The Hague is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital since the time of the Dutch Republic.
Excelsior Rotterdam, commonly in The Netherlands known as Excelsior, is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the 2nd tier of Dutch football from the 2024–25 season following relegation. The club was founded on 23 July 1902 and was formerly known as "Rotterdamse Voetbal en Atletiek Vereniging Excelsior". Excelsior's home stadium is the Stadion Woudestein – for sponsorship reasons known as the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion – which has a capacity of about 4,500, one of the smallest stadiums hosting professional football in the Netherlands.
Sparta Rotterdam is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (wijk) of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular for water sports such as windsurfing and kiteboarding. The harbour is used for both fishing and tourism.
Total Football is a tactical system in association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. A player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player who must stay in a specified position is the goalkeeper.
Patrick Stephan Kluivert is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was most recently the manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.
Johannes Jacobus "Johan" Neeskens was a Dutch football manager and player. A midfielder, he was an important member of the Netherlands national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time. In 2004, he was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony, while in 2017 he was included in the FourFourTwo list of the 100 all-time greatest players, at the 64th position.
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the best midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broadsheet The Daily Telegraph as having been "a stylish player of faultless pedigree".
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team for four spells. Throughout his career, he played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
Willem II Tilburg, 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 of the Netherlands (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.
Rudolf Jozef "Ruud" Krol is a Dutch former professional footballer who was capped 83 times for the Netherlands national team. Most of his career he played for his home town club, Ajax. He became a coach after retirement. Regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, Krol mainly played as a sweeper or left-back, though he could play anywhere across the back line, or in midfield as a defensive midfielder, due to his range of passing with both feet, temperament, tactical intelligence, and his ability to start attacking plays after winning back the ball.
Fortuna Sittard is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger of former clubs Fortuna 54 and Sittardia, which merged as the Fortuna Sittardia Combinatie on 1 July 1968.
The Netherlands women's national football team represents the Netherlands in international women's football, and is directed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), which is a member of UEFA and FIFA.
Koninklijke Haarlemsche Football Club is a football club based in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is the oldest existing club in Dutch football, founded by Pim Mulier in 1879. During the club's early years, the team only played rugby, but due to financial problems, they then switched to association football. The first official football match in the Netherlands was played in 1886 between HFC and Amsterdam Sport.
Dick Jol is a Dutch former football referee, best known for supervising three matches during the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship held in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands national football team has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the governing body for football in the Netherlands, which is a part of UEFA, under the jurisdiction of FIFA. Most of the Netherlands home matches are played at the Johan Cruyff Arena, De Kuip, Philips Stadion, and De Grolsch Veste.
Reinder ("Rein") Boomsma was a Dutch footballer, who played for Sparta and the Dutch national team.
Kozakken Boys is a Dutch football club based in Werkendam. It competes in the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier, and second highest amateur league of Dutch football.
Marten Elco de Roon is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Atalanta and the Netherlands national team.
Shanice Janice van de Sanden is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Pachuca and the Netherlands national team.
