Netherlands, province: South Holland = Zuid-Holland
8 II 2025 / SC Monster - vv Valken '68 1-0 / District West II, Combined Sunday & Saturday League 1B (= NL level 6)
Timeline
- 1903 / In an article in the daily Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad, mention is made of two football clubs in Monster, a village situated along the North Sea coast, just to the south of The Hague; the names of these clubs are Wilhelmina and Nooit Gedacht. It is unclear where the pitch or pitches of these clubs were situated. Neither Wilhelmina nor Nooit Gedacht ever joined the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB, renamed KNVB in 1929) and most probably their existence was rather short-lived, given that no other sources give any information about them.
- 1911 / With both Wilhelmina and Nooit Gedacht having disappeared without leaving a trace, a new recreational football club is founded in Monster, MVV (Monstersche Voetbalvereeniging). The club’s ground is situated at the crossroads of Molenstraat and Rijnweg.
- 1922 / After eleven years of playing recreational football, MVV (Monster) joins the Netherlands’ Football Association – or, more precisely, its The Hague branch, the so-called Haagsche Voetbalbond (HVB). Due to most of the players of the club being of the Protestant faith, MVV chooses to play in the HVB Saturday divisions – in order to enable the membership to observe the Sunday rest. In the following two decades, MVV alternates spells in HVB Divisions 1 and 2 – with no promotion to higher divisions being on the table due to the KNVB not organising regular Saturday football above the level of its sub-branches in the pre-war years.
- 1941 / Due to the hardships of the war making themselves ever more felt – and more and more players being unavailable from the mobilisation of the Netherlands’ armed forces in 1939 onwards – the board of MVV (Monster) sees no other option but to disband their club.
- 1942 / Levie Andries van Leeuwen, a Jewish member of the former MVV, is murdered by the Germans in Auschwitz. He was 25 years old.
- 1945 / Foundation of a new football club for the predominant Protestant communities in Monster and nearby Ter Heijde aan Zee – with the new club being given the name vv Monster. The first chairman is Adriaan de Zoete, who successfully applies for KNVB membership of his club in the fall of 1945. The ground of the new club is situated on a pasture rented to vv Monster by a local smallholder, Mr Van de Ende, at Haagweg – in fact on the location of the side-pitches of modern-day Sportpark Polanen.
- 1947 / Two years after the foundation of vv Monster, a club for the smaller Roman-Catholic community in the village is formed, RKSVM (Rooms-Katholieke Sportvereniging Machatus – with St Machatus being the patron saint of the local parish), after permission was granted by the local priest, Fr Van Blaricum. Theo Scholtes is elected as RKSVM’s first chairman. Also in 1947, clinching the title in HVB Saturday Division 1 – without suffering a single defeat all season – vv Monster accedes to KNVB District West II’s Saturday League 4 for the first time. Meanwhile, RKSVM starts its life as a competitive club in HVB Sunday Division 4. Due to the new club not disposing of a pitch of its own yet, RKSVM concludes a renting agreement with vv Monster to be allowed to play its matches on the side-pitch at Haagweg.
- 1948 / In its first season as a League 4 club, vv Monster finishes in joint first place in District West II’s Saturday League 4B with DOTO ’33 – going on to meet the club from Pernis in a tie-break match for the title, played at Excelsior Maassluis’ ground, Terrein ‘t Stort, with DOTO ’33 walking away as winners (3-1). Also in 1948, after one season of groundsharing at Haagweg, RKSVM moves into its newly laid-out ground at Choorstraat, at the back of the house of the local GP, Dr Kleipool, and in the immediate vicinity of the St Machatus church.
- 1949 / In its second competitive season, RKSVM clinches the title in HVB Sunday Division 4, thus acceding to D3 of that league system.
- 1950 / Champions in District West II’s Saturday League 4B, 3 points ahead of runners-up RCVV TOGR, vv Monster goes on to win the championship play-offs against vv Lisser Boys and JAC – resulting in the club winning promotion to Saturday League 3, the top division of the Saturday pyramid until 1956. Also in 1950, RKSVM wins the title in HVB Sunday Division 3 following a 2-1 victory over vv MOA. As such, the club accedes to HVB D2 for the first time.
- ± 1951 / Dressing rooms are added to the set-up of vv Monster’s pitch at Haagweg.
- 1954 / vv Monster wins the title in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, 1 point ahead of closest rivals KVV Quick Boys. The decisive points are clinched in a 4-0 home win over Excelsior Maassluis on the last day of the season. Following this, vv Monster qualifies for the nationwide Saturday title play-offs against the other Saturday League 3 champions, SC Genemuiden, vv NSVV, and vv IJsselmeervogels – with the last-mentioned club walking away with the trophy. vv Monster finished in last place with only 2 points from its six matches. Home games, for which auction crates were put in place around the pitch as makeshift stands, drew some 1,500 to 2,000 spectators.
- 1956 / With a Saturday League 2 due to be introduced in District West II for the 1956-57 season, the first five clubs of the two Saturday League 3 competitions qualify for the new division. As vv Monster ties for fourth place in Saturday League 3B with vv Hoogvliet and VVGZ, the club has to play in a tie-break competition against these two clubs for two places – but with both encounters being lost, vv Monster misses out on promotion. It would take the club thirty more seasons to reach this level.
- 1960 / vv Monster finishes as runners-up in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, 4 points behind champions Rijnsburgse Boys.
- 1966 / Having played in HVB Sunday Division 2 for the past sixteen seasons, RKSVM now clinches the title at that level, thus acceding to HVB D1 for the first time. The successful coach is Mr Van de Broek.
- 1967 / With a new sports park being laid out by Monster’s municipal authorities, for RKSVM and vv Monster on the site of the latter club’s ground, vv Monster has to find a temporary solution for the 1967-68 season, eventually settling on a groundshare with vv Naaldwijk at Terrein Geestweg. Due to Terrein Choorstraat also being redeveloped for housing, RKSVM has to make a temporary move as well, arranging a groundshare with vv Verburch in Poeldijk.
- 1968 / Inauguration of the newly laid-out Sportpark Polanen for RKSVM and vv Monster – due to RKSVM’s teams exclusively playing their football on Sundays and vv Monster’s weekend activities being constrained to Saturdays, this groundsharing arrangement poses no practical problems. Originally, the entrance of Sportpark Polanen was situated at Madeweg; later, the gates are moved to Duyvenvoordestraat at the western side of the park.
- 1970 / Clinching the title in HVB Sunday Division 1, RKSVM wins promotion to HVB Zondag Hoofdklasse, the top HVB division, for the first time.
- 1971 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, vv Monster drops back into Saturday League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, RCVV TOGR. Also in 1971, RKSVM clinches its second consecutive title, finishing in first place in HVB Hoofdklasse and thus acceding to KNVB District West II’s Sunday League 4 for the first time.
- 1980 / Champions in District West II’s Saturday League 4B, 6 points ahead of closest followers SC Lisse, vv Monster wins promotion to Saturday League 3. The successful coach is Dick Suiker. Also in 1980, the club wins a local cup competition, the so-called Westland Cup, defeating De Sport in the final (2-1, both Monster goals by Nico van Zanten).
- 1981 / Coached by Dick Suiker, vv Monster finishes in second-last place in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, thus dropping back into Saturday League 4 after just one season, along with bottom club vv Koudekerk.
- 1983 / Coached by Herman van Dinten, vv Monster finishes in joint first position in District West II’s Saturday League 4A with two other clubs; SV Die Haghe and SV ’35. In a tie-break competition, vv Monster draws its last match, away against SV Die Haghe at Sportpark Ockenburgh (2-2 / att. 2,000), where only a win would have sufficed for the title. As such, the promotion ticket goes to SV Die Haghe.
- 1984 / Champions in District West II’s Saturday League 4A, 3 points ahead of runners-up SV Loosduinen, vv Monster manages a return to Saturday League 3. The decisive points are obtained in a 2-0 home win against derby rivals vv Naaldwijk, with Nico van Zanten scoring both goals. The successful coach is Herman van Dinten.
- 1986 / Champions in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, 7 points ahead of closest followers vv HVO, vv Monster breaks down the door to Saturday League 2 for the first time. The decisive points are clinched in a 4-1 win against vv HVO (goals by Ger Oosterveen, Johan Reedijk, Nico van Zanten, and André Dijkhuizen). The successful coach is Herman van Dinten. Also in 1986, after fifteen relatively stable years in Sunday League 4, RKSVM now finishes bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 4C, thus dropping back into HVB Zondag Hoofdklasse.
- 1987 / In its first season at League 2 level, vv Monster is a title contender in District West II’s Saturday League 2B for most of the season, eventually finishing in fourth place and having to leave the honours to VVGZ. RKSVM also narrowly misses out on success, squandering the HVB Zondag Hoofdklasse title after defeat against vv WIK. That summer, Herman van Dinten joins RKSVM as head coach after his successful spell at vv Monster.
- 1990 / Finishing in third-last place in District West II’s Saturday League 2B with coach Joop Molendijk, vv Monster has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs against vv SSS – with the first tie-breaker (played at Sportpark ‘t Slot in Capelle aan den IJssel) finishing in a 2-2 draw, vv SSS walks away with the League 2 ticket following a 3-0 win in a second encounter at Sportpark Harga (Hermes-DVS) in Schiedam. As such, vv Monster is retrograded to Saturday League 3 along with the two direct drop-outs, vv Zwaluwen and bottom club HSV DUNO. Also in 1990, coached by Herman van Dinten, RKSVM obtains the title in HVB Zondag Hoofdklasse, ahead of runners-up HVV, with the decisive points being clinched in a 5-0 away win at RKSV Juventas – with two goals by the club’s top scorer Alex de Vries. As such, RKSVM manages a return to Sunday League 4 after an absence of four seasons.
- 1991 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 4G, 1 point ahead of closest rivals SV Martinit, RKSVM manages its second title in a row, thus acceding to Sunday League 3. The decisive points are obtained in a 3-2 win against the amateur branch of professional league side SVV. Once more, Alex de Vries crowns himself top scorer with 23 goals. RKSVM’s successful coach is Herman van Dinten.
- ± 1994 / A covered stand is erected alongside the main pitch at Sportpark Polanen. Although sources on the matter are not available, the construction was probably taken over from another club and rebuilt in Monster.
- 1995 / RKSVM reaches the final of the Westland Cup, played at vv Naaldwijk’s Sportpark Hoge Bomen Noord, in which it is defeated 2-0 by ‘s-Gravezandse VV “Rood-Wit”.
- 1996 / Finishing in eighth place in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, vv Monster wins a ticket for Saturday League 2 following the introduction of a Zaterdag Hoofdklasse as the new top division of the Saturday League pyramid. Also in 1996, in the best season in club history prior to its taking on a new name in 2007, RKSVM finishes in fourth place in District West II’s Sunday League 3B.
- 1997 / Finishing in tenth place in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, RKSVM suffers relegation to Sunday League 4 along with SV TOGB and bottom club RAVA.
- 2003 / The board of RKSVM expresses its desire to move the playing day of several of its teams to Saturdays due to more and more youth academy players leaving the club, as they are unwilling to play on Sundays. This declaration of intent leads to a paroxysm of rage in vv Monster’s boardroom, with the presidency of that club claiming that, upon the inauguration of Sportpark Polanen in 1968, it had been agreed upon officially that RKSVM would be allowed to use the facilities on Sundays exclusively. With matters coming to a head, vv Monster decided to go to court to state their case, but due to no documents proving the club’s claim about the 1968 agreement, the judge advised the two clubs to settle their dispute after a cooling-down period.
- 2004 / Finishing in fourth place in District West II’s Sunday League 4D, RKSVM qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it manages to defeat RC&VV VOC in the final (1-0). As such, the team of coach Rob Beunder manages a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of seven years.
- 2005 / While retaining its first team in Sunday football, RKSVM enters a senior Saturday team into the reserves’ leagues for the first time. Due to the conflict with vv Monster still not having been resolved, RKSVM has to conclude a deal with vv Verburch from nearby Poeldijk to allow their Saturday team a ‘home’ ground for the 2005-06 season – with the arrangement being extended in the 2006-07 season, when two Saturday teams move to Verburch’s park at Arckeldijk. Meanwhile, also in 2005, the first stone is laid for a new clubhouse for RKSVM and vv Monster at Sportpark Polanen.
- 2006 / Coached by Piet Doorn, vv Monster finishes in second-last place in Saturday League 2D, thus dropping back into Saturday League 3 after ten seasons, along with bottom club NTVV. Meanwhile, also in 2006, the new two-tiered clubhouse of RKSVM and vv Monster at Sportpark Polanen is inaugurated. The old construction from 1968 remains in use as a meeting place for local leisure clubs.
- 2007 / RKSVM finishes in ninth place in District West II’s Sunday League 3C. Following the 2006-07 season, with its conflict with vv Monster finally being settled, the club changing its name to become Sportvereniging (SV) Polanen, thus shedding the ties to its Roman-Catholic origins. Moreover, first team football is moved from Sunday to Saturday – with SV Polanen having to start at the bottom of the Saturday pyramid, in Saturday League 5.
- 2008 / vv Monster finishes as runners-up in District West II’s Saturday League 3C, 9 points behind champions PVV Excelsior Pernis. Also in 2008, SV Polanen wins the title in District West II’s Saturday League 5A in its first season as a competitive club, finishing no fewer than 17 (!) points ahead of runners-up SVOW.
- 2009 / Finishing in joint first place in District West II’s Saturday League 3C with PPSC, vv Monster meets the club from Schiedam in a tie-break match for the title at Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Rondgang in Hook of Holland, going on to win the encounter 3-1. As such, the club wins promotion to Saturday League 2. The successful coach is Robin Knoester. Also in 2009, SV Polanen wins its second title in a row, finishing top of the table in District West II’s Saturday League 4C, 2 points ahead of closest rivals CVV Berkel. As such, the club wins promotion to Saturday League 3. The successful coach is Reinier van Mierlo.
- 2010 / Coached by Robin Knoester, vv Monster finishes bottom of the table in Saturday League 2C, thus dropping back into Saturday League 3. Meanwhile, finishing in third place in District West II’s Saturday League 3C, SV Polanen qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club has the better of vv Hellevoetsluis in R1 (4-2 aggr.) and DSVP (2-1 aggr.), thus managing a historic third promotion in a row and acceding to Saturday League 2. The successful coach is Wim Baggerman.
- 2011 / Finishing bottom of the table in Saturday League 2A, SV Polanen drops back into Saturday League 3 along with the club finishing in second-last place, SV Soccer Boys. Also in 2011, as runners-up in District West II’s Saturday League 3C, 4 points behind champions HVC ’10, vv Monster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by vv Den Bommel (4-3 aggr.). Following the 2010-11 season, in a striking move, SV Polanen head coach Wim Baggerman signs for vv Monster. In the new season, SV Polanen and vv Monster are placed in the same league division for the first time, with the first derby encounter finishing in a 1-0 win for SV Polanen (goal by Rens de Jonge).
- 2012 / Runners-up in District West II’s Saturday League 3B, 13 points behind runaway champions vv Naaldwijk, vv Monster qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club successively eliminates CVC Reeuwijk (5-3 aggr.) and MVV ’27 (3-2 aggr.) – and, as such, the club manages a return to Saturday League 2 after three years. The successful coach is Henk Baggerman. Meanwhile, in its last season as an independent club, SV Polanen finishes two places below vv Monster in the same division, just missing out on the promotion play-offs. Following the 2011-12 season, a merger is concluded between SV Polanen and vv Monster, resulting in the foundation of Sportclub (SC) Monster. Due to the promotion achieved by vv Monster, the new club’s first team starts its life in Saturday League 2.
- 2017 / Finishing in third-last place in Saturday League 2C with coach Marten Glotzbach, SC Monster has to avoid relegation in a round of promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club stumbles to a 2-1 (aggr.) defeat in R1 against derby rivals vv Naaldwijk. As such, SC Monster drops back into Saturday League 3, along with vv Lyra, SV Soccer Boys, and bottom club vv Kethel-Spaland.
- 2018 / Champions in District West II’s Saturday League 3B, 2 points ahead of closest rivals RKSV VELO, SC Monster manages an immediate return to Saturday League 2. The successful coach is Robin Knoester, who had returned to the club for a second spell in the course of the season, replacing Marten Glotzbach.
- 2019 / Finishing in second-last place in Saturday League 2A with coach Robin Knoester, SC Monster has to avoid relegation in a round of promotion-relegation play-offs, in which the club suffers a 0-4 home defeat at the hands of vv Lyra – and, as such, the club drops back into Saturday League 3, along with bottom club TAVV.
- 2022 / Runners-up in District West II’s Saturday League 3B, 2 points behind champions SSA FC Skillz Wateringse Veld, SC Monster qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by TAVV (2-3).
- 2023 / Runaway champions in District West II’s Saturday League 3B, 11 points ahead of closest followers vv Verburch, SC Monster wins promotion to Saturday League 2. The successful coach is Marco Meijer.
- 2024 / Champions in Saturday League 2D, 4 points ahead of runners-up VFC, SC Monster wins a historic promotion to Saturday League 1. The successful coach is Marc Dijkhuizen.
Note – Vital parts of information in this historical overview were derived from a set of excellent articles about the history of football in Monster by Pieter de Zeeuw, available on SC Monster’s website. Moreover, Pieter de Zeeuw kindly agreed to answer my additional questions on the day of my visit at Sportpark Polanen. Many thanks, Mr De Zeeuw!
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