Sparta Rotterdam

THE SILVER-HAIRED GENTLEMAN OF 1888

"Sparta can never get relegated. Why not? Because they just can't!" A previous version of this Sparta Rotterdam club profile ended with these words, but the summer of 2002 made painfully clear how untrue they were. The unthinkable, yet at that point inevitable happened: Sparta, Holland's oldest professional football club and (apart from Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord) the only Dutch club that had always been in the Eredivisie until then, went down after several years of miserably poor management. Coach Frank Rijkaard and former Ajax midfielder Aron Winter couldn't avoid the tragedy.

Almost every Dutch football fan (except, perhaps, those of Rotterdam enemies Feyenoord) hoped that Sparta would soon return to the top flight. It seemed unlikely, though: the club would have gone bankrupt if it wasn't for the city council, who came to rescue in 2003. Sparta had to add the city name to their official club name as a forfeit. In May 2005 the moment finally arrived: the respectable silver-haired gentleman of 1888 returned to the Eredivisie (and survived the traditionally difficult first seasons). An annual visit to The Castle, as Sparta's historic bastion in the Rotterdam-West neighborhood of Spangen is nicknamed, is something every supporter of an Eredivisie club must have sorely missed during Sparta's unlikely absence.

The great Bok de Korver (1883-1957)

What would Dutch football be without Sparta? They were the first Dutch club to ever play a match on foreign soil (against England's Harwich & Parkeston FC in 1893) and the first Dutch football club to come up with the brilliantly futuristic idea of attaching a net between the two posts that were the goals, so that the goalkeeper no longer had to fetch the ball each time he'd let one in (1894). Also, they were the first dominant powerhouse in the history of the Dutch league, clinching no less than five championships and two Silver Balls (the prestigious Rotterdam precursor to the Dutch cup competition) in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Those were the days of the legendary Bok de Korver, one of Holland's first football icons and a stubborn man with an intensely purist football philosophy: De Korver felt that training was a sort of cheating (as the opposition may not have had time to practice, which would be unfair!). He did not believe in tactics or positions ('total football' avant la lettre...?) and is known as the only player in the history of Dutch football who never committed a foul or even touched his opponent: De Korver felt that a true gentleman should always avoid physical contact, as football is supposed to be all about skill and creativity. With an unstoppable De Korver as their great leader, the Dutch national team achieved what was generally regarded as impossible back in the day: they beat England. The miracle happened in The Hague (2-1) in 1913.

Sparta, Dutch champions of 1959.

Celebrating the title of 1959 in the streets of Rotterdam.

The club's second and most noteworthy era of glory followed in the 1950s, under legendary English head-coach Denis Neville, who brought the club a few triumphs in the 'modern era': Sparta won the KNVB Cup of 1958 (after a heroic 1-3 semi-final win over rivals Feyenoord at De Kuip) and - one year later - the Dutch championship. No Dutch club had achieved anything noteworthy in the European Champions Cup's first years of existence until Sparta made it to the quarter final in 1960, in which Glasgow's Rangers required a decisive third game to beat the red and white from Rotterdam-West. Two more Dutch cups were added to the Sparta trophy cabinet in the 1960s.

After that it all went downhill. Feyenoord, from the docks on the city's south banks, developed into the Rotterdam's dominant force. The occasional triumphs over 'South', as the arch-enemies from De Kuip are referred to by Sparta fans, are the most cherished memories of today's Sparta fans. In April 1973, for example, a simple win over Sparta would have brought the championship within Feyenoord's reach. 'South' took a comfortable 3-0 lead, but Sparta fought back and left De Kuip with a point: 3-3. Spangen chuckled when Ajax clinched the title a couple of weeks later. Sparta's 5-2 defeat against PSV in the cup final of 1996 hardly hurt the Sparta faithful, who were still over the moon about their unforgettable triumph over Feyenoord in the semi-final, which had already made their season.

The famous façade of 'The Castle', home of Sparta.

The small, but devoted Sparta family cherishes its past. You can almost smell the club's great history at their home ground, in spite of the fact that beautiful old Spangen stadium was replaced with a modern facility, originally named Eneco Stadium after the sponsor, but now simple called Sparta Stadium. The two landmark towers of The Castle were left intact (of course!), as the pitch made a 90 degree turn.

Sparta's Jan Klijnjan in action against Bayern München, UEFA Cup, 1970.

Let's face it: Sparta may have dealt Ajax one of their more painful knock-out blows of recent years (3-0 at The Castle, and that was only the start of a deeply embarrassing afternoon in November 2006), but they are highly unlikely to win a trophy any time soon. Yet, the stylish old club from Spangen is still extremely popular in Rotterdam. It's hard to think of a more loyal, tongue-in-cheek crowd in The Netherlands than the residents of The Castle, where the old Sparta club anthem is played and sung each time the old nobleman of 1888 takes to the pitch: "Red and white are our colours/ And many years hereafter/ We will let you hear: S-P-A-R-T-A!!" May they forever, and we mean forever, stay up. (MP)

SPARTA ROTTERDAM FACTS

Founded: 01 April 1888. City name added in summer 2003.
City: Rotterdam
Stadium: Sparta Stadium
Capacity: 11,026
Official website: www.sparta-rotterdam.nl

Honors:

• Dutch champions (6 times): 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1959
• Dutch Cup winners (3 times): 1958, 1962, 1966

Recent history: Ajax vs Sparta/Sparta Rotterdam