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Willem II is a Dutch football club playing in Tilburg. The club was founded as Tilburgia on August 12, 1896. On January 12, 1898, the club was renamed Willem II, after Dutch king Willem II (1840-1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830.
[edit] History
The club has had many famous players, such as Jaap Stam and Sami Hyypiä. The club jersey consists of red-white-blue vertical stripes, inspired by the colours of the flag of the Netherlands. Willem II plays its home matches in the Willem II Stadion. The stadium, opened on May 31, 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004/05 was 12,500 people. The fans of Willem II have close relations with the fans of Bristol City. Some Willem fans were seen in the Eastend (Bristol City's stand) for their game against Sheffield Wednesday and there were songs sung about Willem II.
Willem II has won three national titles (1916, 1952 and 1955) and two national cups (1944 and 1963). In 1987, 1990 and 1999, Willem II were voted Dutch Club of the Year. In 1999, a second place in the league guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth. In the first group stage (Group G), Willem II were eliminated. They scored 2 points in 6 matches. In 1963, Willem II lost to Manchester United (7-2 on aggregate) in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1998-99, Willem II competed in the UEFA Cup. After beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6-0 on aggregate in the first round, Willem II lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4-1 on aggregate. After reaching the Dutch cup final in 2004 (4-0 loss against PSV Eindhoven), Willem II qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round (5-1 on aggregate).
[edit] Honours
[edit] Current squad
[edit] Reserve squad
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
|
 |
GK |
Jeroen van Binsbergen |
|
|
GK |
Ariën Pietersma |
|
|
DF |
Marlon Pereira |
|
|
DF |
Danny van der Ree |
|
|
MF |
Thijs van den Berg |
|
|
MF |
Faysal Bouchkachkhe |
|
|
MF |
Marc Corman |
|
|
MF |
Lars Lambooij |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
|
|
MF |
Michael de Leeuw |
|
|
MF |
Junior Livramento |
|
 |
MF |
Wojciech Luczak |
|
|
FW |
Jelle van Kruijssen |
|
|
FW |
Sidney Schmeltz |
|
 |
FW |
Ratko Vansimpsen |
|
|
FW |
Thomas Verhaar |
|
|
FW |
Bram Weyten |
|
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] Former managers
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
peru campeon
