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KPN Eredivisie, 2000-2001: Club Profile

VITESSE: FROM 200 TO 23,000 FANS IN THIRTEEN YEARS' TIME

It's hard to think of any other European football side that made such spectacular progress in wuch a short period of time as Vitesse, from the eastern city of Arnhem. Between 1985 and 1999, Vitesse's estimates went up from 800,000 to 59 million guilders. The average attendance went up from 800 to 24,000; the number of season ticket holders from 200 to 23,000. The number of sponsors increased from 10 to 400. And as far as the game of football itself is concerned: before the promotion of 1989, Vitesse had played four seasons in the Eredivisie, with a 9th position in 1978 as the best achievement. After the promotion of 1989, the Arnhem side never finished lower than 6th. Eight out of twelve seasons since 1989 brought them UEFA Cup qualification.

Amazing figures - and it's even more amazing that one man was largely responsible for the revolution on the banks of the river Rhine: Karel Aalbers, a devoted Vitesse fan and succesful business man, who decided to stand up when the poor old club of 1892 was about to go bankrupt. He took over in 1984, the year of George Orwell, and Aalbers' promises sounded pretty 'Orwellian', too: he claimed that Vitesse would one day be Holland's fourth club, or even better, and that they would play in a futuristic facility, with a closing roof. He was laughed at and made fun of in the Dutch football press, but he ended up making his and Vitesse's dream come true.

Vitesse now find itself back in a stadium named Gelredome, a supermodern facility and one of Holland's featured Euro 2000 stadiums. They have become Holland's fourth team, indeed, but the success story did not have a happy end for Karel Aalbers himself, who became the key suspect in an ugly case of tax fraud in 2000. He was not convicted, and still isn't, but nevertheless: Vitesse is now a big club now without the man who did it. 'King Karel' is still a hero for Vitesse fans. They believe he's innocent. And they want him to come back.

Vitesse is the oldest Eredivisie club after Sparta. The yellow and black, vertically striped shirt is one of those traditional Dutch football strips that has become an icon of itself. Vitesse was founded as a cricket club. The football section started shortly after the foundation, in 1892. Its 109 years of history have never brought Vitesse an official national trophy. Several regional championships were won before the Second World War, and three Dutch Cup finals were reached - but all lost: in 1912 (against Haarlem), in 1927 (against VUC) and, more recently, in 1990, against PSV.

Back then, Vitesse had just had a tremendous first year in the Eredivisie, finishing third, and seeing its entire right flank (Edward Sturing, Martin Laamers and Bart Latuheru) being selected for the Dutch national team. However, the Dutch Cup final in De Kuip had a sad ending for the Arnhemmers. Vitesse icon, John van den Brom, missed a penalty in the last minute, allowing PSV to hold on to their 1-0 lead.

Vitesse's best international performances include the UEFA Cup elimination of Dundee United (1990) and AEK Athens (1998), as well as two brave battles against Inter Milan in 2000. The Italians could not win (0-0 and 1-1), but their one goal scored in the away game was enough to proceed. Karel Aalbers has established the one thing that will guarantee Vitesse a long and succesful football life: he revived football in Arnhem, by saving a club that was virtually dead. He deserves the credit for that, no matter whether he's guilty of tax fraud or not. (MP)

VITESSE FACTS

Founded: 14 May, 1892
City: Arnhem
Stadium: Gelredome
Capacity: 30,000

Honors:

• No national or international trophies won.

Ajax vs Vitesse, the last five Eredivisie seasons

RELATED LINKS

• Official Vitesse website
• Official Vitesse Supporters' Site