Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv Drechtstreek

Sportpark Oostpolder, Papendrecht (vv Drechtstreek)

Netherlands, province: South Holland

23 XI 2013 / vv Drechtstreek - vv Rijsoord 2-4 / Saturday League 1C (= NL level 5)

Timeline

1946 / Foundation of vv Aviolanda, a recreational football club of employees of the Aviolanda aircraft factory in Papendrecht. Initially, the club plays its football at Terrein Zeehavenlaan in Dordrecht, switching to several other grounds in that same city in the following nineteen years.
1954 / Having played recreational football for the first eight years of its existence, vv Aviolanda now joins the Netherlands’ FA (KNVB), being placed in Afdeling Dordrecht’s Saturday divisions.
1965 / Having played on various pitches in Dordrecht, vv Aviolanda settles at Sportpark Het Slobbengors in Papendrecht proper in October 1965, becoming neighbours of Sunday club vv Papendrecht, who have been home at this park until the present day.
1967 / With the Aviolanda aircraft factory being absorbed into the national aircraft manufacturer Fokker – and thus leaving Papendrecht – vv Aviolanda changes its name, becoming vv Drechtstreek.
1977 / Having spent the past twelve seasons at Sportpark Het Slobbengors, vv Drechtstreek now settles at Sportpark Oostpolder, where the club have been home until the present day.
1986 / Following a win in a tie-break match against WSV Well at a neutral venue in Gorinchem in front of 1,500 spectators, vv Drechtstreek clinches the title in Afdeling Dordrecht Division 2, thus acceding to Division 1 of that same league system. The club must have dropped back into D2 between 1987 and 1990.
1991 / vv Drechtstreek wins promotion to Afdeling Dordrecht Division 1. In September 1991, the clubhouse at Sportpark Oostpolder is consumed in a fire – only to be rebuilt by club volunteers in the course of the 1991-92 season.
1992 / Clinching its second promotion in a row, vv Drechtstreek wins promotion to Afdeling Dordrecht Hoofdklasse.
1994 / Coached by Henri Eshuis, vv Drechtstreek wins promotion to KNVB Saturday League 4 for the first time in club history.
1995 / Former vv Drechtstreek youth player John den Dunnen, 23 years old at the time, makes his debut as a professional league player with Sparta Rotterdam. After five years at Sparta, the utility player goes on to defend the colours of FC Zwolle and FC Dordrecht before withdrawing into non-league at vv Papendrecht in 2006.
1996 / In spite of finishing in second-last place in District South I’s Saturday League 4B – thereby narrowly staving off relegation – vv Drechtstreek is placed in Saturday League 3 for the new season due to a new top tier being added to the Saturday League pyramid (the so-called Hoofdklasse), resulting in scores of additional promotion places being available in the lower Saturday divisions.
1997 / Finishing second from bottom in District South I’s Saturday League 3B, vv Drechtstreek descends into League 4 along with bottom club vv Almkerk.
2000 / Finishing in third place in District South I’s Saturday League 4D, vv Drechtstreek wins promotion to Saturday League 3 following a successful round of play-offs.
2005 / Coached by Rob van Loo, vv Drechtstreek finishes in eleventh place in District South I’s Saturday League 3C, resulting in the club dropping back into League 4 along with bottom side HSSC ’61.
2008 / Runners up in District South I’s Saturday League 4C, 13 points behind champions SVW, vv Drechtstreek – coached by Aart Kersbergen – goes on to win the promotion play-offs, resulting in the club being placed in League 3 for the new season.
2010 / Coached by Jan Kroos, vv Drechtstreek finishes in third place in District South I’s Saturday League 3C. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club successively has the better of GVV ’63 (5-2 aggr.) and SSC ’55 (2-1 aggr.), thus winning promotion to Saturday League 2 for the first time in club history. Also in 2010, former professional league player John den Dunnen, 38 years old, returns to vv Drechtstreek after a spell of four years at vv Papendrecht.
2011 / Finishing in sixth place in its first season in Saturday League 2F, vv Drechtstreek – coached by Jan Kroos – qualifies for the promotion play-offs, defeating vv Dinteloord in R1 (6-4 aggr.), only to be eliminated in R2 by vv Sliedrecht (6-2 aggr.).
2012 / Finishing in joint first place in Saturday League 2F with vv WNC, vv Drechtstreek meets the club from Waardenburg in a tie-break match at vv Woudrichem’s Sportpark Het Bolwerk in front of a crowd of some 1,200 – going on to win the encounter 2-1 (A.E.T.). As such, the club accedes to Saturday League 1 for the first time in club history. Hanging up his boots at the age of forty, John den Dunnen takes over the role of trainer/coach at vv Drechtstreek as the successor of Jan Kroos.
2013 / Coached by John den Dunnen, vv Drechtstreek enjoys the best season in club history, finishing in seventh place in Saturday League 1C.
2014 / Coached by John den Dunnen, vv Drechtstreek finishes bottom of the table in Saturday League 1C, thus dropping back into League 2 along with the club finishing second-last, vv Zaamslag. Following the 2013-14 season, Den Dunnen leaves the club, being succeeded as trainer by Bill Tukker, former player of vv Streefkerk, vv De Zwerver, vv Hoekse Boys, RCVV Zwart-Wit ’28, SSV Be-Quick, GVV Unitas, and BVV Barendrecht. Also in 2014, a covered stand is inaugurated at Sportpark Oostpolder with a 3-0 home win against vv Wieldrecht on October 11th.
2015 / Coached by Bill Tukker, vv Drechtstreek finishes in fifteenth place in Saturday League 2D. Having to play a set of play-offs to avoid relegation, the club is eliminated in R1 by vv NSVV (3-1 aggr.), thus descending into League 3 – the second relegation in a row. In November 2015, Bill Tukker passes away unexpectedly at the age of 54. His successor as vv Drechtstreek’s trainer is Miguel Muñoz.
2017 / Coached by Miguel Muñoz, vv Drechtstreek conquers the title in District South I’s Saturday League 3C, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv Wieldrecht, thus managing a return to the League 2 level.
2022 / Finishing in twelfth place in Saturday League 2F with trainer Paul Koster, vv Drechtstreek goes on to suffer defeat in R1 of the promotion-relegation play-offs against vv Streefkerk (1-4), thus dropping back into League 3 along with direct drop-outs ASV Arkel and vv Sleeuwijk.
2024 / Runners-up in District South I’s Saturday League 3C, 1 point behind champions GSC/ODS, vv Drechtstreek – coached by Dennis Schoonewil – qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Drawing a bye in R1, the club is eliminated in a home game in R2 by vv RCS (2-2 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-9 = match visit, November 2013 / pictures 10-12 = non-matchday visit, June 2024.