 | |||
| Full name | Sportclub Telstar | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | De Witte Leeuwen (The White Lions) | ||
| Founded | 17 July 1963; 62 years ago (1963-07-17) | ||
| Ground | BUKO Stadion,Velsen | ||
| Capacity | 5,338 | ||
| Chairman | Lex de Jager[1] | ||
| Head coach | Anthony Correia | ||
| League | Eredivisie | ||
| 2024–25 | Eerste Divisie, 7th of 20 (promoted via play-offs) | ||
| Website | sctelstar.nl | ||
 Current season | |||
Sportclub Telstar (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈspɔrtklʏpˈtɛlstɑr]), commonly known simply asTelstar, is a Dutch professionalfootball club based inVelsen-Zuid,North Holland. Nicknamed theWitte Leeuwen ("White Lions") for their all‑white home strip, the team competes in theEredivisie, the highest tier of theDutch football league system, having secured promotion via the2024–25 play‑offs—their first top‑flight appearance since 1978.
Founded on 17 July 1963 through the merger of the professional sections of local rivals VSV and Stormvogels, the new club was named after the recently launched communications satelliteTelstar 1. Telstar play their home matches atSportpark Schoonenberg, branded the BUKO Stadion for sponsorship purposes, a compact all‑seater ground that holds 5,338 spectators. Since formation the team have taken to the field tothe Tornados' instrumental "Telstar", a tradition that underlines their link with the satellite and remains a distinctive feature of match days.
When professional football was introduced in the Netherlands, bothIJ.V.V. Stormvogels [nl] and their neighbouring club,VSV, played in the professional leagues. VSV won theKNVB Cup in 1938. Due to financial difficulties at both clubs, their professional teams were merged on July 17, 1963. The new club was named Telstar, after theTelstar communication satellite launched that year. Both Stormvogels and VSV continued separately as amateur clubs.[2]
Telstar was immediately promoted to theEredivisie following the 1963–64 season and remained in the top flight for 14 consecutive years. The mid-1970s marked the club's most successful era, with top-flight finishes of sixth in1973–74, seventh in1974–75, and ninth in1975–76. However, performances declined thereafter. The club finished 14th in1976–77, and in the1977–78 season, placed 18th and last, resulting in relegation to theEerste Divisie. The squad during that season included futureBayern Munich andManchester United managerLouis van Gaal.[3][4]
Since 1978, Telstar competed in the Eerste Divisie and did not return to the top flight for nearly five decades. The club reached the promotion play-offs in1978–79 and again in1981–82, when it recorded its highest post-relegation finish of fourth place. In the mid-1980s, Telstar entered into a partnership withAjax and functioned informally as a satellite club. During this period,Michel van Oostrum joined from Ajax, and former Ajax assistant coachCor van der Hart took over as Telstar manager for the1987–88 season. In1991–92, the club made its best-ever run in theKNVB Cup, reaching the semi-finals before losing 3–0 toRoda JC.
Telstar made a strong push for promotion in the1993–94 season, finishing fifth and narrowly missing out by a single point toRKC Waalwijk. Further top-half finishes came in1991–92 and2001–02, with the club ending both seasons in seventh place. In2000–01 and2004–05, Telstar again participated in the promotion play-offs but failed to advance.
In 2001, Telstar and Stormvogels entered into a renewed partnership, formingStormvogels Telstar. The merger was intended to strengthen the club's youth development system and benefit from training compensation mechanisms. However, the partnership did not yield the expected results. Few players from the youth academy advanced to the professional first team, and the anticipated financial returns from development fees failed to materialise. As a result, the collaboration was discontinued on 1 July 2008, and the club reverted to its original name, Telstar.[2]
In2008–09, Telstar reached the play-offs once more as winners of the third period title but were eliminated in the first round byMVV. A resurgence came in the2017–18 season under head coachMike Snoei, with Telstar finishing sixth—its highest league position since 1993–94—and reaching the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup, where they were defeated byFeyenoord.[5]
In2018–19, the club finished 14th but made another notable KNVB Cup run, reaching the round of 16 before a narrow 4–3 loss toAjax.[6]
After the2024–25 season, Telstar finished seventh in the Eerste Divisie, earning a place in the promotion play-offs.[7] In the first round, the club defeatedADO Den Haag 3–0 on aggregate to advance to the semi-finals, where they facedDen Bosch.[8] After a 1–1 draw over two legs, Telstar secured a 2–1 aggregate victory with a 109th-minute goal in extra time fromDanny Bakker.[9] In the final, Telstar facedWillem II, which had finished 16th in the Eredivisie after winning the Eerste Divisie the previous season. Following a 2–2 draw in the first leg in Velsen, Telstar won the second leg 3–1 at theKoning Willem II Stadion, securing promotion to the Eredivisie for the first time since 1978.[10][11]
Telstar's home stadium is the 5,338[12] seaterSportpark Schoonenberg, named BUKO Stadion for sponsorship reasons.[13] The stadium opened in 1948 and has undergone several renovations throughout the years. It is located inVelsen-Zuid, near the city ofHaarlem, and is easily accessible by car and public transport.[2]
Below is a table with Telstar's domestic results since 1963.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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22:
Luciano van den Berg,defender (2004–2005)—posthumous honour.
The following players were called up to represent theirnational teams ininternational football and receivedcaps during their tenure with SC Telstar:[nb 1]
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Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former SC Telstar players represented Internationally
| Confederation | Total | (Nation) Association |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | 2 |  Afghanistan (1), Indonesia (1) |
| CAF | 2 |  Cape Verde (1), Central African Republic (1) |
| CONCACAF | 4 |  Suriname (2), Curaçao (1), Guyana (1) |
| CONMEBOL | 0 | |
| OFC | 0 | |
| UEFA | 7 | Netherlands (6), Luxembourg (1) |
The following is a list of Telstar players who have competed in international tournaments, including theFIFA World Cup, and theCONCACAF Gold Cup. To date, no Telstar players have participated in theUEFA European Championship,Copa América,Africa Cup of Nations,AFC Asian Cup, or theOFC Nations Cup while playing for the club.
| Cup | Players |
|---|---|
 1938 FIFA World Cup | Niek Michel |
   2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup | Terell Ondaan |
 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup | Tyrick BodakJayden Turfkruier |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Anthony Correia[15] |
| Assistant Coaches | Rory RoubosGertjan Tamerus Robbert Michielsen |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Rick van der Mast |
| Medical Staff | First-Team Doctor: Ron Peters Pim Graafland First-Team Physiotherapists: Rens Teeuwen[16] Paul de Vlugt[17] Bob KooningPhysio Assistant: Clement Uittenbogaard |
| Equipment Manager | Dirk van der Lugt[18] |
| Performance Coaches | Niels Bunink Pieter van Roode |
| Video Analyst | Pieter van der Slikke |
| Team Manager | Jordi van Ewijk |
| Pos. | Name | Birth | Nationality | Goals |
| 1 | Glynor Plet | 30 January 1987 | | 90 |
| 2 | Sander Oostrom | 14 July 1967 | | 87 |
| 3 | Melvin Holwijn | 2 January 1980 | | 60 |
| 4 | Ronald Hoop | 4 April 1967 | | 52 |
| 5 | Cees van Kooten | 20 August 1948 | | 45 |
| 6 | Rini van Roon | 24 January 1961 | | 43 |
| 7 | Co Stout | 7 September 1948 | | 41 |
| Ron de Roode | 20 March 1965 | | 41 | |
| 9 | Dick Bond | 27 December 1943 | | 38 |
| 10 | Jan Bruin | 30 September 1969 | | 37 |
| Pos. | Name | Birth | Nationality | Appearances |
| 1 | Frank Korpershoek | 29 October 1984 | | 386 |
| 2 | Fred Bischot | 23 July 1948 | | 372 |
| 3 | Frans van Essen | 19 February 1948 | | 360 |
| 4 | Anthony Correia | 2 May 1982 | | 356 |
| 5 | Paul van der Meeren | 6 July 1944 | | 339 |
| 6 | Fred André | 31 May 1941 | | 321 |
| 7 | Sander Oostrom | 14 July 1967 | | 320 |
| 8 | Koos Kuut | 2 January 1958 | | 310 |
| 9 | Richard van Heulen | 13 October 1981 | | 294 |
| 10 | René Panhuis | 26 August 1964 | | 282 |
| Period | Manager | Nationality |
| 1963–64 | Toon van den Ende | |
| 1964–65 | Jack Mansell |  |
| 1965–66 | Oliver Gaspar |  |
| 1966–69 | Piet de Visser | |
| 1969–74 | Jan Rab | |
| 1974–77 | Joop Castemiller | |
| 1977–78 | Mircea Petescu | |
| 1978–80 | Martin van Vianen | |
| 1980–83 | Joop Brand | |
| 1983–87 | Fred André | |
| 1987–88 | Cor van der Hart | |
| 1988–90 | Cees Glas | |
| 1990–93 | Niels Overweg | |
| 1993–95 | Simon Kistemaker | |
| 1995–97 | Cor Pot | |
| 1997–98 | Harry van den Ham | |
| 1998–99 | Henny Lee | |
| 1999–01 | Simon Kistemaker | |
| 2001–02 | Toon Beijer | |
| 2002–05 | Jan Poortvliet | |
| 2005–08 | Luc Nijholt | |
| 2008–10 | Edward Metgod | |
| 2010–2012 | Jan Poortvliet | |
| 2012–2014 | Marcel Keizer | |
| 2014–2017 | Michel Vonk | |
| 2017–2019 | Mike Snoei | |
| 2019–2022 | Andries Jonker | |
| 2022–2024 | Mike Snoei | |
| 2024 | Ulrich Landvreugd | |
| 2024– | Anthony Correia | |
