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| Full name | Football Club Dordrecht | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Schapenkoppen (Sheep heads) | ||
| Founded | 16 August 1883; 141 years ago (1883-08-16) | ||
| Ground | Stadion Krommedijk | ||
| Capacity | 4,235 | ||
| Chairman | Hans de Zeeuw | ||
| Head coach | Melvin Boel | ||
| League | Eerste Divisie | ||
| 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie, 4th of 20 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Football Club Dordrecht, or simplyFC Dordrecht (Dutch pronunciation:[ɛfˈseːˈdɔrdrɛxt]) is a professionalDutch association football club based inDordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in theprovince ofSouth Holland. They currently compete in theEerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system.
Originally founded on 16 August 1883 asDordrechtsche Cricket Club (DCC) which later becameDordrechtse Football Club (DFC), it became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands. In 1972, the professional branch separated from the parent club and continued under the name FC Dordrecht, before becoming DS '79 in 1979. On 1 July 1991, the club merged withSV SVV fromSchiedam to becomeSVV/Dordrecht'90, before becomingDordrecht '90 the following year. Since 1994, the club has been calledFC Dordrecht. A two timeKNVB Cup winner, Dordrecht has spent most of its existence as a second-tierEerste Divisie side, with short stints in the top-tierEredivisie.
Since 1948, Dordrecht has played its home games at theStadion Krommedijk (currently known as the Matchoholic Stadion for sponsorship reasons), which saw a major renovation in 1998–99. The stadium has a capacity of 4,235.
Founded on 16 August 1883 as the cricket clubDCC, the club branched out and added association football club to their club which changed its name toDCFC in 1891, before completely abandoning cricket in 1899 and continuing asDFC. It became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands. The next significant events were in 1972, at which time the professional branch of DFC was renamed FC Dordrecht, and in 1974 when the professionals and amateurs severed their ties.[1]
In 1979, under the leadership of chairman and investorNico de Vries, the organisation was professionalised and an attempt was also made to gain more supporters to the fanbase. This included a new name,DS '79 (Drechtsteden'79), referring to theDrechtsteden region.[2] The club colours were also changed, and red-white colour scheme was replaced by a yellow-blue outfit. New players came to the club, includingHuub Smeets who signed from theLos Angeles Aztecs,Wim Berends andChris Bosse from theSparta reserve team, andHarry van den Ham andJoop Oostdam from the reserves ofFC Utrecht. The team became known as the "local heroes, and popularity grew and increasing interest in the games atStadion Krommedijk. In January 1981, the most famous player in club history,Johan Cruyff, made three appearances for DS '79. These came atStamford Bridge againstChelsea (4–2), at home againstAjax (2–1) and in Belgium againstCharleroi (1–7).[2]
In 1983, the team won the second-tierEerste Divisie and as a result, DS '79 won promotion to theEredivisie. The following season, DS'79 was led by the coaching duoHans Dorjee andJoop van Daele, and suffered direct relegation to the Eerste Divisie.
At the end of the 1986–87 season, DS '79 won promotion again, this time via play-offs. The yellow-blues were then led bySimon Kistemaker, he neither could prevent the club from Dordrecht from relegating again at the end of the season.
Former playerEpi Drost took over the position of head coach at the start of the 1989–90 season, but only managed to lead the team to a 19th and last place in the Eerste Divisie. New investor,Cees den Braven, became chairman in the club and changed the name of the club, its third name:Dordrecht '90.[3] The outfit was also changed to a green jersey with white shorts. These were the colours of De Braven Sealants, the chairman's company.Margo Gerrits signed a contract as commercial manager at Dordrecht '90, making her the first female manager in professional football.[4]
The club just missed promotion to the Eredivisie in 1991. It was finally admitted when Dordrecht '90 surprisingly merged with neighbouringSchiedamse Voetbal Vereniging (SVV) ofSchiedam and becameSVV/Dordrecht '90. Under the new name, the club immediately returned to the highest level.[3] Under the leadership ofDick Advocaat andHan Berger, the team reached fifteenth place in the league table. That year, the club played its only European matches in theUEFA Intertoto Cup, consisting only of a group stage againstHammarby IF from Sweden,AaB from Denmark and1. FC Saarbrücken from Germany. The following year, Han Berger andNico van Zoghel only reached last place in the table, meaning that SVV/Dordrecht '90 suffered another relegation.
After relegation, the club abandoned the 'SVV' and continued asDordrecht '90. Van Zoghel remained as head coach and led the club to the Eerste Divisie championship at the end of the 1993–94 season with automatic promotion. Again, the Eredivisie was too big of a mouthful for the Dordrecht team, who again relegated directly. ChairmanCees den Braven resigned from the position and handed over the leadership of the club to former refereeFrans Derks. Much success was not achieved in the following years, and the club slowly fell to the lower echelons of the Eerste Divisie. A small revival occurred at the end of the 1998–99 season, as Dordrecht '90 qualified for promotion play-offs through a period championship, despite only reaching a 14th place in the table, but did not find success there.[3]
Finally in 2002, the club was renamed once again, to the name it bore from 1972 to 1979: FC Dordrecht, which remains the name today. For a number of years, Dordrecht was one of the clubs with the lowest average attendance of all Dutch professional teams.[5]
When at the end of the 2002–03 season, FC Dordrecht ended bottom of the Eerste Divisie, Derks resigned from his position as chairman andAd Heijsman took over. Heijsman was previously chairman of DFC, the club from which FC Dordrecht originated. Former playerMarco Boogers was appointed technical director.[6] After a number of lean years, Dordrecht slowly crept back up from the sporting trough. In 2009 and 2010, head coachGert Kruys led the team to straight promotion play-off appearances.
With Marco Boogers as technical director of the club, a new direction was initiated. Partly due to the disappointing financial results, the budget for players decreased to €5.5 thousand. FC Dordrecht then began a partnership with Eredivisie clubADO Den Haag, who provided players on one-season loan agreements, includingTom Beugelsdijk,Giovanni Korte andSanty Hulst.[7] Boogers also managed to sign talented players from other clubs, includingJoris van Overeem,Marvin Peersman andJafar Arias.
On 18 May 2014, Dordrecht won promotion to the Eredivisie for the first time in 19 years, after a 3–1 win overSparta Rotterdam in the second leg of the promotion play-off finals, after the first leg had ended in a 2–2 draw.[8] Shortly afterwards, head coachHarry van den Ham announces that he would leave the club to joinFC Utrecht's managing staff. In the Eredivisie, Dordrecht won their first match againstSC Heerenveen, but suffered relegation in the last matchday afterGo Ahead Eagles won the away match againstFeyenoord.[9] Chairman Ad Heijsman stepped down at the end of March 2015, and supermarket manager Cees van der Poel took over.[10] After relegation of 2015, almost all regular starters had left. An almost completely new team was brought in, including talented players from other Dutch clubs such asAlvin Daniels,Jeroen Lumu and Jafar Arias, but experience was also gained in the form ofGeert Arend Roorda.[11]
Back in theEerste Divisie for the 2015–16 season, the club finished in a disappointing 14th place. The following season, a whole new squad was put together after the departure of many players. Halfway through the season, it became clear that it could be an even more disappointing year than the last. Dordrecht was at the bottom of the league and faced the risk of relegation to the third-tierTweede Divisie, as this was possible in the2016–17 season unlike before. Just before the end of the season, there was a matchup between the bottom two clubs inAchilles '29 and Dordrecht, which ended in a 2–2 draw, leaving the latter in 19th place and safe from relegation. Achilles '29 were later deducted points were for their financial problems, so that Dordrecht was finally safe and could continue their professional football operations.[12]
A large number of players were signed again ahead of the2017–18 season, and it soon became apparent that Dordrecht would bounce back from a disappointing previous season. The club did not play well in the first half of the season, but after the winter break, the team accomplished a strong winning streak. This ensured that Dordrecht becameperiod champion on 12 March 2018 after a 1–0 win overRKC Waalwijk. Thereby, the club qualified for the promotion play-offs for the Eredivisie.[13] In the play-offs. Dordrecht facedSC Cambuur in the first round. In the home game, they lost 1–4 loss, but in the return, Dordrecht put down a strong performance and ended up winning 1–4 inLeeuwarden to eventually advance after the penalty shootout.[14]Sparta Rotterdam awaited in the semi-finals of the play-offs. The first game at home was lost 1–2, and in the return match atHet Kasteel, Dordrecht were up 0–2 in the first half; enough to reach the final, but lost their lead in the second half as the match ended 2–2. This ended their promotion run and Dordrecht remained in the second tier.[15]
The club introduced a new policy of signing players on longer contracts ahead of the 2018–19 season, which meant that other clubs would have to put down larger transfer fees to convince Dordrecht to sell.[16] However, like the previous season, Dordrecht started the competition poorly and were in last place in mid-November. As a result, head coachGérard de Nooijer was fired.[17] After assistantScott Calderwood took over as caretaker until the winter break, and subsequently left the club,Cláudio Braga was appointed the new head coach.[18] Dordrecht also entered into partnerships withFeyenoord and English clubNorwich City.[19] In the winter break, the squad received a quality boost with the arrival ofJoël Zwarts,Crysencio Summerville andJari Schuurman, among others. The latter even signed a three-year permanent contract with theSchapekoppen. Under the new coach and with a squad strengthened by new loanees, Dordrecht performed better in the second half of the season, among others beating eventual championsFC Twente.[20] Dordrecht finished the competition in seventeenth place and started the following season with a number of new loanees on the books.
Below is a table with FC Dordrecht's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.
| Domestic Results since 1956 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic league | League result | Qualification to | KNVB Cup season | Cup result |
| 2022–23 Eerste Divisie | 18th | – | 2022–23 | First round |
| 2021–22 Eerste Divisie | 17th | – | 2021–22 | First round |
| 2020–21 Eerste Divisie | 20th | – | 2020–21 | First round |
| 2019–20 Eerste Divisie | 19th | – | 2019–20 | Second round |
| 2018–19 Eerste Divisie | 17th | – | 2018–19 | First round |
| 2017–18 Eerste Divisie | 13th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2017–18 | first round |
| 2016–17 Eerste Divisie | 19th | – | 2016–17 | first round |
| 2015–16 Eerste Divisie | 14th | – | 2015–16 | third round |
| 2014–15 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 2014–15 | third round |
| 2013–14 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs) | 2013–14 | second round |
| 2012–13 Eerste Divisie | 9th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2012–13 | round of 16 |
| 2011–12 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 2011–12 | third round |
| 2010–11 Eerste Divisie | 11th | – | 2010–11 | fourth round |
| 2009–10 Eerste Divisie | 13th | – | 2009–10 | third round |
| 2008–09 Eerste Divisie | 8th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2008–09 | round of 16 |
| 2007–08 Eerste Divisie | 12th | – | 2007–08 | quarter-final |
| 2006–07 Eerste Divisie | 6th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2006–07 | second round |
| 2005–06 Eerste Divisie | 9th | – | 2005–06 | third round |
| 2004–05 Eerste Divisie | 8th | – | 2004–05 | round of 16 |
| 2003–04 Eerste Divisie | 15th | – | 2003–04 | first round |
| 2002–03 Eerste Divisie | 18th | – | 2002–03 | second round |
| 2001–02 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 2001–02 | third round |
| 2000–01 Eerste Divisie | 12th | – | 2000–01 | second round |
| 1999–2000 Eerste Divisie | 8th | – | 1999–2000 | quarter-final |
| 1998–99 Eerste Divisie | 14th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 1998–99 | group stage |
| 1997–98 Eerste Divisie | 17th | – | 1997–98 | second round |
| 1996–97 Eerste Divisie | 12th | – | 1996–97 | group stage |
| 1995–96 Eerste Divisie | 7th | – | 1995–96 | second round |
| 1994–95 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1994–95 | round of 16 |
| 1993–94 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1993–94 | round of 16 |
| 1992–93 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1992–93 | third round |
| 1991–92 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 1991–92 | second round |
| 1990–91 Eerste Divisie(as Dordrecht '90) 1990–91 Eredivisie(as SVV) | 8th 16th | Merger (and surviving prom./releg. play-offs) | 1990–91 | quarter-final round of 16 |
| 1989–90 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 19th 1st | – Eredivisie (promotion) | 1989–90 | first round round of 16 |
| 1988–89 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 15th 8th | – | 1988–89 | first round |
| 1987–88 Eredivisie(as DS '79) 1987–88 Eerste Divisie(as SVV) | 18th 15th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) – | 1987–88 | round of 16 |
| 1986–87 Eerste Divisie | 9th 14th | Eredivisie (winning promotion competition) – | 1986–87 | quarter-final second round |
| 1985–86 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 15th 11th | – | 1985–86 | second round |
| 1984–85 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 14th 12th | – | 1984–85 | first round |
| 1983–84 Eredivisie(as DS '79) 1983–84 Eerste Divisie(as SVV) | 18th 17th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) – | 1983–84 | round of 16 first round |
| 1982–83 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 1st 9th | Eredivisie (promotion) – | 1982–83 | first round |
| 1981–82 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 15th 9th | – | 1981–82 | quarter-final first round |
| 1980–81 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 5th 14th | promotion competition: no promotion – | 1980–81 | second round |
| 1979–80 Eerste Divisieas DS '79... ...and SVV | 8th 17th | – | 1979–80 | round of 16 second round |
| 1978–79 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 19th 14th | – | 1978–79 | second round first round |
| 1977–78 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 18th 15th | – | 1977–78 | first round second round |
| 1976–77 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 18th 16th | – | 1976–77 | second round |
| 1975–76 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 12th 19th | – | 1975–76 | second round round of 16 |
| 1974–75 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 17th 15th | – | 1974–75 | second round first round |
| 1973–74 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 15th 9th | – | 1973–74 | first round |
| 1972–73 Eerste Divisieas FC Dordrecht... ...and SVV | 20th 13th | – | 1972–73 | first round round of 16 |
| 1971–72 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 21st 17th | – | 1971–72 | did not participate first round |
| 1970–71 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 11th 15th | – | 1970–71 | first round round of 16 |
| 1969–70 Eerste Divisie(as DFC) 1969–70 Eredivisie(as SVV) | 15th 18th | – Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1969–70 | first round[citation needed] |
| 1968–69 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 8th 1st | – Eredivisie (promotion) | 1968–69 | second round[citation needed] |
| 1967–68 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 10th 16th | – | 1967–68 | group stage[citation needed] |
| 1966–67 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 11th 15th | – | 1966–67 | quarter-final[citation needed] did not participate[citation needed] |
| 1965–66 Tweede Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 3rd 2nd | Eerste Divisie (promotion) | 1965–66 | group stage[citation needed] |
| 1964–65 Tweede Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 1st (group B) 5th (group B) | promotion play-off: no promotion – | 1964–65 | first round[citation needed] quarter final[citation needed] |
| 1963–64 Tweede Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 14th (group B) 12th (group B) | – | 1963–64 | first round[citation needed] |
| 1962–63 Tweede Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 6th (group B) 12th (group B) | – | 1962–63 | round of 16[citation needed] first round[citation needed] |
| 1961–62 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 9th (group A) 7th (group A) | Tweede Divisie (relegation) Tweede Divisie (losing relegation play-off) | 1961–62 | ?[citation needed] |
| 1960–61 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 8th (group A) 6th (group B) | – | 1960–61 | ?[citation needed] |
| 1959–60 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 2nd (group B) 13th (group A) | promotion competition: no promotion – | not held | not held |
| 1958–59 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 10th (group A) 5th (group A) | – | 1958–59 | ?[citation needed] |
| 1957–58 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 2nd (group A) 8th (group A) | – (losing group A championship play-off) – | 1957–58 | ?[citation needed] |
| 1956–57 Eerste Divisieas DFC... ...and SVV | 3rd (group B) 5th (group A) | – | 1956–57 | ?[citation needed] |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman & Chief Executive Officer |  Hans de Zeeuw |
| Technical director | Leon Vlemmings |
| Head coach | Melvin Boel |
| Assistant coach | Rick Adjei |
| Goalkeeper coach | Rody Hoegee |
| Video analyst |  Kenny Basteleus |
| Youth chief scout | Han Schipperen |
| Caregiver & Condition/Recovery Trainer | Michael Koedam |
| Exercise Physiologist |  Ajey Raghosing |
| Physiotherapist |  Patricia Maasland Paul Amakodo Bart Kant |
| Masseur | Jan van Zadelhoff |
| Team Manager | Soufiane Haddad |
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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The following players were called up to represent theirnational teams ininternational football and receivedcaps during their tenure with FC Dordrecht:
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Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Dordrecht players represented Internationally
| Confederation | Total | (Nation) Association |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | 2 |  Afghanistan (1), Philippines (1) |
| CAF | 8 |  Cape Verde (6), Mali (1), Nigeria (1) |
| CONCACAF | 7 |  Curaçao (5), Bonaire (2) |
| CONMEBOL | 0 | |
| OFC | 1 |  New Zealand (1) |
| UEFA | 13 | Netherlands (12), Estonia (1) |
The following is a list of FC Dordrecht players who have competed in international tournaments, including theFIFA World Cup,Africa Cup of Nations,OFC Nations Cup and theCaribbean Cup. To this date no Dordrecht players have participated in theUEFA European Championship,CONCACAF Gold Cup,AFC Asian Cup, or theCopa América while playing for FC Dordrecht.
Na 19 jaar keert FC Dordrecht terug in de Eredivisie en dat feit leidde vandaag tot groot feest in het knusse stadionnetje aan de Krommedijk. De club met de op één na laagste begroting binnen het betaalde voetbal was in de finale van de play-offs om promotie/degradatie met 3-1 te sterk voor Sparta, nadat het eerste duel in Rotterdam in 2-2 was geëindigd.
De degradatie van FC Dordrecht uit de Nederlandse eredivisie is een feit. Door de verrassende overwinning van concurrent Go Ahead Eagles op het veld van Feyenoord (0-1) kan de ploeg van trainer Jan Everse niet meer ontsnappen van de laatste plaats. Dat betekent dat de 'Schapenkoppen' na één jaar op het hoogste niveau weer terug moeten naar de Jupiler League.
