Vitesse Arnhem

Vitesse Arnhem is a Dutch football club which was founded in 1892. The idea of conceiving a football team stemmed from the club's early roots as a cricket club.

Related Topics:
Dutch - Football - 1892 - Cricket

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While never having much success in the Dutch Eredivisie nor was it considered as a close competitor of the top three clubs of Netherlands football, namely PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, and Ajax Amsterdam, it once attracted big name signings in its ranks from its various years in Dutch top flight football such as Roy Makaay, Marc van Hintum, Sander Westerveld, Victor Sikora, Pierre van Hooijdonk and John Veldman.

Related Topics:
Eredivisie - Netherlands - PSV Eindhoven - Feyenoord - Ajax Amsterdam - Roy Makaay - Marc van Hintum - Sander Westerveld - Victor Sikora - Pierre van Hooijdonk - John Veldman

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In the 1980s, the club was threatened with bankruptcy, whereby the solution was to form a new administrative board to govern the professionals and the amateur sides. This is because, up to the 1980s, the club has included both the professional and the amateur players into its club structure. With the division, the amateurs have been governed by AVC Vitesse 1892. This important step has been formulated by then director Karel Aalbers who took over the administration of the club in 1984 and vowed to make Vitesse the 'fourth club' of the Netherlands after Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord Rotterdam.

Related Topics:
1984 - Ajax Amsterdam - PSV Eindhoven - Feyenoord Rotterdam

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From there on, the club has regularly finished in the Eredivisie top five positions and featured in the UEFA Cup competition. However, the in 2003, the club has fallen on tough circumstances after it was discovered that Karel Aalbers was involved in a tax fraud back in 2000 and has struggled against relegation. The club would have gone bankrupt again but for the timely intervention of the Arnhem city council who bought over the Gelredome and sought a financial rescue package to salvage the club.

Related Topics:
Eredivisie - UEFA Cup - 2003 - 2000 - Arnhem - Gelredome

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Its home in the city of Arnhem is the unique Gelredome stadium built in 1998, featuring a retractable roof as well as a convertible pitch that can be retracted when unused during concerts or other events held at the stadium although its capacity was rather modest with only 29,600 spectators at most. It is also one of the various venues for the Euro 2000 tournament held in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Related Topics:
Arnhem - Gelredome - 1998 - Euro 2000 - Belgium

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