Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RKVV Uno Animo (1935-1944, 1948-1986) / vv Uno Animo (1986-)

Sportpark De Klokkenberg, Loon op Zand (vv Uno Animo, formerly RKVV Uno Animo)

Netherlands, province: North Brabant = Noord-Brabant

27 VII 2024 / Willem II - Sparta Rotterdam 2-4 / Pre-season friendly (neutral venue)

Timeline

1909 / First mention is made in local media of a football club in Loon op Zand, which is called VIOS (probably an abbreviation of ‘Vooruitgang Is Ons Streven’), but the club has a short life – as do several of its successors, one of them being Crescendo in the early 1920s.
1926 / At the instigation of a local chaplain, Fr Van Hoek, a new football club is founded in Loon op Zand, which is given the Latin name RKVV (Rooms-Katholieke Voetbal-vereeniging) Uno Animo – the Latin proverb literally meaning ‘With One Mind’. With Emile den Nieuwenboer becoming the club’s first chairman, a plot of land is put at the club’s disposal by the Roman Catholic church at Gasthuisstraat (modern-day Rijckevorselstraat) – and, for that reason, the pitch is usually referred to locally as the Pastoorsterrein. Instead of joining the official Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, renamed KNVB in the late 1920s), RKVV Uno Animo successfully applies for membership of the Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalbond (RKVB) Den Bosch, being placed in the Tilburg branch of the RKVB league system.
1932 / Chaplain Verbunt inaugurated a set of wooden dressing rooms at the Pastoorsterrein.
1934 / Moving away from the Pastoorsterrein, RKVV Uno Animo finds a temporary home on a pitch near the castle ruin to the west of the village.
1935 / Leaving its temporary pitch, RKVV Uno Animo settles at a newly laid-out pitch at Kasteellaan, which is blessed in a ceremony led by the village priest, Fr Schoenmakers. To mark the occasion, a gala match is played against Rotterdam club RKSV Spartaan ’20.
1940 / Having spent the first fourteen years of its existence in the ranks , RKVV Uno Animo is now constrained to make the step to the official Netherlands’ FA (renamed NVB following the German oppression of the Netherlands, abandoning the royal epithet ‘koninklijk’ for obvious reasons) as all other football associations are abolished by German occupation authorities. For the 1940-41 season, the club is placed in District South I’s (Sunday) League 4I.
1941 / Clinching the title in District South I’s Sunday League 4I in its first season as an NVB member club, RKVV Uno Animo wins promotion to League 3. The stay at that level is short-lived, though, with relegation following immediately in 1942.
1945 / Due to Terrein Kasteellaan having suffered in the last stages of the war – with no league football being played in 1944-45 – RKVV Uno Animo starts its first post-war season at a temporary pitch, Terrein Klaas Vos at modern-day Klokkenlaan – although the club occasionally switches to another makeshift pitch, Terrein Vermeulen, situated at modern-day Orion.
1948 / After an absence of three years, RKVV Uno Animo returns to a refurbished Terrein Kasteellaan, with a new set of dressing rooms being inaugurated.
1949 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4E, 3 points ahead of runners-up SV Veerse Boys, RKVV Uno Animo goes on to win promotion to League 3 in the title play-offs. The decisive points in the L4E title race were clinched in the second-last match of the regular season, away at vv RWB. As on the previous occasion, the club’s spell in League 3 does not last longer than one season, with relegation following in 1950.
1951 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4D, 7 points ahead of closest followers vv Vlijmense Boys, RKVV Uno Animo fails to win a new promotion to League 3 in the title play-offs.
1952 / Champions in District South I’s Sunday League 4E, 3 points ahead of closest rivals RKSV Oisterwijk, RKVV Uno Animo goes on to win the title play-offs, thus managing a return to Sunday League 3.
1955 / Runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, 7 points behind champions RKSV Taxandria, RKVV Uno Animo is placed in League 2 for the new season due to extra promotion places being available following many clubs in the higher echelons of the league pyramid making the step to the newly formed professional league divisions.
1957 / Terrein Kasteellaan is extended, as a second pitch is laid out at the ground.
1963 / Bottom of the table at the end of the 1962-63 season, RKVV Uno Animo suffers relegation after an eight-year spell in League 2, descending into League 3 along with the club finishing second from bottom, vv Hontenisse.
1965 / Coached by P. Hendriks, RKVV Uno Animo wins the title in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, 1 point ahead of WVO, gaining promotion to Sunday League 2. The decisive points are clinched in the last match of the season, a 3-2 home win over SV RAC – with 2,500 spectators witnessing Jan Meijer scoring the winning penalty only minutes before the final whistle.
1966 / At the end of the 1965-66 season, RKVV Uno Animo ties for first place in District South I’s Sunday League 2A with SV Budel and former professional league side TSV LONGA. In a set of title play-offs between the three clubs, SV Budel walks away with first prize and promotion to Sunday League 1.
1970 / Coached by P. Engel, RKVV Uno Animo finishes bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 2B, dropping back into League 3 along with SV RAC.
1971 / Coached by P. Hendriks, RKVV Uno Animo finishes in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, suffering its second relegation in a row and descending into League 4 along with bottom club RKSV Sarto.
1973 / Coached by A. Wezel, RKVV Uno Animo clinches the title in District South I’s Sunday League 4E, 2 points ahead of closest rivals vv DVG, thus finding the way back to League 3 after an absence of two seasons.
± 1975 / A thorough renovation of Terrein Kasteellaan sees the complete reconstruction of the park, with the entrance being moved to Kasteelhoevenweg at the southern end of the ground. Renamed Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Klokkenberg, the ground’s main pitch sports a covered stand with 200 seats, with several steps of terracing on each side of it.
1976 / At the club’s fiftieth anniversary, a gala match is played at Sportpark De Klokkenberg, in which RKVV Uno Animo entertains professional league side Willem II.
1986 / Coached by C. Paulides, RKVV Uno Animo finishes bottom of the table in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, descending into League 4 along with the club finishing second-last, vv Gilze. Also in 1986, an amendment of the club statutes was carried through, in which the Roman-Catholic epithet is dropped – meaning that the official club name is changed to become vv Uno Animo.
1988 / Coached by N. van de Hoek, vv Uno Animo finishes in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 4E, thus dropping back into Afdeling Noord-Brabant Division 1 for the first time in club history – descending to that level along with bottom club vv Baardwijk.
1993 / After an absence of five years, vv Uno Animo manages a return to Sunday League 4, winning promotion from the ranks of Afdeling Noord-Brabant with coach H. Wijkmans.
1994 / Coached by H. Wijkmans, vv Uno Animo finishes in joint first position in District South I’s Sunday League 4E along with vv Zwaluw-VFC, going on to defeat the club from Vught in a tie-break match and thus earning direct promotion to League 3.
1995 / Coached by R. Peet, vv Uno Animo finishes in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, thus dropping back into League 4 after just one season – descending to that level along with bottom club vv TGG.
1996 / Coached by A. Wezel, vv Uno Animo finishes in sixth place in District South I’s Sunday League 4E, going on to win promotion to League 3 via the play-offs.
2001 / Coached by former FC Den Bosch midfielder John van Nielen, who had joined the club in 1999, vv Uno Animo finishes as runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, 5 points behind champions SCO, but failing to win promotion in the play-offs.
2004 / Coached by former Willem II defender Fons Mallien, who had joined the club in 2003, vv Uno Animo finishes in sixth place in District South I’s Sunday League 3B. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club defeats vv Moerse Boys in R1 (after a penalty shoot-out), but is eliminated in R2 by RKSV Oisterwijk (also after a penalty shoot-out). Due to extra promotion places being available, vv Uno Animo is given a second chance in a lucky loser competition, in which the club sees off vv RWB (play-off played at RKVV Berkdijk’s Sportpark Kegelaar) and DOSL (after a penalty shoot-out; play-off final played at vv Oirschot Vooruit’s Sportpark Moorland), thus eventually gaining a place in Sunday League 2.
2005 / Finishing in last place in Sunday League 2E, vv Uno Animo drops back into League 3 after just one season, descending to that level along with the club finishing second from bottom, SCO.
2006 / Finishing in second-last place in District South I’s Sunday League 3C, vv Uno Animo suffers its second relegation in a row, dropping back into League 4 along with bottom club vv Ophemert.
2008 / Finishing in fourth place in District South I’s Sunday League 4F, vv Uno Animo goes on to win promotion to League 3 in the play-offs.
2011 / Runners-up in District South I’s Sunday League 3B, 2 points behind champions vv Madese Boys, vv Uno Animo qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club successively crushes vv Zeelandia Middelburg (6-1 aggr.) and RKSV RCD (11-1 aggr.) to win promotion to League 2.
2015 / Finishing in joint first place in Sunday League 2E with vv Zeelandia Middelburg, vv Uno Animio meets its rival in a tie-break match played at vv Dinteloord’s Sportpark Molenkreek, losing the match after a penalty shoot-out after the match itself had finished 1-1. Given a second opportunity to win a historic promotion to League 1, vv Uno Animo defeats RKVV Erp in R1 of the play-offs (4-0 aggr.), but is eliminated in the final by SV MOC 1917 (3-1 aggr.), thus eventually missing out on a promotion ticket.
2023 / Finishing in fourth place in Sunday League 2D, vv Uno Animo qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RKSV Mierlo-Hout (3-1).