Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: SV Epe

Sportpark De Wachtelenberg, Epe (SV Epe)

Netherlands, province: Guelders = Gelderland

2 III 2024 / SV Epe - FC Horst 2-1 / Saturday League 2H (= NL level 7)

Timeline

1906 / Foundation of a first football club in Epe, which takes on the name vv Gelre. The founding fathers of the new club are L.C. Kolff, N.A. Schouten, Jan Loeff, J. van der Vinne, and Piet Loeff. The club settles at Terrein Dellenweg (at the back of Villa ‘De Brinckgreve’).
1909 / Abandoning Terrein Dellenweg, vv Gelre settles at Terrein Heerderweg.
1919 / vv Gelre makes its debut in Division 1 of the so-called Geldersche Voetbalbond (GVB), the Guelders branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB), playing its first match at this level away at Apoldro in Apeldoorn.
1920 / Abandoning Terrein Heerderweg, vv Gelre settles at Terrein Schotweg.
1926 / Foundation of a new club in Epe, DSL (Sport Doet Leven), which settles at Terrein Spoorlaan. Upon joining the GVB later that same year, the club changes its name, becoming vv Eper Boys.
1927 / Runners-up in GVB Division 3, vv Eper Boys is placed in GVB Division 2 for the new season. Also in 1927, after an existence of 21 years, vv Gelre folds, ceasing all activities.
1931 / After renovation works, vv Eper Boys’ Terrein Spoorlaan is re-inaugurated by Epe’s mayor, Mr Van Walsum.
1932 / Foundation of a new club in Epe, ESV (Eper Sportvereeniging).
1934 / Winning the title in GVB Division 1, vv Eper Boys accedes to KNVB (Sunday) League 4 for the first time.
1935 / After an existence of just three years, ESV folds, ceasing all activities. Around this same time, several smaller clubs in Epe, notably Blauw Wit and TGM (‘Toont Goede Moed’), conclude a merger, forming DOS (‘Door Oefening Sterk’).
1939 / Foundation of a new club in Epe, vv Unitas, which settles at Terrein Hogeland. Also in 1939, DOS folds, ceasing all activities.
1940 / Having run into financial difficulties, vv Eper Boys ceases its activities. For the 1940-41 season, its ground, Terrein Spoorlaan, is taken over by the newly founded vv Unitas, which changes its name to become vv Epe upon joining the GVB. vv Epe’s first encounter in GVB Division 3 is an away match at AVV Columbia IV, which finishes 0-1 (goal by Theo Dalmolen).
1941 / Not having fielded any team for the 1940-41 season, vv Eper Boys folds in the early months of 1941 after an existence of fifteen years. Also in 1941, in its first season as a competitive club, vv Epe wins the title in GVB Division 3, thus acceding to GVB Division 2.
1943 / Coached by Leo Halle, former goalkeeper of DVV Go-Ahead and the Netherlands’ national team, vv Epe wins the title in GVB Division 2, thus acceding to GVB Division 1.
1945 / Right after the liberation of the region from the German yoke in April 1945, vv Epe plays a match against a squad of British soldiers, winning the friendly encounter 2-1.
1946 / Still coached by Leo Halle, vv Epe wins the title in GVB Division 1, thus acceding to KNVB Sunday League 4 – the first club in Epe to reach this level.
1947 / Coached by Jan Uitert, in its first season in League 4, vv Epe clinches the title in District East’s Sunday League 4D, 2 points ahead of AVV Columbia, thus gaining promotion to League 3.
1951 / Coached by Jan Lastdrager, vv Epe wins the title in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 3 points ahead of vv Victoria Boys, but the club misses out on promotion to League 2 in a set of promotion play-offs against SV Almelo, vv Doetinchem, and SV Nijmegen.
1953 / Coached by Anton Gabriël, vv Epe wins the title in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 4 points ahead of RODA (Deventer), but fails to win promotion in a set of play-offs, seeing KVV Quick ’20 walk away with the ticket for League 2. Also in 1953, the club abandons Terrein Spoorlaan, settling at a newly laid-out ground, Terrein Kweekweg, which is upgraded in the following years with the addition of a set of dressing rooms (1954) and a clubhouse (1956).
1959 / Coached by Anton Gabriël, who has his second spell at the club, vv Epe wins the title in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 1 point ahead of derby rivals SV Vaassen, but the club misses out on promotion to League 2 once again following an unsuccessful set of promotion play-offs against SV Dinxperlo and CHRC.
1960 / Coached by Anton Gabriël, vv Epe wins the title in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 1 point ahead of SV V&K. The decisive point is obtained in a 1-1 home draw against SV V&K, with Piet Das scoring the Epe goal in front of a crowd of over 3,500 spectators. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 2 for the first time.
1963 / Although remaining a predominantly Sunday league club, vv Epe forms a smaller branch for Saturday league football.
1964 / SV Epe celebrates its 25th anniversary with a gala match at Terrein Kweekweg against semi-professional non-league side De Zwarte Schapen from Amsterdam, losing the match 5-6.
1965 / Coached by Henk Oosterveld, vv Epe clinches the title in Sunday League 2B, 3 points ahead of derby rivals SV Vaassen. The decisive points are obtained in a 3-1 home win against KVV Losser, with Bertie Vijge scoring all three Epe goals for a crowd of over 3,000 spectators. As such, the club accedes to Sunday League 1 for the first time, which was the highest level of the non-league ladder until 1974.
1966 / Coached by Leo Beenhakker, a 23-year-old promising trainer from Rotterdam, who is given his first opportunity as a manager, vv Epe finishes in a shared tenth place in Sunday League 1E, with an equal number of points as DOS ’19. The two clubs have to play a tie-break match at ZVV Be Quick’s ground in Zutphen, which is won by DOS ’19 (2-0). As such, vv Epe drops back into League 2 after just one season, taking with it bottom club NC&VC Quick.
1967 / After two seasons, trainer Leo Beenhakkers leaves vv Epe. He goes on to have an impressive and lengthy career as a trainer and manager at vv Veendam, SC Cambuur, Go Ahead Eagles, AFC Ajax, Real Zaragoza, FC Volendam, Real Madrid CF, Grasshopper Club, Club América, Istanbulspor AŞ, CD Guadalajara, SBV Vitesse, and Feyenoord, while also coaching the national teams of the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Poland.
1969 / vv Epe changes its name to become SV (Sportvereniging) Epe. Also in 1969, the club celebrates its 30th anniversary with a gala match at Terrein Kweekweg against AFC Ajax AV, the non-league branch of AFC Ajax, winning the match 4-1.
1971 / 25-year-old striker Jan Hoogendoorn, who had left SV Epe the previous season to play for WHC, is the first (former) SV Epe player to earn a professional league contract. Between 1971 and 1979, Hoogendoorn has spells with PEC Zwolle and SC NEC.
1973 / Coached by Herman Spijkerman, SV Epe finishes bottom of the table in Sunday League 2B, thus dropping back into League 3 along with former professional league side vv Oldenzaal.
1974 / Having played at Terrein Kweekweg for 21 seasons, SV Epe now moves into the newly laid-out Sportpark De Wachtelenberg, the main pitch of which sports a large open terrace on its western side. The ground is inaugurated with a gala match between Go Ahead Eagles and PEC Zwolle (4-1) attended by some 3,500 spectators.
1975 / Finishing in joint-tenth place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Epe has to play a tie-break match against ZVV De Hoven, winning the encounter 2-0 and thus avoiding relegation.
1976 / 26-year-old striker Ronald Hendriks leaves SV Epe to sign a contract with professional league side PEC Zwolle. Hendriks goes on to play for SC NEC, KSV Waregem, Roda JC, and BVO De Graafschap before hanging up his boots in 1983.
1979 / At the club’s 40th anniversary, SV Epe hosts AFC Ajax in a gala match at Sportpark De Wachtelenberg (4-9, with all four Epe goals being scored by Gert Veldwijk).
1980 / A covered stand is added to the set-up, bisecting the open terrace on the western side of Sportpark De Wachtelenberg’s main pitch.
1981 / Coached by Wim Veldkamp, who had replaced Cees Rolle in the course of the season, SV Epe finishes in last place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, thus dropping back into Sunday League 4 – a level the club had last played at in 1947.
1984 / SV Epe’s Saturday branch, formed in 1963, breaks away from the mother club, founding the new EZC ’84 (Epense Zaterdagclub 1984) and settling at Sportpark De Kweekweg, which had been the home ground of vv Epe (later SV Epe) between 1953 and 1974. Also in 1984, SV Epe celebrates its 45th anniversary with a gala match against AZ ’67 at Sportpark De Wachtelenberg (1-5).
1986 / Coached by Jan Fiechter, SV Epe clinches the title in District East’s Sunday League 4G, 8 points ahead of SV Voorwaarts. The decisive point is obtained in a goalless home draw against ZVV Zutphania.
1987 / Coached by Jan Fiechter, SV Epe clinches its second title in a row, winning promotion from Sunday League 3B – the decisive points being obtained in a direct match against last remaining rival ZAC (2-0), which would finish the season no fewer than 10 points behind Epe. Also in 1987, 17-year-old youth academy player Edwin Overmars earns himself a contract with Go Ahead Eagles, going on to have a modest career in the second tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid in Deventer and later in Almelo at SC Heracles ’74 before hanging up his boots in 1995.
1988 / Finishing in joint-first place in Sunday League 2B with AGOVV, SV Epe meets the former (and future) professional league side in a tie-break match at Sportpark Kerschoten, home ground of AV&CV Robur et Velocitas 1882 in Apeldoorn. In the end, the match, attended by some 7,000 (!) spectators, is won by AGOVV, as a result of which SV Epe misses out on its third consecutive title and promotion.
1989 / On the occasion of the club’s 50th anniversary, SV Epe plays a gala match at Sportpark De Wachtelenberg against RSC Anderlechtois, with the Belgian side walking away with a 11-0 win.
1990 / Coached by Jan Fiechter, SV Epe clinches the title in Sunday League 2B, 1 point ahead of PH. The decisive points are obtained in a 1-0 home win over TVC ’28 (goal scored by Frank Spijker). Also in 1990, Edwin Overmars’ younger brother Marc, 17 years old at the time, earns a contract with professional league side Go Ahead Eagles. Marc Overmars goes on to have an impressive career as a winger at Willem II, AFC Ajax, Arsenal FC, and FC Barcelona before hanging up his boots in 2004 – only to briefly return to Go Ahead Eagles in the 2008-09 season; Overmars also earns 86 caps for the Netherlands’ national team, taking part in two World Championships and two European Championships.
1991 / Finishing in third place in Sunday League 1E, 7 points behind champions vv HSC ’21, SV Epe qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Reaching the final, played at vv Steenwijk’s Sportpark De Nieuwe Gagels, the club misses out on a spot in Zondag Hoofdklasse following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sneek Hovis (vv Sneek).
1992 / Coached by Jan Fiechter, SV Epe finishes in joint-first place in Sunday League 1E with RKSV Rohda Raalte. The two clubs play a tie-break match at vv Hattem’s Sportpark ‘t Achterveen, which SV Epe wins 2-0 (goals by Michel Habets & Erik Smit) in front of some 5,000 spectators. As such, the club accedes to Zondag Hoofdklasse, the top level of the Sunday league pyramid, for the first time.
1993 / Finishing in second-last place in Zondag Hoofdklasse B, SV Epe drops out of the top flight of non-league football after just one season, with SV Hatert and Sneek Hovis (vv Sneek) being the two other clubs dropping back into League 1. Coach Jan Fiechter leaves the club.
1995 / Finishing in joint-ninth place in Sunday League 1D, SV Epe has to play a tie-break match against FC Berghuizen, winning the match 3-0 and thus staying up. In the summer of 1995, SV Epe entertains Johan Cruijff’s FC Barcelona in a pre-season friendly at Sportpark De Wachtelenberg (0-18) in front of a crowd of some 5,000 spectators. Also in 1995, former SV Epe youth player John Stegeman, who had left the club aged 13 in 1989 to join SBV Vitesse’s youth academy, breaks into the Arnhem club’s first team – going on to have a career as a professional league player (1995-2007) at SBV Vitesse, Helmond Sport, Go Ahead Eagles, Heracles Almelo, AGOVV Apeldoorn, and Cambuur-Leeuwarden.
1997 / Coached by Bert Hendriks, SV Epe finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 1E, thus descending into League 2 along with bottom side SC Doesburg.
1999 / Coached by Dick Bremmer, SV Epe finishes in second-last place in Sunday League 2J, thus descending into League 3.
2001 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 6 points behind champions vv Heino, SV Epe qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Defeating SV Almelo in R1 (6-2 aggr.), the club is eliminated in R2 by vv ATC ’65 (4-2 aggr.).
2002 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 9 points behind champions Sportclub Markelo, SV Epe qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in R1 by vv ATC ’65 (6-1 aggr.).
2003 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B for the third time running, 11 points behind WSV and SV Vaassen, SV Epe qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Defeating SV Almelo in R1 (5-3 aggr.) and AVV Columbia in R2 (2-1 aggr.), the club loses the final against WSV (2-3 A.E.T.), played at vv Beekbergen’s Sportpark De Veldhof. As such, the club misses out on promotion to League 2 yet again.
2005 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 9 points behind champions AVV Columbia, SV Epe qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Defeating vv Victoria ’28 in R1 (6-2 aggr.) and ZVV Be Quick in R2 (5-2 aggr.), the club loses the final against RDC (2-1), played at RKSV Rohda Raalte’s Sportpark Tijenraan.
2008 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 6 points behind champions Wijhe ’92, SV Epe yet again fails to win promotion in the play-offs, bowing out in R1 against vv Rood Zwart (3-0 aggr.). Also in 2008, John Stegeman, the former SV Epe youth player who had had a 12-year-long professional league career before bowing out into non-league with WHC in 2007, joins SV Epe, continuing to play in the club’s first team until eventually hanging up his boots at the age of 36 in 2012.
2009 / Having missed out on promotion in the play-offs five times in the previous eight years, SV Epe – coached by Bert Veldwijk – finally accedes to Sunday League 2 after winning the title in District East’s Sunday League 3B, 9 points ahead of closest rivals AVV Columbia. The decisive points are obtained in a 3-0 away win at vv De Gazelle – goals scored by John Stegeman (2) and Melvin Ireeuw. Also in 2009, the club celebrates its 70th anniversary with a gala match against a squad of players of the Netherlands’ national side which competed in the 2000 European Championships; the match, attended by some 5,000 spectators, finishes in a 2-4 defeat for the non-leaguers.
2010 / Due to the introduction of a new top division in the Netherlands non-league pyramid, the so-called Topklasse, extra promotion places are available in lower divisions – and as a result, SV Epe’s third place in Sunday League 2J, no fewer than 17 points behind champions PH, is sufficient for the club to manage a return to Sunday League 1 after thirteen seasons. The successful coach is Bert Veldwijk.
2011 / Finishing in eleventh place in Sunday League 1E, SV Epe, coached by Marcel van Walderveen, has to take part in a round of play-offs to maintain itself in League 1. Defeating vv DVV in R1 (4-2 aggr.), the club is defeated in R2 by RKSV De Zweef (3-2 aggr.), thus dropping back into League 2 after just one season.
2012 / Coached by Bert Veldwijk, who has his second spell with the club, SV Epe finishes in eleventh place in Sunday League 2J. To maintain itself in League 2, the club has to take part in a round of play-offs. Reaching the final, played at Sportpark Tilligte (DTC ’07), SV Epe is defeated 1-0 by KOSC, thus suffering its second relegation in a row.
2014 / SV Epe’s club icon John Stegeman earns himself a contract as manager at Heracles Almelo. Stegeman goes on to have spells as trainer at Go Ahead Eagles and PEC Zwolle before joining Royal Antwerp FC, becoming the Belgian club’s second in command behind manager Mark van Bommel in 2022.
2015 / One year after the event, SV Epe celebrates its 75th anniversary with a gala match at Sportpark De Wachtelenberg between AFC Ajax and Panathinaïcos AO (2-0), attended by some 6,000 spectators.
2017 / Coached by Hans uit den Boogaard, SV Epe wins the title in District North’s Sunday League 3D, 10 points ahead of vv Heerde. The decisive point is obtained in a 1-1 home draw against the aforementioned club, with Stefan Lokhorst scoring Epe’s goal. As such, the club manages a return to League 2.
2018 / Coached by Martijn de Haas, SV Epe finishes last in Sunday League 2J, thus descending into League 3 along with vv Victoria ’28 and AV&CV Robur et Velocitas.
2019 / Finishing in fourth place in District East’s Sunday League 3B, SV Epe qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is defeated in the final by RKSV NEO (5-3) – thus missing out on a return to League 2. Also in 2019, AFC Ajax and OFI (Heraclion) play a pre-season friendly at Sportpark De Wachtelenberg, a gala match on the occasion of SV Epe’s eightieth anniversary. A crowd of some 3,000 witness a 6-2 win for the Amsterdam side.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the COVID lockdown in March 2020, SV Epe finishes in first place in District East’s Sunday League 3B after 17 of 26 matches, with an advantage of 6 points over closest rivals SC Overwetering. As such, the club, still coached by Martijn de Haas, is placed in Sunday League 2 for the new season.
2022 / Coached by Martijn de Haas, SV Epe clinches the title in Sunday League 2K, 2 points ahead of closest followers SVC LSC 1890. The decisive points are obtained in a 4-1 away defeat at SC Emmeloord (Epe’s goals scored by Maurits de Jong, Mart Nijhof, Luke Berkhoff, and Lars Krijgsman). The club takes the decision to move its first team football to the Saturday league pyramid – thus starting the new season in Saturday League 1.
2023 / Coached by Martijn de Haas, SV Epe finishes in last place in Saturday League 1E, thus descending into Saturday League 2 along with vv Heerenveen, vv SVI, vv DOS Kampen, and vv Noordscheschut.