Maria Geels is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker and attacking midfielder. He obtained 20 caps for the Netherlands national team, scoring eleven goals, in the 1970s.
Dirk Wouter Johannes "Dick" van Dijk was a Dutch professional footballer who played for FC Twente and Ajax Amsterdam. He was a member of Ajax's European Cup victory in 1971. He earned seven caps for the Netherlands national football team.
Eddy Achterberg is a retired Dutch football player and coach. As of February 2009, he is a scout with FC Schalke 04.
The Vrouwen Eredivisie, also known as the Azerion Eredivisie Vrouwen due to a 3 year sponsor contract starting from the 2022–2023 season, is the highest women's football league in the Netherlands. Organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) it was established in 2007 as a professional league and played for five seasons until 2012 when the leagues of the Netherlands and Belgium merged forming a single combined league. After three seasons the BeNe League folded and the Eredivisie was restarted in the 2015–16 season. The league winner receives a spot in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
FC Twente Vrouwen is the women's football (soccer) section of Dutch club FC Twente based in Enschede, and competes in the Vrouwen Eredivisie, the top women's league in the Netherlands.
Sherida Spitse is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ajax and the Netherlands national team.
Marieke Anouk Dekker is a Dutch footballer who plays for Braga. She is a member of the Netherlands national team.
In Dutch sports, The Big Three is the nickname for the three most successful rivalling football clubs in the Netherlands: Ajax from Amsterdam, Feyenoord from Rotterdam and PSV from Eindhoven. Collectively they amounted for 73 of the 130 Dutch Football Championships ever played, and 59 of a possible 67 championships since the introduction of professional football in 1954. The three clubs generally end up sharing the top three positions and contending for the title. None of them have been relegated from the Eredivisie either, having been participants in all editions since Dutch football was merged into a single top-level competition in the 1956–57 season; the lowest position any of them has earned is 14th, PSV, while Ajax and Feyenoord's lowest positions have been 13th.
Niels Overweg is a Dutch former professional footballer, who played as a defender for DWS, Go Ahead Eagles, FC Twente and DS'79. He was capped four times for the Netherlands national team. After retiring from play, he was also active as manager.
Feikje Anna Kalma, commonly known as Fenna Kalma, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Frauen-Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Netherlands national team.
