SBV Vitesse

Vitesse, founded in 1892, is the second oldest professional football club still in professional football in the Netherlands, after Sparta Rotterdam who were formed in 1888. The roots of Vitesse actually pre-date Sparta by a year as in 1887, a club with the name "Arnhemsche cricket- en voetbalvereeniging Vitesse" was formed by a group of high school students who played their sport on the Rijnkade, overlooking the River Rhine in the city centre. Reluctant to choose a Latin or English name for the club as they felt those languages were too elitist, they picked the French word Vitesse, meaning "speed". In 1891 the club disbanded as they were no longer able to find anywhere suitable to play cricket after a velodrome was built on their usual playing field in the Klarenbeek Park. The following year a group of wealthy students resurrected the sports club, this time with the name AVC (Arnhemse Voetbal en Cricketclub) Vitesse. In the summer they played cricket and in the winter football. At the end of 1892, Vitesse played its first real football match, and in 1894 Vitesse disbanded the cricket branch. In 1895 and 1896 Vitesse became champions of the Gelderland competition. From the foundation of the Netherlands national football championship in 1898 until 1954, the title was decided by play-offs by a handful of clubs who had previously won their regional league. Vitesse lost the final of the national championship six times (1898, 1899, 1903, 1913, 1914 and 1915). In 1912 Vitesse…

Domestic

Dutch Championship/Eredivisie Runners-up: 1897–98, 1902–03, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15 Eerste Divisie Winners: 1976–77, 1988–89 Runners-up: 1959–60, 1973–74 Promoted: 1970–71 Tweede Divisie Winners: 1965–66 KNVB Cup Winners: 2016–17 Runners-up: 1911–12, 1926–27, 1989–90, 2020–21 Johan Cruyff Shield Runners-up: 2017

Regional

Eerste klasse Oost Winners: 1896–97, 1897–98, 1902–03, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1952–53 Promoted: 1954–55 Tweede klasse Oost Winners: 1922–23, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1949–50 Gelderland Competition Winners: 1894–95, 1895–96

Club Awards

VVCS: Dutch Team of the Year Winners: 1989–90

European Golden Boot

The following players have won the European Golden Boot whilst playing for Vitesse:

Nikos Machlas (34 goals) – 1998

Dutch Footballer of the Year (Golden Boots)

The following players have won the Dutch Footballer of the Year whilst playing for Vitesse:

Edward Sturing – 1990 (Eredivisie) Wilfried Bony – 2013 (Eredivisie)

Johan Cruyff Trophy

The following players have won the Johan Cruyff Trophy whilst playing for Vitesse:

Marco van Ginkel – 2013

Eredivisie Top Scorer

Nikos Machlas (34 goals) – 1998 Wilfried Bony (31 goals) – 2013

Eerste Divisie Top Scorer

Herman Veenendaal (23 goals) – 1974 Remco Boere (27 goals) – 1983

Rinus Michels Award (Manager of the year)

Fred Rutten (Runner-up) – 2012/13 Peter Bosz (Runner-up) – 2013/14, 2014/15 Henk Fraser (Runner-up) – 2016/17 Thomas Letsch (Runner-up) – 2020/21

UEFA's #EqualGame Award

Guram Kashia – 2018

Georgian Footballer of the Year

Guram Kashia – 2012, 2013