Go Ahead Eagles

Go Ahead Eagles

Full name	Go Ahead Eagles
Nickname(s)	The pride of the IJssel Kowet (Dunglish pronunciation of "Go Ahead")
Founded	2 December 1902;121 years ago (1902-12-02)
Ground	De Adelaarshorst
Capacity	10,400 [1]
Chairman	Jan Willem van Dop
Head coach	René Hake
League	Eredivisie
2022–23	Eredivisie, 11th of 18
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Go Ahead Eagles are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer in the province of Overijssel. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's home stadium since 1920 is De Adelaarshorst. The club have won the national championship on four occasions, in 1917, 1922, 1930 and 1933.

They have produced numerous notable players including Raimond van der Gouw, René Eijkelkamp, Marc Overmars, Paul Bosvelt, Jan Kromkamp, Victor Sikora, Bert van Marwijk and Demy de Zeeuw while providing Henk ten Cate, Erik ten Hag and Leo Beenhakker with their first tastes of management.

History

Early successes

The club was founded in 1902 as Be Quick by the Hollander brothers. The name was soon changed to Go Ahead at the request of the Dutch Football Association in 1905. ^[2]

Go Ahead started in the second-tier Tweede Klasse. In 1911, the club reached promotion to the Eastern Eerste Klasse. In 1916, Go Ahead became champions of the Eastern Eerste Klasse for the first time, after which they faced off for the national championship in a competition with the other regional champions. In this championship playoffs for the national championship, however, the southern champions from Willem II proved too strong. A year later, however, Go Ahead took their first league title, a feat repeated in 1922, 1930 and 1933. ^[2]

Polygoonjournaal from 1922. Decisive match against Blauw-Wit in which Go Ahead became national champion. Location: Sportpark Hilversum. Without sound.

In the period between the First and Second World War, Go Ahead was by far the most successful team in the Eastern league. The club won the regional championship fifteen times during that period, and even won the title eight times in a row from 1916 to 1923. The last pre-war Eastern Championship was won in 1937. After that, the club fell on tough times. In 1941, Go Ahead suffered relegation to the Tweede Klasse. The following year, they promoted again. In 1948, the club became champion of the Eastern First Division for the sixteenth and final time. In the playoffs for the national championship with the other regional champions, Go Ahead finished third behind eventual champions, BVV Den Bosch, and Heerenveen. ^[2]

Professionalism and Europe

The introduction of professionalism in 1954 was initially unsuccessful for Go Ahead. In 1956, the club finished second to last in the Tweede Divisie. In 1959, promotion to the Eerste Divisie was secured. On 7 October 1962, Go Ahead recorded their biggest win in club history. In Deventer the final score was 11–1 against Roda JC. ^[3] Promotion to the top-tier Eredivisie followed in 1963. In the twenty-four years that followed, the club continuously played at the highest level. Especially in the second half of the sixties, Go Ahead did well in the Eredivisie. For example, from 1966 to 1969, the club finished in the top five four times in a row, with the 1967–68 season as high point when Go Ahead finished third behind Ajax and Feijenoord. ^[2]

Go Ahead also had successes in the KNVB Cup in that period. The club reached the semi-finals four times in a row from 1965 to 1968. Those of 1966, 1967 and 1968 were lost, but in 1965, Go Ahead reached the final. This was lost 1–0 to Feijenoord, but because Feijenoord was also national champion, Go Ahead qualified for European football. In the first round, Scottish side Celtic, who would eventually go on to win the European Cup a season later, was drawn. Go Ahead lost the two legs, 0–1 and 6–0. ^{[2] [4]}

On 1 July 1971, the suffix "Eagles" was added, following a suggestion from then head coach Barry Hughes, as the professional department of Go Ahead separated from the parent club. ^[5] The eagle is the charge in the coat of arms of the city of Deventer. The club had a strong start with their new name. Go Ahead Eagles were famously the only side to defeat Ajax in any competition during the 1971–72 season when they won 3–2 at De Adelaarshorst in the Eredivisie. ^[2]

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Go Ahead Eagles was a stable Eredivisie club. Relegation followed in 1987. A short Eredivisie period followed from 1992 to 1996, but afterwards the club played in the second-tier Eerste Divisie. ^[2] Partly due to the constant postponement of the construction of a new stadium, major financial concerns arose. Thanks to the help of investors, the club managed to survive in November 2003. In exchange for that help, the investors acquired 80% of the club's shares. The club is thus privately owned. The determining factor was former chairman Hans de Vroome, who owned approximately 50% of the shares. ^[6]

In May 2019, Alex Kroes took over 80% of the shares of Go Ahead Eagles, becoming the new owner. ^[7] On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Kroes intended to sell his share package to Kees Vierhouten – shareholder since 2021 – as of July 1, 2022, and to leave as owner of Go Ahead Eagles. In August 2022, this sale was officially endorsed by the licensing committee of the Dutch Football Association. ^[8]

Recent seasons

After almost two decades in the Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead won promotion to the 2013–14 Eredivisie at the end of the 2012–13 season, winning the promotion play-offs. ^[9] The club remained in the top division for the 2014–15 season, finishing 13th.

Go Ahead Eagles would compete in Europe in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League due to the Netherlands' first place in UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking. National Fair Play winner Twente withdrew due to financial difficulties, making the place for Go Ahead Eagles. However, they also suffered relegation after losing 2–0 on aggregate to De Graafschap in the May 2015 promotion/relegation play-offs. ^[10] In July 2015, they were beaten 2–5 on aggregate by Hungarian side Ferencváros ^[11] in the first Europa League qualifying round with the home leg played in Emmen due to the Adelaarshorst being renovated, and the away leg without spectators because the Hungarians were serving a ban by UEFA.^{[ citation needed ]}

The club bounced back to the Eredivisie on the first attempt in May 2016 after beating De Graafschap 5–2 on aggregate in the promotion/relegation play-offs, ^[12] but were relegated again at the end of the 2016–17 season.^{[ citation needed ]}

In May 2021, Go Ahead finished second in the Eerste Divisie, earning promotion back to the Eredivisie after four seasons in the second tier. ^[13]

Honours

• Netherlands Football League Championship
  • Winner: 1916–17, 1921–22, 1929–30, 1932–33
• Promotion to the Eredivisie
  • Promotion: 1962–63, 1991–92, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2020–21
• Tweede Divisie
  • Winner: 1958–59
• KNVB Cup
  • Runners-up: 1964–65

Domestic results

Historical chart of league performance

Below is a table with Go Ahead Eagles' domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.

Go Ahead Eagles domestic Results since 1956
Domestic league	League result	Qualification to	KNVB Cup season	Cup result
2022–23 Eredivisie	11th	-	2022–23	Round of 16
2021–22 Eredivisie	13th	-	2021–22	Semi-final
2020–21 Eerste Divisie	2nd	Eredivisie (promotion)	2020–21	Round of 16
2019–20 Eerste Divisie	6th	Season abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic	2019–20	Quarter-final
2018–19 Eerste Divisie	5th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2018–19	Second round
2017–18 Eerste Divisie	17th	–	2017–18	Second round
2016–17 Eredivisie	18th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	2016–17	Second round
2015–16 Eerste Divisie	5th	promotion/relegation play-offs: promotion	2015–16	Third round
2014–15 Eredivisie	17th	promotion/relegation play-offs: relegation	2014–15	Third round
2013–14 Eredivisie	13th	–	2013–14	Third round
2012–13 Eerste Divisie	6th	promotion/relegation play-offs: promotion	2012–13	Round of 16
2011–12 Eerste Divisie	9th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2011–12	Round of 16
2010–11 Eerste Divisie	7th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2010–11	Fourth round
2009–10 Eerste Divisie	5th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2009–10	Semi-final
2008–09 Eerste Divisie	7th	–	2008–09	Second round
2007–08 Eerste Divisie	10th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2007–08	Third round
2006–07 Eerste Divisie	7th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2006–07	Round of 16
2005–06 Eerste Divisie	18th	–	2005–06	Third round
2004–05 Eerste Divisie	17th	–	2004–05	Round of 16
2003–04 Eerste Divisie	9th	–	2003–04	Second round
2002–03 Eerste Divisie	7th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2002–03	Second round
2001–02 Eerste Divisie	16th	–	2001–02	Second round
2000–01 Eerste Divisie	6th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	2000–01	Second round
1999–2000 Eerste Divisie	14th	–	1999–00	Round of 16
1998–99 Eerste Divisie	7th	–	1998–99	Round of 16
1997–98 Eerste Divisie	9th	–	1997–98	Group stage
1996–97 Eerste Divisie	6th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	1996–97	Second round
1995–96 Eredivisie	18th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	1995–96	Second round
1994–95 Eredivisie	17th	– (surviving promotion/relegation play-offs)	1994–95	Second round
1993–94 Eredivisie	12th	–	1993–94	Third round
1992–93 Eredivisie	15th	–	1992–93	Third round
1991–92 Eerste Divisie	11th	Eredivisie (winning prom./releg. play-offs)	1991–92	Second round
1990–91 Eerste Divisie	7th	–	1990–91	Second round
1989–90 Eerste Divisie	9th	promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion	1989–90	Second round
1988–89 Eerste Divisie	10th	promotion competition: no promotion	1988–89	First round
1987–88 Eerste Divisie	12th	–	1987–88	First round
1986–87 Eredivisie	16th	Eerste Divisie (relegation)	1986–87	First round
1985–86 Eredivisie	10th	–	1985–86	First round
1984–85 Eredivisie	15th	–	1984–85	Quarter-final
1983–84 Eredivisie	11th	–	1983–84	Second round
1982–83 Eredivisie	12th	–	1982–83	Quarter-final
1981–82 Eredivisie	10th	–	1981–82	Second round
1980–81 Eredivisie	12th	–	1980–81	Semi-final
1979–80 Eredivisie	12th	–	1979–80	Round of 16
1978–79 Eredivisie	9th	–	1978–79	Second round
1977–78 Eredivisie	16th	–	1977–78	Round of 16
1976–77 Eredivisie	11th	–	1976–77	Second round
1975–76 Eredivisie	13th	–	1975–76	Round of 16
1974–75 Eredivisie	12th	–	1974–75	Second round
1973–74 Eredivisie	10th	–	1973–74	Second round
1972–73 Eredivisie	14th	–	1972–73	Second round
1971–72 Eredivisie	9th	–	1971–72	Round of 16
1970–71 Eredivisie	7th	–	1970–71	Second round
1969–70 Eredivisie	7th	–	1969–70	Round of 16 [ citation needed ]
1968–69 Eredivisie	4th	–	1968–69	Second round [ citation needed ]
1967–68 Eredivisie	3rd	–	1967–68	Semi-final[ citation needed ]
1966–67 Eredivisie	5th	–	1966–67	Semi-final[ citation needed ]
1965–66 Eredivisie	5th	–	1965–66	Semi-final[ citation needed ]
1964–65 Eredivisie	11th	Cup Winners' Cup	1964–65	Final
1963–64 Eredivisie	12th	–	1963–64	Second round [ citation needed ]
1962–63 Eerste Divisie	2nd	Eredivisie (promotion)	1962–63	Third round [ citation needed ]
1961–62 Eerste Divisie	4th (group A)	–	1961–62	? [ citation needed ]
1960–61 Eerste Divisie	15th (group B)	–	1960–61	? [ citation needed ]
1959–60 Eerste Divisie	10th (group B)	–	not held	not held
1958–59 Tweede Divisie	1st (group B)	Eerste Divisie (promotion)	1958–59	? [ citation needed ]
1957–58 Tweede Divisie	3rd (group B)	–	1957–58	? [ citation needed ]
1956–57 Tweede Divisie	13th (group A)	–	1956–57	? [ citation needed ]

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1965–66	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Celtic	0–6	0–1	0–7
1967	Intertoto Cup	GS	Lierse	1–2	0–2	4th
			Rouen	5–0	3–4
			Grenchen	3–1	0–2
1969	Intertoto Cup	GS	Szombierki Bytom	2–2	0–1	3rd
			Östers IF	1–1	2–3
			Lugano	1–1	4–0
1984	Intertoto Cup	GS	Standard Liège	1–1	2–4	4th
			OB	1–1	0–3
			Eintracht Braunschweig	2–1	1–2
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1R	Ferencváros	1–1	1–4	2–5

Notes

• Goals by Go Ahead Eagles are listed first.
• 1R: First round
• GS: Group stage

Rivalries

Main article: IJsselderby

Go Ahead Eagles' biggest rivals are PEC Zwolle. ^[14] Both clubs are located close to the river IJssel, hence the name IJssel-derby for their encounters. Other teams who share a rivalry with Go Ahead Eagles include FC Twente and De Graafschap.

Current squad

As of 15 February 2024 ^[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   NED Jeffrey de Lange 2 DF   NED Mats Deijl 3 DF   GER Gerrit Nauber 4 DF   NED Joris Kramer 5 DF   NED Bas Kuipers ( captain ) 7 FW   DEN Søren Tengstedt 8 MF   NED Evert Linthorst 10 MF   BEL Philippe Rommens 11 FW   NED Bobby Adekanye 15 DF   NED Dean James 16 FW   SWE Victor Edvardsen 18 MF   ISL Willum Þór Willumsson 20 MF   BEL Xander Blomme

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF   NED Enric Llansana 22 GK   NED Erwin Mulder 23 FW   NOR Oliver Valaker Edvardsen 25 DF   NED Jamal Amofa 26 DF   NED Luca Everink 27 FW   NED Finn Stokkers 28 DF   NED Pim Saathof 29 FW   DEN Jakob Breum 30 GK   NED Sven Jansen 32 FW   BEL Thibo Baeten 33 GK   NED Nando Verdoni

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   GER Luca Plogmann (at Dordrecht until 30 June 2024) — DF   ARM Aventis Aventisian (at Jarun Zagreb until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   NED Rashaan Fernandes (at União de Leiria until 30 June 2024) — FW   ESP Dario Serra (at Mérida until 30 June 2024)

Former players

• Diego Michiels
• Ragnar Oratmangoen
• Jay Idzes
• Stephan Andersen
• Kari Arkivuo
• Peter Arntz
• Kresten Bjerre
• Sonny Bosz
• Henk ten Cate
• Wiel Coerver
• René Eijkelkamp
• Reza Ghoochannejhad
• La'Vere Corbin-Ong
• Leo Halle
• Cees van Kooten
• Jan Kromkamp
• Bert van Marwijk
• Marc Overmars
• Quincy Promes
• Peter Rufai
• Dick Schneider
• Viktor Sikora
• Uğur Yıldırım
• Hamid Zarbaf
• Demy de Zeeuw

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	René Hake
Assistant Head Coach	Roeland ten Berge
Goalkeeping Coach	Eric Weghorst
Fitness Coach	Jelmer Sevenster
Trainer scout	Frank Berghuis
Opponent Analyst	Gert Jan Karsten
Scout	Jan Groeneweg Dennis Hulshoff Jules Reimerink
Sports Scientist	Tim van der Meulen
Physiotherapist	Frank Nab
Secretary	Adrie Steenbergen
Kit Manager	Carla Whittie-Bruggeman
Academy Manager	Eric Whittie
Team Manager	Alfred Knippenberg
Technical Director	Paul Bosvelt

Coaching history

• Fred Fitton (1946–1948) ^[16]
• Stephan Nagy (1948–50) ^{[17] [18]}
• Franz Köhler (1954–56)
• Gilbert Richmond (1957–62)
• František Fadrhonc (July 1, 1962 – June 30, 1970)
• Barry Hughes (July 1, 1970 – June 30, 1973)
• Jan Notermans (1973–75)
• Henk van Brussel (1975)
• Leo Beenhakker (1975–76)
• Henk van Brussel (interim) (1976)
• Wiel Coerver (July 1, 1976 – June 30, 1977)
• Henk van Brussel (interim) (1978)
• Joop Brand (July 1, 1978 – Feb 17, 1980)
• Spitz Kohn (July 1, 1980 – June 30, 1981)
• Bob Maaskant (1981–83)
• Henk Wullems (July 1, 1983 – June 30, 1986)
• Nico van Zoghel (July 1, 1985 – June 30, 1988)
• Mircea Petescu (June 30, 1988 – December 15, 1988)
• Fritz Korbach (December 15, 1988 – June 30, 1990)
• Henk ten Cate (Feb 22, 1990 – June 30, 1990)
• Jan Versleijen (July 1, 1990 – June 30, 1993)
• Henk ten Cate (July 1, 1993 – Jan 27, 1995)
• Ab Fafié (Jan 27, 1995 – June 30, 1996)
• Leo van Veen (July 1, 1996 – June 30, 1997)
• Jan van Staa (July 1, 1997 – June 30, 2002)
• Theo de Jong (2001–02)
• Robert Maaskant (July 1, 2002 – Feb 2, 2003)
• Raymond Libregts (Jan 15, 2003 – June 30, 2005)
• Mike Snoei (July 1, 2005 – March 4, 2008)
• Gerard Somer (interim) (March 4, 2008 – March 7, 2008)
• Andries Ulderink (March 7, 2008 – June 30, 2011)
• Joop Gall (July 1, 2011 – March 24, 2012)
• Michel Boerebach (int.) (March 24, 2012 – March 31, 2012)
• Jimmy Calderwood (March 30, 2012 – June 30, 2012)
• Erik ten Hag (July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013)
• Foeke Booy (July 1, 2013 – March 22, 2015)
• Dennis Demmers (March 22, 2015 – Feb 1, 2016)
• Harry Decheiver (interim) (2016)
• Hans de Koning (Feb 20, 2016 – Mar 22, 2017)
• Robert Maaskant (Mar 25, 2017 – Jun 30, 2017)
• Leon Vlemmings (Jul 1, 2017 – Dec 3, 2017)
• Jan van Staa (Dec 5, 2017 – Jun 30, 2018)
• John Stegeman (Jul 1, 2018 – May 29, 2019)
• Jack de Gier (May, 2019 – Jun 30, 2020)
• Kees van Wonderen (Jul 1, 2020 – Jun 30, 2022)
• René Hake (Jul 1, 2022 – present)

See also

• Eerste Divisie
• List of football clubs in the Netherlands

References

1. https://stijn.linearecta.be/stadiumspot/Nederland/GoAhead.htm
2. "Historie - Go Ahead Eagles". ga-eagles.nl. Go Ahead Eagles. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
3. "Go Ahead - Roda 1962" (in Dutch). Go Ahead Eagles. 16 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
4. Sullivan, Joe (26 October 2015). "Go Ahead Eagles celebrate Golden Anniversary of meeting Celtic". celticfc.net. Celtic F.C. Retrieved 20 October 2020. So, it would seem that the 7-0 aggregate score ended Go Ahead's European story right then and there but, as it turns out, their fairytale adventure of getting into Europe via the back door didn't end there for the club who changed their name to Go Ahead Eagles in 1971.
5. "Go Ahead Eagles – About Us". Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
6. Arentsen, Dennis (16 May 2018). "De Vroome wil zijn aandelen in GA Eagles aan stichting schenken". de Stentor (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
7. "KNVB keurt overname aandelen goed: Kroes machtigste man binnen Go Ahead". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 31 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
8. "Alex Kroes vertrekt als grote baas van Go Ahead Eagles". Algemeen Dagblad . 16 May 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
9. "Eredivisie review: Go Ahead Eagles end 17-year exile from the Eredivisie". Sky Sports. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
10. Graafschap duwt Go Ahead Eagles naar Eerste Divisie – Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch)
11. Ferencváros maat te groot voor GA Eagles - GA Eagles (in Dutch)
12. Go Ahead Eagles naar eredivisie - De Telegraaf (in Dutch)
13. "Go Ahead Eagles promoveert op doelsaldo naar eredivisie, De Graafschap met lege handen" [Go Ahead Eagles promoted to Eredivisie on goal difference, De Graafschap empty handed] (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
14. Tonie van Ringelestijn and Joël Groeneveld (May 1999). "Betaald voetbal in Zwolle van 1980 tot 1999. Van PEC naar FC Zwolle" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2007. FC Zwolle – Go Ahead Eagles Rivalry.
15. "Selectie". www.ga-eagles.nl. Go Ahead Eagles. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
16. "De trainer van Go Ahead" (in Dutch). Deventer Dagblad. 5 August 1946. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
17. "Go- Ahead krijgt Tsjechische oefenmeester" (in Dutch). Deventer Dagblad. 19 June 1948. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
18. "Trainer S. Nagy gaat Go-Ahead verlaten" (in Dutch). Deventer Dagblad. 9 November 1950. Retrieved 12 October 2022.

External links

• Official website (in Dutch)
• Club profile Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine at Weltfussballarchiv
• Online fanzine (in Dutch)
• Bozen van het Oosten (in Dutch)