NETHERLANDS: DVV Go-Ahead (1920-1971) / Go Ahead Eagles (1971-)

Stadion De Adelaarshorst, Deventer (Go Ahead Eagles, formerly DVV Go-Ahead)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

14 X 1995 / Go Ahead Eagles - NAC 1-1 / Eredivisie (= NL level 1) 
15 VIII 2008 / Go Ahead Eagles - Fortuna Sittard 1-1 / Eerste Divisie (= NL level 2)
5 VIII 2011 / Go Ahead Eagles - SC Telstar 1-0 / Eerste Divisie (= NL level 2)

Timeline

• 1902 / Foundation of a football club in Deventer, which takes on the name Be Quick. Founding fathers of the club are Leo zur Kleinsmiede – also Be Quick’s first chairman – and Karel Hollander. One of the first members of the club is Karel’s younger brother Han, later to acquire fame in the Netherlands as a football reporter on nationwide radio. Not disposing of a pitch of its own, Be Quick is given the opportunity to groundshare with DC&FC UD (‘Utile Dulci’) at Terrein Ossenweerd, on the floodplains of the River IJssel. Whereas UD is an elitist club, only open to Deventer’s upper classes, Be Quick’s credentials are firmly working-class.
• 1903 / In the year following its foundation, Be Quick joins the Apeldoornsche Voetbalbond, a local football association.
• 1904 / Abandoning the Apeldoornsche Voetbalbond after finishing as runners-up in their league, Be Quick now acquires membership of another local football federation, the so-called Zutphensche Voetbalbond, newly founded in 1904 – and due to have an existence of only two years.
• 1905 / At the instigation of Chris Dekker, an UD member who also was a board member of the official Netherlands’ football association (NVB, the future KNVB), Be Quick applies for NVB membership after having managed a second place in the Zutphensche Voetbalbond. The club is admitted only after changing its name from Be Quick to Deventer Voetbalvereeniging (DVV) Go-Ahead – due to the fact that the name ‘Be Quick’ had been adopted by several other NVB member clubs, most notably GV&QV Be Quick (from Groningen) and ZVV Be Quick (from Zutphen). The idea to take on the name Go-Ahead – another fashionably sounding English epithet – came from Karel Hollander. For the 1905-06 season, DVV Go-Ahead is placed in NVB District East’s (Sunday) League 2. 
• 1906 / Moving away from its groundshare with DC&FC UD at Terrein Ossenweerd, DVV Go-Ahead moves to Terrein De Halve Maan in Diepenveen, a village on the outskirts of Deventer. The pitch is laid out at the back of the eponymous café at Boxbergerweg.
• 1908 / Abandoning Terrein De Halve Maan in Diepenveen after two seasons, DVV Go-Ahead returns to Deventer, being given the luxury of its own pitch at Terrein Ossenweerd, where it had groundshared with DC&FC UD between 1902 and 1906. From now on, whereas UD continues to play its football on the ground to the south of the railway bridge, Go Ahead’s new pitch is situated to the north of it. Go-Ahead’s ground is occasionally referred to locally as Terrein De Zes Veldjes.
• 1909 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 2B, 3 points behind champions Phenix (the future SC Enschede).
• 1910 / Champions in District East’s League 2C, 2 points ahead of runners-up Robur et Velocitas, DVV Go-Ahead fails to win the subsequent round of championship play-offs, thus being deprived of promotion to League 1.
• 1911 / Runners-up in District East’s League 2A, 4 points behind champions HVV Tubantia, DVV Go-Ahead qualifies for the championship play-offs, in which it meets the aforementioned club as well as ZAC and ODO. In the end, ZAC and Go-Ahead are the two clubs to top the play-off round, with Go-Ahead acquiring the decisive points in a 2-1 away win at ZAC (goals by Jaap Nijenhuis & Wim Roetert). As such, DVV Go-Ahead accedes to League 1 for the first time.
• 1915 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 2 points behind champions AVC Vitesse.
• 1916 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its first-ever title in District East’s League 1, finishing 1 point ahead of closest followers SC Enschede. The decisive points are clinched in a 4-3 home win – although not really playing on its home ground, which was waterlogged, as a result of which the club moved to UD’s Terrein Ossenweerd – against ZVV Be Quick. The winning goal was scored by Edu Haes, who made his debut in the team that day. Subsequently, Go-Ahead comes close to winning the nationwide title in the championship play-offs, finishing 1 point behind District South champions Willem II, but ahead of District West winners RV&AV Sparta. 
• 1917 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its second consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 3 points ahead of runners-up NC&VC Quick. The decisive points are clinched in a 1-0 home win over Quick. Subsequently, Go-Ahead goes on to win its first-ever nationwide title by defeating all three other regional champions handsomely, UVV (which finishes as runners-up in the group at 4 points distance), Willem II, and GV&QV Be Quick. The decision falls in a 2-0 home win in Deventer against UVV, with Jaap Nijenhuis and Bertus Haes scoring the goals. 
• 1918 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its third consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 7 points ahead of closest followers ZVV Be Quick. In the championship play-offs, Go-Ahead has to leave the honours to AFC Ajax, finishing three points behind the Amsterdam club, which conquers its first national title. The other participants in these play-offs were Willem II, AFC, and GV&QV Be Quick.
• 1919 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its fourth consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 1 point ahead of closest rivals SC Enschede. In a repeat of the events of the previous season, Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up behind AFC Ajax in the championship play-offs, but ahead of the other regional champions, AFC, GV&QV Be Quick, and NAC.
• 1920 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its fifth consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 2 points ahead of runners-up HVV Tubantia. In the championship play-offs, the club finishes in third place, behind GV&QV Be Quick and RC&VV VOC, but ahead of MVV. That same year, moving away from their pitch De Zes Veldjes, Go-Ahead settles at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven at Veenweg in Deventer’s town centre – the future Stadion De Adelaarshorst. Allegedly, Deventer’s town council offered the opportunity to move to this new municipal sports ground to DC&FC UD first, but this club refused. With Deventer’s mayor, Jhr. Mr. T.A.M.A. van Humalda van Eysinga, performing the inaugural ceremony on May 2nd, 1920, Go-Ahead goes on to win its first match at the new ground by defeating RC&VV VOC (3-0).
• 1921 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its sixth consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 3 points ahead of closest followers SC Enschede. In the subsequent round of championship play-offs, Go-Ahead finishes bottom of the table, far behind NAC, which conquers its only-ever national title, as well as GV&QV Be Quick and AFC Ajax. Also in 1921, Go-Ahead’s midfielder Gerrit Hulsman is the first-ever player of the club to be called up for the Netherlands’ national team, making his debut in a match against Denmark – and going on to earn four caps in total. In the summer of 1921, Hulsman earned a transfer to RVV Feijenoord, but he would return to Deventer after just one season, going on to wear Go-Ahead’s colours until his retirement from football in 1929. Hulsman would pass away in 1964 at the age of 64. 
• 1922 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its seventh consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 6 points ahead of runners-up AVC Heracles and HVV Tubantia. In the championship play-offs, Go-Ahead stays ahead of NAC and GV&QV Be Quick, in joint first place with ASV Blauw-Wit. As a result, a tie-break match is held against the team from Amsterdam, with Hilversum’s Gemeentelijk Sportpark being the venue for the encounter. Attended by some 10,000 spectators, the match goes into extra time, in which Go-Ahead’s Wim Roetert scores the only goal of the match. As a result, Go-Ahead clinches its second nationwide title. Following the success, a first, wooden stand is erected at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven to accommodate the ever-growing number of spectators flocking to Go-Ahead’s home matches.
• 1923 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its eighth consecutive title in District East League 1, finishing 9 points ahead of runners-up AVC Heracles. In the championship play-offs, the club finishes in third place, ahead of Willem II, but behind GV&QV Be Quick and eventual champions RCH. Also in 1923, at the age of 31, Go-Ahead’s striker Wim Roetert is called up for the Netherlands’ national team for the first and only time, scoring two goals in an emphatic 8-1 win over France.
• 1924 / Having won eight district titles in a row, DVV Go-Ahead now finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 2 points behind champions SC Enschede.
• 1925 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its ninth title in District East League 1, finishing an impressive 11 points ahead of closest followers SC Enschede. In the championship play-offs, the club finishes in fourth place, behind HBS, NAC, and RV&AV Sparta, with only District North champions LAC Frisia 1883 finishing behind them.
• 1926 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 4 points behind champions SC Enschede.
• 1928 / DVV Go-Ahead’s goalkeeper Leo Halle is called up for the Netherlands’ national team for the first time, defending his country’s goal in a 3-2 away defeat against Italy in Milan. Halle goes on to collect fifteen caps between 1928 and 1937, being part of his country’s squad for the 1934 World Championships in Italy. Moreover, Halle is Go-Ahead’s all-time record holder with nearly 450 matches in the club’s first team. 
• 1929 / Having had two particularly weak seasons with sixth and eighth places, DVV Go-Ahead reclaims its throne in District East’s League 1 by conquering its tenth title, finishing 2 points ahead of runners-up ZAC. In the championship play-offs, Go-Ahead finishes in second place, 2 points behind champions PSV, but ahead of RVV Feijenoord, RV&AV Sparta, and GVV Velocitas. Also in 1929, Leo Halle’s older brother Jan is called up for the Netherlands’ national team, earning a total of just two caps for his country – but going on to play over 400 matches for Go-Ahead in eighteen seasons (1920-38). 
• 1930 / DVV Go-Ahead manages its eleventh District East League 1 title, finishing 7 points ahead of closest followers SC Enschede. Subsequently, the club goes on to conquer its third nationwide title, winning the championship play-offs, 1 point ahead of AFC Ajax, with GVV Velocitas and ASV Blauw-Wit being the other participants. The decisive points are obtained in an authoritarian 4-0 away win against GVV Velocitas at Stadion Esserberg in Groningen (estimated attendance 18,000!), with Theo de Kreek, Herman Brilleman (2), and Jan de Kreek scoring the goals. Following the club’s national title, Deventer’s city-council presents Go-Ahead with a monumental columnar stadium clock, which is given a place at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven opposite the main stand. Also in 1930, Go-Ahead’s striker Jan de Kreek earns three caps for the Netherlands’ national team. De Kreek, who would play for Go-Ahead until 1935, passed away in 1988 at the age of 84.
• 1931 / DVV Go-Ahead obtains its twelfth District East League 1 title, finishing with an equal number of points as PEC, but going on to win a tie-break match. In the championship play-offs, the club does not come close to the national title, finishing behind AFC Ajax, RVV Feijenoord, and PSV, with only GVV Velocitas obtaining fewer points than the club from Deventer.
• 1932 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 1 point behind champions SC Enschede.
• 1933 / DVV Go-Ahead manages its thirteenth District East League 1 title, finishing 1 point ahead of closest followers PEC. The decisive points are obtained in a 4-1 home win over AVC Vitesse. Following that, the club goes on to conquer its fourth (and last) nationwide title, winning the championship play-offs, 1 point ahead of RVV Feijenoord, with IJVV Stormvogels, PSV, and GVV Velocitas being the other participants. Two goals by Jan de Kreek and one by Herman Brilleman give the club a 3-0 win over PSV in the decisive match of the play-offs. Also in 1933, the wooden stand at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven is knocked down, with works on a replacement stand in stone getting underway subsequently.
• 1934 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 4 points behind champions AVC Heracles. Also in 1934, the new grandstand in stone at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven is inaugurated by Deventer’s mayor, Mr. F.W.R. Wttewaall, on August 25th, 1934. The stand, a design by a local architect, Maarten van Harte Hzn. (1868-1934), has a capacity of 1276 covered seats, including 300 box seats and 16 box of honour seats. In front of the stand, there is an unroofed wooden stand with 600 more seats. Below the new main stand, dressing rooms as well as a restaurant for guests can be found. The three other sides of the ground remain open.
• 1935 / DVV Go-Ahead manages its fourteenth District East League 1 title, finishing 6 points ahead of closest followers AVC Heracles. The successful coach is Edu Haes. In the subsequent round of championship play-offs, Go-Ahead misses out on a fifth title by just 1 point, with PSV taking the honours, and AFC Ajax, GVV Velocitas, and AFC DWS being the other teams taking part.
• 1936 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 4 points behind champions SC Enschede.
• 1937 / Coached by Edu Haes, DVV Go-Ahead manages its fifteenth District East League 1 title, 4 points ahead of closest rivals AVC Heracles. In the championship play-offs, the club from Deventer finishes at the bottom of the table, far behind champions AFC Ajax as well as RVV Feijenoord, PSV, and GV&QV Be Quick.
• 1938 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s League 1, 2 points behind champions AVC Heracles.
• 1941 / Having managed two mid-table positions in the previous seasons, DVV Go-Ahead, still coached by Edu Haes, now finishes bottom of the table in District East’s League 1, thus dropping back into League 2 after thirty seasons.
• 1942 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 2B, 4 points ahead of closest rivals SV Zwolsche Boys, DVV Go-Ahead manages an immediate return to Sunday League 1. The successful coach is Edu Haes.
• 1943 / Han Hollander, one of the founding members of DVV Go-Ahead as well as the Netherlands’ single-most famous radio sports reporter, dies in the Sobibor extermination camp, one year after having been arrested by German occupation authorities for his Jewish lineage. Han Hollander was 56 years old.
• 1944 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 1, 4 points behind champions AVC Heracles.
• 1946 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as joint runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 1 along with SV De Enschedese Boys, 1 point behind champions SC NEC.
• 1947 / DVV Go-Ahead finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 1, 2 points behind champions SC NEC.
• 1948 / Coached by Fred Fitton, DVV Go-Ahead manages its sixteenth (and last-ever) District East’s Sunday League 1 title, 1 point ahead of closest followers NC&VC Quick. The decisive points are obtained in a 3-2 away win at SV Zwolsche Boys. In the championship play-offs, Go-Ahead goes on to finish in third place, behind BVV and vv Heerenveen, but ahead of HFC Haarlem and PSV.
• 1954 / In spite of DVV Go-Ahead having only narrowly staved off relegation in District East’s Sunday League 1 in the previous two seasons, the club’s presidency takes the decision to take the leap to the Netherlands’ newly formed professional league pyramid. 
• 1955 / After finishing in a modest tenth place in its 1954-55 qualifying group, DVV Go-Ahead is placed in Tweede Divisie, the third (and lowest) level of the Netherlands’ new professional league pyramid.
• 1959 / Runaway champions in Tweede Divisie B, 10 points ahead of closest followers vv Veendam, DVV Go-Ahead wins promotion to Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Netherlands’ professional league pyramid, along with the aforementioned club. The decisive points are obtained in a 1-0 home win over SV Zwolsche Boys. The successful coach is Gilbert Richmond.
• 1962 / DVV Go-Ahead manages its most comprehensive win as a professional league club by giving Roda JC a 11-1 drubbing at Terrein aan den Brinkgreven in October 1962.
• 1963 / Runners-up in Eerste Divisie, 5 points behind champions AFC DWS, DVV Go-Ahead wins promotion to Eredivisie, the top tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid, for the first time. The decisive points are obtained in a 4-2 away win at EVV Eindhoven. The successful coach is František Fadrhonc, a Czechoslovak trainer who had escaped his country following the communist coup in 1948. Following the promotion, the stadium – of which the entrance has meanwhile been moved to Vetkampstraat – is given a comprehensive extension, with a covered terrace, the so-called IJsseltribune, running the length of the pitch being erected alongside the eastern touchline, opposite the main stand. In this renovation, the columnar stadium clock, dating back to 1930, is removed, with some sources stating that it must have been buried below the new stand. Meanwhile, on the northern side of the ground, the Brinkgrevertribune, an open terrace, is inaugurated, with the southern end being the only open side of the ground left – which allows unterraced open standing. Also in 1963, following an idea of František Fadrhonc, DVV Go-Ahead opens its juvenile home for talented academy footballers, of which the club would reap the benefits in the following decades.
• 1964 / DVV Go-Ahead signs goalkeeper Nico van Zoghel from vv DOS. Van Zoghel would go on to be one of the cornerstones of the team for the ten following seasons, while also spending the last two seasons of his playing career in Deventer after short spells at SC Amersfoort and BV De Graafschap. Nico van Zoghel defended the goal of DVV Go-Ahead and Go Ahead Eagles an impressive 329 times.
• 1965 / Following successive wins over BV De Graafschap, GVAV, Roda JC, SVV, and NAC, DVV Go-Ahead reaches the Netherlands’ Cup final for the first time, suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of RVV Feijenoord. Due to Feijenoord conquering the Netherlands’ title as well that season, DVV Go-Ahead qualifies for the Cup Winners Cup, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by Celtic FC (7-0 aggr.). For the home tie against the Glaswegians, ending in a 0-6 humiliation, the stadium – newly equipped with floodlights to allow the midweek fixture to be played in Deventer – is filled to capacity with 20,000 spectators.
• 1966 / DVV Go-Ahead reaches the semis of the Netherlands’ Cup, in which it is eliminated by ADO at vv DOS’ Stadion Galgenwaard.
• 1967 / DVV Go-Ahead reaches the semis of the Netherlands’ Cup for the third year running, suffering a 2-1 home defeat (A.E.T.) against AFC Ajax (with Johan Cruijff being one of the scorers for the club from Amsterdam). That same year, Go-Ahead defender Henk Warnas, who had joined the club from RVV Feijenoord in 1964, is the first post-war player of the Deventer team to be called up for the Netherlands’ national team, making his debut in a home friendly against the USSR (3-1). Warnas would win a total of five caps in 1967 and 1968 – and defend the colours of Go-Ahead and Go Ahead Eagles in 364 matches, eventually leaving the club for PEC Zwolle after twelve seasons in 1976. Also in 1967, Warnas’ fellow defender Pleun Strik leaves DVV Go-Ahead to sign for PSV, as a player of which he would go on to win eight caps for the Netherlands. 
• 1968 / Still coached by František Fadrhonc, DVV Go-Ahead manages its best-ever Eredivisie result, finishing in third place behind AFC Ajax and RVV Feijenoord. Furthermore, the club reaches the semis of the Netherlands’ Cup for the fourth consecutive time, bowing out against ADO in a match played at PSV’s Philips Stadion – with the other semi between FC Twente ’65 and AFC Ajax being played in Deventer (2-2 A.E.T., Ajax wins shoot-out). That same year, Go-Ahead’s midfielder Wietse Veenstra, who had broken into the first team from the club’s youth academy in 1964, makes his debut in the Netherlands’ national team in a goalless friendly away in Romania – managing a total of 9 caps between 1968 and 1970 and leaving Go-Ahead in 1969 to play for PSV, Club Brugge KV, Racing White, RWDM, and Cercle Brugge KSV. Also in 1968, the open terrace at the northern side of Go-Ahead’s stadium, the so-called Brinkgrevertribune, is equipped with a roof construction.
• 1969 / DVV Go-Ahead manages a respectable fourth place in the 1968-69 Eredivisie season. That same year, midfielder Nico Rijnders, who had joined the club from NAC in 1968, makes his debut in the Netherlands’ national team in a friendly against Czechoslovakia (the first of 8 caps) – leaving the club from Deventer for AFC Ajax in the summer of 1969. Rijnders would go on to defend the colours of Belgian side Club Brugge KV as well, being constrained to break off his career due to health issues in 1973. Nico Rijnders passed away in 1976 at the age of 28 following heart failure.
• 1970 / Go-Ahead’s 22-year-old defender Dick Schneider, who had broken into the club’s first team five years previously, earns himself a transfer to RVV Feijenoord, going on to win 11 caps for the Netherlands’ national team as well. Schneider would have two more short spells at Go Ahead Eagles as well as passages at AVC Vitesse and FC Wageningen, where he ended his career in 1984. As Schneider leaves DVV Go-Ahead for Feijenoord, Ruud Geels makes the opposite journey, staying with DVV Go-Ahead and Go Ahead Eagles for two seasons, in which he scored 35 goals. In 1972, he left Deventer for Club Brugge KV – making his debut in the Netherlands’ national team two years later.
• 1971 / DVV Go-Ahead withdraws into non-league, passing its professional league licence to a newly formed entity, Go Ahead Eagles – with the addition ‘Eagles’ being an idea of the club’s Welsh coach Barry Hughes, who had succeeded František Fadrhonc in 1970. With DVV Go-Ahead withdrawing to the club’s training ground, Terrein Bergweide, at Zutphenseweg (and settling at the newly laid-out Sportpark Rielerenk in 1973), Go Ahead Eagles takes over that club’s place in the stadium, which is renamed Adelaarshorst to mirror the name change of the club itself (adelaar being the Dutch word for ‘eagle’).
• 1973 / Stadion De Adelaarshorst hosts the Netherlands’ national team for the first and only time in history, with Iceland choosing to play its home tie against the Orange squad in the Netherlands rather than on home soil. Attended by 23,000 spectators, the Netherlands pulverises its Scandinavian opposition, 1-8 (with two goals by Johan Cruijff).
• 1975 / Two players who had broken into Go Ahead Eagles’ first team from the club’s youth academy, midfielder Peter Arntz and winger Bert van Marwijk, make their debut in the Netherlands’ national team. For Van Marwijk (future coach of the Netherlands’ national team between 2008 and 2012), the 3-0 away defeat against Yugoslavia was to remain his only match in the orange jersey, while Arntz would go on to gather 5 caps. Both players eventually left the club from Deventer for AZ ’67, Van Marwijk in 1975 and Arntz one year later. 
• 1976 / The young coach Leo Beenhakker, who had joined Go Ahead Eagles from vv Veendam in 1975, is sacked before the end of the 1975-76 season due to disappointing results. In spite of his lack of success in Deventer, Beenhakker would go on to have an impressive coaching career with spells at clubs such as AFC Ajax, Real Madrid CF, and Feyenoord Rotterdam as well as stints as coach with the national teams of the Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago, and Poland.
• 1978 / Go Ahead Eagles only narrowly avoids relegation, finishing in third-last place in Eredivisie, only 1 point ahead of FC Amsterdam, which dropped back into Eerste Divisie alongside bottom side Telstar.
• 1981 / Go Ahead Eagles reaches the semifinals of the Netherlands’ Cup, in which the club bows out against AZ ’67 (6-1). That same year, the club’s bony 32-year-old striker Cees van Kooten was called up for the Netherlands’ national team for the first time, managing the only goal in an away win in Cyprus in his debut match. Van Kooten would go on to win 9 caps (4 goals) in the following years. Moreover, he defended the colours of Go Ahead Eagles in 218 matches between 1976 and 1983.
• 1985 / Former Go-Ahead and Go Ahead Eagles goalkeeper Nico van Zoghel takes over the role of coach of the club’s first team, staying on in that capacity for the three following seasons.
• 1986 / Part of Go Ahead Eagles’ squad since his arrival from Roda JC in 1982, former Netherlands’ national goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed, who had played in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals, has to end his career abruptly at the age of 45 after suffering a heart attack in an away match at HFC Haarlem. That same year, Go Ahead Eagles also says goodbye to midfielder and ultimate club icon, 35-year-old John Oude Wesselink, who had spent his entire career at the club in Deventer (17 seasons: 415 matches, a club record). Oude Wesselink withdraws into non-league with Koninklijke DC&FC UD 1875. Also in 1986, striker René Eijkelkamp, who had joined Go Ahead Eagles from non-league club SV Dalfsen in 1981, leaves the club to sign for FC Groningen – going on to have spells at KV Mechelen, Club Brugge KV, PSV, and FC Schalke 04 as well as earning 6 caps for the Netherlands. His place in the attacking line is taken by 16-year-old former DVV Go-Ahead youth player Harry Decheiver. In his thirteen years as a professional league player, Decheiver would also have spells at SC Heerenveen, RKC, SC Freiburg, FC Utrecht, and Borussia Dortmund. Still in 1986, an uncovered terrace is inaugurated at the hitherto open southern end of Stadion De Adelaarshorst – with the stand being given the name of club icon Leo Halle, who personally performs the inaugural ceremony of the new construction. Around that same time, the IJsseltribune, the covered terrace opposite the main stand, is equipped with old seats of Stadion Feijenoord “De Kuip”, which Go Ahead Eagles purchases from Feyenoord Rotterdam. This results in the capacity of Stadion De Adelaarshorst being reduced considerably.
• 1987 / Coached by Nico van Zoghel, Go Ahead Eagles finishes in third-last place in Eredivisie, thus suffering relegation to Eerste Divisie after 23 consecutive seasons in the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid, alongside SC Veendam and bottom club SBV Excelsior. That summer, the club’s star midfielder Michel Boerebach, who had broken into the team from the club’s youth academy in 1983, leaves Go Ahead Eagles to play for Roda JC. Boerebach would go on to have spells at PSV, Burgos CF, and FC Twente, later returning to Deventer to join Go Ahead Eagles’ coaching staff in a subsidiary function.
• 1988 / Go Ahead Eagles’ goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw, a youth academy player who had succeeded Jan Jongbloed as first-team goalkeeper following the latter’s heart-attack in 1986, leaves the club to sign for SBV Vitesse. Van der Gouw would go on to have spells at Manchester United FC, West Ham United FC, RKC Waalwijk, and AGOVV Apeldoorn, ultimately hanging up his boots in 2007.
• 1989 / Finishing in tenth place in Eerste Divisie with coach Fritz Korbach, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is drawn into a promotion group with SC Heerenveen, SBV Excelsior, and NEC. Ultimately, the last-mentioned club manages first place, thus grabbing the promotion ticket, with Go Ahead finishing third. Also in 1989, Go Ahead Eagles’ defender Wim Woudsma, who had broken into the club’s first team from the famed youth academy thirteen years previously, earns himself a transfer to NEC, having played 376 matches for Go Ahead Eagles. Woudsma, who hung up his boots in 1990, would pass away in 2019 at the age of 61.
• 1990 / Finishing in ninth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion play-offs, being drawn into a group with SC Heerenveen and NAC. In the end, all three clubs finish with an equal number of points, with SC Heerenveen qualifying for the final on goal difference.
• 1991 / Eighteen-year-old winger Marc Overmars, who had broken into Go Ahead Eagles’ first team from the club’s youth academy in 1990, leaves the club to sign for Willem II. Overmars would go on to have spells at AFC Ajax, Arsenal FC, and FC Barcelona as well as earning 86 caps for the Netherlands’ national team, with which he took part in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups as well as the 2000 and 2004 European Championships.
• 1992 / In spite of finishing in a modest eleventh place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club wins the group stage against NAC and SC Heracles ’74. Going on to suffer defeat in the final against BVV Den Bosch (3-1 aggr.), the club grabs the last straw in a promotion-relegation play-off against the club which had finished in third-last place in Eredivisie, FC Den Haag (4-0 aggr.). As such, Go Ahead Eagles manages a return to the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid after an absence of five years. The successful coach is Jan Versleijen. Also in 1992, former DVV Go-Ahead and Netherlands’ international goalkeeper Leo Halle passes away at the age of 86.
• 1994 / Go Ahead Eagles’ midfielder Paul Bosvelt, who had made his debut in the first team from the club’s youth academy in 1989, leaves the club to sign for FC Twente. Bosvelt would go on to have spells at Feyenoord Rotterdam, Manchester City FC, and SC Heerenveen as well as earning 24 caps for the Netherlands’ national team, with which he competed in the 2000 and 2004 European Championships. Also in 1994, Go Ahead Eagles’ Nigerian goalkeeper Peter Rufai, who had joined the club from KSK Beveren the previous summer, defends his country’s goal in the World Cup in the United States. Following that tournament, Rufai signed a contract with SC Farense.
• 1995 / Finishing in second-last place in Eredivisie, Go Ahead Eagles saves its skin in the promotion-relegation play-offs, finishing in first place in a group with SBV Excelsior, VVV, and AZ. Also in 1995, defender Dennis Hulshoff, who had broken into Go Ahead Eagles’ first team from the club’s youth academy, signed a contract with FC Twente, where he would spend seven seasons before returning to Deventer, where he ultimately hung up his boots after five more years. In all, Hulshoff defended Go Ahead’s colours in a total of 355 matches.
• 1996 / Coached by Ab Fafié, Go Ahead Eagles finishes bottom of the Eredivisie table, thus dropping back into Eerste Divisie after four years. That same year, the club’s renowned juvenile home closes its doors after 33 years.
• 1997 / Finishing in sixth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is drawn in a group with NEC, Cambuur-Leeuwarden, and VVV. In the end, the club finishes in joint first place with NEC, being eliminated on goal difference (+14 vs. +12).
• ± 1999 / The terraces at the short ends of Stadion De Adelaarshorst, the Brinkgrevertribune and the Leo Halle-Tribune, are turned into all-seaters. As a result, total capacity of the ground has now been reduced to 4,800.
• 2001 / Finishing in sixth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club finishes in last place in a group against Sparta Rotterdam, Cambuur-Leeuwarden, and SBV Excelsior.
• 2003 / Finishing in seventh place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club finishes in last place in a group against derby rivals FC Zwolle as well as Helmond Sport and FC Den Bosch.
• 2005 / After years of inane talk of building a new stadium elsewhere, the so-called Han Hollander-Stadion, thwarted by lack of financial resources, Go Ahead Eagles now settles for a renovation of Stadion De Adelaarshorst. Apart from all stands being refurbished, all fencing alongside the pitch is removed and the clubhouse, at the back of the main stand, is extended with, among other things, new changing rooms. Also in 2005, midfielder Demy de Zeeuw, who had broken into the first team from the club’s youth academy in 2001, earns a transfer to AZ. De Zeeuw would go on to have spells with AFC Ajax, FK Spartak Moskva, RSC Anderlecht, and NAC, as well as earning 27 caps for the Netherlands and competing in the 2008 European Championships as well as the 2010 World Cup.
• 2006 / The Leo Halle-Tribune as well as the IJsseltribune are equipped with new seats, which Go Ahead Eagles purchases from AZ following the latter club’s departure from its old Alkmaarderhout stadium that same year.
• 2007 / Finishing in seventh place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by BV Veendam (5-3 aggr.).
• 2008 / Finishing in tenth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against ADO Den Haag (4-1 aggr.). That summer, four years after ending his playing career at FC Barcelona, 35-year-old Marc Overmars decides to resume playing football at Go Ahead Eagles. Overmars would play a total of 24 matches in the 2008-09 season, not scoring any goals and being thwarted by injuries. Following this epilogue of his footballing career, Overmars would go on to focus on scouting and managing.
• 2010 / Finishing in fifth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club knocks out SC Cambuur in the semis (2-1 aggr.), only to be pegged by Willem II in the final (3-1 aggr.). In the 2009-10 season, the club also reached the semis of the Netherlands’ Cup for the first time in 29 years by knocking out Eredivisie side NAC in the quarter-finals (1-2, two goals by Donny de Groot). In the semis, the club is humiliated by AFC Ajax (0-6).
• 2011 / Finishing in seventh place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by FC Den Bosch (3-1 aggr.).
• 2012 / Finishing in ninth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club – in an exact repeat of events of the previous season – is eliminated in R1 by FC Den Bosch (3-1 aggr.).
• 2013 / Finishing in sixth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs. Knocking out FC Dordrecht (6-3 aggr.) and VVV-Venlo (4-0 aggr.) in the first two rounds, the club goes on to have the better of FC Volendam in the final (3-1 aggr.). As such, Go Ahead Eagles manages a return to the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid after an absence of seventeen years. The successful coach is Erik ten Hag, who would go on to have spells at FC Bayern München Reserves, FC Utrecht, AFC Ajax, Manchester United FC, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Following the promotion, Stadion De Adelaarshorst is given a thorough makeover, with the away end being moved back to the Leo Halle-Tribune, three extra rows of seats being added to the front of the main stand, and more standing places being created at the Brinkgreverwegtribune by removing the middle part of the seats from that stand.
• 2014 / Managing to stay up in Eredivisie with a thirteenth place, with Erik ten Hag’s successor Foeke Booy as head coach, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the Europa League based on Fair Play rules. In the tournament’s first qualifying round, the club bows out against Ferencvárosi TC (5-2 aggr.). Due to renovation works being carried out at Stadion De Adelaarshorst that summer, Go Ahead has to move its home tie to FC Emmen’s Stadion De Oude Meerdijk. The club’s goal in that encounter (1-1), the first-ever European goal by the side from Deventer, is scored by Bart Vriends.
• 2015 / Coached by Foeke Booy, Go Ahead Eagles finishes in second-last place in Eredivisie, going on to suffer a 2-0 aggregate defeat at the hands of BV De Graafschap in the semis of the promotion-relegation play-offs. As a result, the club drops back into Eerste Divisie after two seasons. Also in 2015, a new renovation of Stadion De Adelaarshorst is undertaken, with the main stand as well as the Leo Halle-Tribune being completely rebuilt following a design by architect Martin Kleine Schaars. Total stadium capacity is now up to c. 10,000.
• 2016 / Finishing in fifth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club knocks out VVV-Venlo in the semis (3-2 aggr.), going on to defeat BV De Graafschap comprehensively in the final (5-2 aggr.). As a result, the club manages an immediate return to the top flight of the Netherlands’ football pyramid. The successful coach is Hans de Koning, who had replaced Dennis Demmers in the course of the season.
• 2017 / Coached by Hans de Koning, Go Ahead Eagles is unable to cope at Eredivisie level, finishing bottom of the table and dropping back into Eerste Divisie alongside play-off victim NEC.
• 2019 / Finishing in fifth place in Eerste Divisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club sees off FC Den Bosch in the semis (3-2 aggr.) before being knocked out in the final by RKC Waalwijk (5-4 aggr.).
• 2020 / Due to the first COVID lockdown, the 100th anniversary of Stadion De Adelaarshorst can only be celebrated in a modest way.
• 2021 / Finishing as runners-up in Eerste Divisie, 15 points behind runaway champions SC Cambuur – and with an equal number of points as BV De Graafschap, which has an inferior goal difference (+37 vs. +20) – Go Ahead Eagles earns direct promotion to Eredivisie due to the promotion-relegation play-offs not being held due to the second COVID lockdown. The successful coach is Kees van Wonderen.
• 2022 / Go Ahead Eagles signs Icelandic international midfielder Willum Þór Willumsson from BATE Borisov. Willumsson would go on to play in Deventer for two seasons, moving on to Birmingham City FC in the summer of 2024.
• 2024 / Finishing in ninth place in Eredivisie, Go Ahead Eagles qualifies for the Conference League play-offs, in which the club manages successive away wins at NEC (1-2) and FC Utrecht (1-2 A.E.T.). As such, the club qualifies for the Conference League. The successful coach is René Hake. Yet again, though, the European adventure ends in disappointment, as the club is eliminated in the second qualifying round by SK Brann (2-1 aggr.).
• 2025 / Go Ahead Eagles has its best Eredivisie season in decades with a seventh place. Furthermore, the club also reaches the final of the Netherlands’ Cup for the second time in club history following successive defeats of Sparta Rotterdam, FC Twente, vv Noordwijk, and PSV. In the final, played at Stadion Feijenoord “De Kuip”, Go Ahead’s Mats Deijl converts a dramatic last-minute penalty to earn extra time against AZ (1-1 A.E.T.), with the club going on to win the penalty shoot-out (decisive penalty scored by Julius Dirksen). As such, the club takes home the Netherlands’ Cup or KNVB-Beker for the first time in history. The successful coach is Paul Simonis. 

Note – Parts of the information in the above have been derived from a book published on the occasion of Go Ahead Eagles’ 100th anniversary: “Go Ahead 100 jaar. Van volksclub tot voetbalbolwerk”, by Harry Oltheten (Arko Sports Media: Deventer/Nieuwegein 2002). Heartfelt thanks to DVV Go-Ahead’s board member Theo Ellenbroek for handing me a copy of this important piece of source material.