Thursday, 1 December 2022

NETHERLANDS: RKVV Achilles (1918-1920) / KSV BWO (± 1932-2013) / KSV BWO (B) (2013-)

Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Noork - veld 2, Hengelo (KSV BWO, B pitch / former A pitch)

Netherlands, province: Overijssel

December 2022 / no match visited

Timeline
  • 1918 / RKVV Achilles, a Roman-Catholic football club in Hengelo founded in 1912, moves to a newly laid-out pitch opposite Café Pentrop, abandoning its old pitch, Terrein Deurningerweg. The pitch near Café Pentrop occupied the location now taken by the westernmost pitch of Sportpark De Noork, i.e. the main pitch of the park until 2013.
  • 1920 / Having played its football on the pitch across from Café Pentrop for two years, RKVV Achilles now moves to the so-called Twentsch Stadion at Deurningerstraat. Nothing is known about the use of the pitch near Café Pentrop in the following decade.
  • 1929 / At the instigation of the local parish, a football club in the Noork district in Hengelo (Overijssel), which is given the name RKVV (Roomsch-Katholieke Voetbalvereeniging) Blauw-Wit. As most Roman-Catholic clubs in Twente, RKVV Blauw-Wit does not join the official Netherlands’ FA (KNVB), successfully applying for membership of the Roman-Catholic association RKUVB (Roomsch-Katholieke Utrechtsche Voetbalbond) instead. The RKUVB is a sub-branch of the RKF (Roomsch-Katholieke Federatie). Allegedly, the club’s first pitch was situated at Van Alphenstraat, roughly coinciding with the location of the modern-day ice-rink, although no definite sources are available on the subject.
  • ± 1932 / Moving away from its original pitch at Van Alphenstraat, RKVV Blauw-Wit settles at Terrein De Noork – the former main pitch of RKVV Achilles in the years 1918-20 – although it has to be pointed out that there are no definite sources available on the subject. Also in 1932, a nationwide Roman-Catholic league pyramid is formed, the so-called IVCB (Interdiocesaan Voetbalcompetitiebond), with teams from RKF sub-branches having the opportunity to win promotion to the three IVCB divisions. RKVV Blauw-Wit is relatively successful in the 1930s, finding itself in IVCB Division 2B East by the 1937-38 season.
  • 1940 / Having spent the first eleven years of its existence in the RKF (RKUVB & IVCB), RKVV Blauw-Wit 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 East’s (Sunday) League 2. Due to a NVB member club from Amsterdam, future professional league club ASV Blauw-Wit, already having the right to the name ‘Blauw-Wit’, RKVV Blauw-Wit has to change its name – choosing to become ‘Blauw-Wit-Oost’ (BWO), or, officially, KSV (Katholieke Sportvereniging) BWO.
  • 1942 / Finishing in last place in District East’s Sunday League 2A, KSV BWO descends into Sunday League 3.
  • 1951 / Finishing in last place in District East’s Sunday League 3A, KSV BWO descends into Sunday League 4.
  • 1953 / KSV BWO finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 7 points behind champions DOS ’19.
  • 1954 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 3 points ahead of closest followers ASVO – incidentally BWO’s first title since its forced affiliation with the official Netherlands’ FA fourteen years previously – KSV BWO goes on to win the championship play-offs, thus managing a return to Sunday League 3 after an absence of three seasons.
  • 1964 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3A, KSV BWO drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club GFC.
  • 1965 / A group of disaffected BWO members forms a breakaway club, vv ATC ’65 (A Triginta Conditum 1965 – the literal translation of the Latin name being ‘Founded by Thirty (Men)’). The new club starts its life at a side-pitch of Stadion Veldwijk (later renamed Stadion) Fanny Blankers-Koen) - a pitch, in fact, later taken over by FC Twente's youth academy. vv ATC ’65 has been KSV BWO’s fiercest derby rival ever since.
  • 1966 / Finishing in joint last place in District East’s Sunday League 4B with RKVV STEVO, KSV BWO meets the club from Geesteren in a tie-break match to determine which of the two stays up at that level. As the first match is broken off due to heavy rains at halftime (0-0), a second encounter is organised, which is won by RKVV STEVO (1-0). As such, KSV BWO suffers relegation to the ranks of the Twentse Voetbalbond (TVB), the league association organising football in the eastern parts of Overijssel below the level of League 4, for the first time in club history.
  • 1967 / KSV BWO finishes as runners-up in TVB Division 1A, 7 points behind champions vv Haaksbergen.
  • 1968 / Champions in TVB Division 1A after a tie-break match against vv Dolphia, KSV BWO manages a return to District East’s Sunday League 4 after an absence of two seasons at that level.
  • 1972 / KSV BWO finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 2 points behind champions EV&AC De Tubanters 1897.
  • 1975 / KSV BWO finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4B, 9 points behind champions vv Reutum.
  • 1980 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 3 points ahead of closest rivals vv TAR, KSV BWO wins promotion to Sunday League 3 after an absence of sixteen years at that level.
  • 1985 / Finishing in second-last position in District East’s Sunday League 3A, KSV BWO drops back into Sunday League 4 along with bottom club EV&AC De Tubanters 1897. Also in 1985, after one year of first team football at KSV BWO, 19-year-old goalkeeper Frank Ensink signs a professional league contract at FC Twente, going on to play not only for that club, but for Go Ahead Eagles and FC Dordrecht as well, eventually bowing out into non-league in 1994. 
  • 1988 / KSV BWo finishes as runners-up in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 3 points behind chmpions OV Avanti Wilskracht.
  • 1992 / Former BWO youth academy player Daniël Nijhof makes his debut for FC Twente, going on to defend the colours of NEC before ending his professional league career in 1998.
  • 1993 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 4A, only 2 points behind champions vv Victoria ’28, KSV BWO manages to win promotion to Sunday League 3 via the play-offs.
  • 1997 / Champions in District East’s Sunday League 3A, 1 point ahead of closest followers RKSV De Tukkers, KSV BWO accedes to Sunday League 2 after an absence of 55 years at that level. Also in 1997, former BWO youth academy player Martijn Abbenhues makes his debut as a professional league player at FC Twente, going on to defend the colours of FC Zwolle and Finnish side FC Jokerit
  • 1998 / Finishing bottom of the table in Sunday League 2J, KSV BWO drops back into Sunday League 3 after just one season, along with the club finishing in second-last position, SV Hector.
  • 2000 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3A, KSV BWO drops back into Sunday League 4, along with bottom club RKSV EMOS.
  • 2001 / Coached by Robert Steenbeek, KSV BWO finishes in joint first position in District East’s Sunday League 4B, along with AVC Luctor et Emergo, going on to defeat the club from Almelo in a tie-break match – thus managing an immediate return to Sunday League 3.
  • 2002 / Coached by Freek van Oenen, KSV BWO finishes in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3A, thus suffering instant relegation to Sunday League 4, along with bottom club vv Oldenzaal.
  • 2006 / Coached by Jos Kattenpoel Oude Heerink, KSV BWO clinches the title in District East’s Sunday League 4A, 8 points ahead of runners-up AJC ’96, thus winning promotion to Sunday League 3.
  • 2009 / Finishing in second-last place in District East’s Sunday League 3A, KSV BWO drops back into Sunday League 4, along with bottom club RKSV De Tukkers. Following the 2008-09 season, coach Edwin Louwes leaves the club, being succeeded by Bert Stokkingreef, a former professional league player at FC Groningen (1995-96) and BV Veendam (1996-98). Stokkingreef would stay on as BWO’s head coach for the following three seasons.
  • 2012 / Finishing in third place in District East’s Sunday League 4A, KSV BWO qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club defeats RKSV NEO in R1 (4-3 aggr.) before bowing out against GVV Eilermark in R2 (6-2 aggr.).
  • 2013 / On January 18th, 2013, the new clubhouse at Sportpark De Noork, replacing an older construction which found itself roughly in the same place, is inaugurated by Hengelo’s alderman Erik Lievers and BWO’s chairman Peter Sinnema. As the balcony of the second tier of the clubhouse offers a fine view of pitch 2 of the park, the decision is taken to move first team football to this pitch. For a detailed history of KSV BWO from 2013 onwards, follow the link to the photo series of the park's new main pitch.









All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

Sunday, 27 November 2022

LUXEMBOURG: CS Grevenmacher

Stade Op Flohr, Grevenmacher (CS Grevenmacher)

Luxembourg, canton: Grevenmacher

27 XI 2022 / CS Grevenmacher - FC Marisca Mersch 1-5 / Promotion d'Honneur (= LUX level 2)

Timeline
  • 1909 / Foundation of Stade Mosellan Grevenmacher. The club, which does not take part in any official competition in the years preceding World War I, settles at a pitch at Lieu-dit 'Op Worbelt'.
  • 1914 / A name change leads to the club henceforth being known as Club Sportif (CS) Grevenmacher.
  • 1921 / CS Grevenmacher first enters a team in Luxembourg's regular leagues, being placed in Division 2, the fourth step of the Grand-Duchy's league pyramid. Around this same time, the club moves into a new ground, Terrain Pech, situated near the Pont de la Moselle.
  • 1923 / The first success in club history, CS Grevenmacher finishes second in Division 2, thus acceding to Division 1. In the years leading up to World War II, the club mainly plays in D2, alternated with short excursions to D1 and D3.
  • 1930 / Having played at Terrain Pech for some ten years, CS Grevenmacher moves into a new ground, Terrain Am Pietert.
  • 1936 / CS Grevenmacher settles at Stade de la Moselle, a newly laid-out ground situated at the exit road leading to Mertert and Wasserbillig, near the old abattoir.
  • 1940 / Forced by German occupation authorities to eliminate the French elements from its appellation, CS Grevenmacher changes its name to become FK Grevenmacher.
  • 1944 / Upon liberation from German oppression, the old club name CS Grevenmacher is reinstated.
  • 1947 / Following two promotions in a row, CS Grevenmacher finds itself in Promotion d'Honneur, the second level of the Grand-Duchy's league pyramid, for the first time.
  • 1949 / Finishing third in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher accedes to National Division, the top flight of Luxembourg's football, for the first time in club history. The adventure does not last longer than one season, though, with relegation following in 1950.
  • 1951 / Reaching the cup final for the first time, CS Grevenmacher holds top flight club SC Tétange to a 1-1 draw, but loses the replay (2-0). In the following years, the club is unlucky enough to lose three more cup finals - against FA Red Boys Differdange (1953), AS La Jeunesse d'Esch (1954), and Union Luxembourg (1959) respectively. 
  • 1953 / Clinching the title in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher manages a return to National Division, destined to hold its own at this level for the best part of the following ten years, alternated with one season in Promotion d'Honneur (1955-56).
  • 1960 / In the best season in club history so far, CS Grevenmacher finished third in National Division.
  • 1962 / After a successful spell in National Division, 'CSG' drops back into Promotion d'Honneur. In the following 14 seasons, the club mainly plays at that level, alternated with two isolated seasons in the top flight (1968-69 & 1970-71).
  • 1976 / Winning the title in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher returns to National Division. 
  • 1983 / Although the new ground is not ready yet, CS Grevenmacher moves its first team football the newly built Stade Flohr in the course of the 1982-83 season. Stade de la Moselle remains in use for lower team football and training sessions.
  • 1984 / Following eight consecutive seasons in National Division, with fifth places in the final ranking in 1980 and 1983 as best results, CSG drops back into Promotion d'Honneur.
  • 1985 / Clinching first place in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher bounces straight back to the top flight of Luxembourg's football pyramid. On October 6th, 1985, the covered stand having been constructed, raising official capacity to 4,062, Stade Flohr (later renamed Stade Op Flohr) is inaugurated officially in the presence of Grevenmacher's mayor Victor Braun and the Grand-Duchy's minister of sports, Marc Fischbach. On the occasion, the premises are consecrated by deacon Emile Weyer. The ceremonies having been performed, CS Grevenmacher takes on AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, defeating the record champions 3-2.
  • 1994 / Having proven itself as a stable factor in National Division in the previous seasons, CS Grevenmacher comes close to winning the league title - in the end finishing second behind FC Avenir Beggen. In all three following editions of Luxembourg's league championship, CSG finishes second again - on all of these three occasions preceded by AS La Jeunesse d'Esch. As a result, the club qualifies for European football for the first time, being defeated by Norway's Rosenborg BK in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round; after losing the home tie 1-2 at Stade Flohr, CS Grevenmacher receives a severe drubbing in Trondheim (6-0). Underlining its ambitions, the club buys Luxembourg international players Paul Koch and Marc Thomé - the latter of whom would go on to serve CS Grevenmacher as manager after hanging up his boots.
  • 1995 / Picking up its first tangible silverware, CS Grevenmacher wins the cup final - after drawing 1-1 against AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, CSG wins the replay 3-2. In the ensuing Cup Winners Cup qualifier against Iceland's KR, Grevenmacher registers its first international success by winning the home match at Stade Flohr 3-2; unfortunately, the away match in Reykjavík is lost 2-0, resulting in elimination.
  • 1996 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Georgia's FC Dinamo Tblisi (6-2 on aggregate).
  • 1997 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Croatia's HNK Hajduk Split (6-1 on aggregate).
  • 1998 / Reaching its sixth cup final, CS Grevenmacher wins the trophy by defeating FC Avenir Beggen (2-0). In the Cup Winners Cup first qualification round, the club is eliminated by Rumania's Rapid București (8-2 on aggregate).
  • 1999 / Putting an end to his footballing career which saw him defending the colours of FC Aris Bonnevoie, AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, and FC Avenir Beggen before spending the last three years as an active player at Stade Op Flohr, Théo Scholten finishes on a total of 419 matches in National Division - only 5 less than record holder Denis Scuto. Scholten also played 21 matches in Luxembourg's national team (1984-90). Also in 1999, goalkeeper (and future Luxembourg international player) Jonathan Joubert, who spent his young years in FC Metz's youth academy, signs for CS Grevenmacher, destined to stay at the club for five seasons.  
  • 2000 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Finland's HJK Helsinki (6-3 on aggregate). The home tie, which Grevenmacher won 2-0 - the club's second-ever European win -, was not played at Stade Op Flohr, which was not in conformity with UEFA's tightened safety regulations, but at Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg-Ville.
  • 2001 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Greece's AEK (8-0 on aggregate).
  • 2002 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Cyprus' Anorthosis Famagusta; after a 3-0 away defeat, a 2-0 victory for CSG at Stade Josy Barthel was not sufficient to manage a first-ever European aggregate win.
  • 2003 / Having finished second in Luxembourg's National Division behind F91 Dudelange in all three previous seasons, CS Grevenmacher manages its first - and only-ever - national title win. The club also wins its third national cup, defeating FC Etzella Ettelbruck in the final (1-0). In the new season, CSG is drawn against FK Leotar Trebinje in the Champions League's first qualifying round, holding the Bosnian champions to a stalemate (0-0) at Stade Josy Barthel before suffering elimination after a 2-0 away loss. Unable to repeat the succes of the 2002-03 season, the club does not win any silverware in the following four years, neither managing to qualify for a European competition.
  • 2008 / Defeating FC Victoria Rosport 4-1 in the final, CS Grevenmacher wins its fourth Luxembourg cup. In the UEFA Cup's qualifying round, the club is drawn against Iceland's title holders FH - suffering a suprisingly comprehensive 8-3 aggregate defeat, with the away tie being played at Kaplakriki in Hafnarfjörður.
  • 2009 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Lithuania's FK Vėtra (6-0 on aggregate).
  • 2010 / For the second season running, CS Grevenmacher finishes third in National Division. Just like in 2002-03, the club's striker Daniel Huss is crowned top goalscorer of the league with 22 goals. In his career, Huss socred 228 goals in 364 matches in National Division, all of those played for CSG - giving him second place in the league's all-time top scorer list, headed by Armin Krings. Huss cannot score in the cup final, in which Grevenmacher suffers a 1-0 defeat at the hands of FC Differdange 03. In the 2009-10 UEFA Cup campaign, CSG again stumbles over the first hurdle, as Ireland's Dundalk FC, after being held to a 3-3 draw at Stade Josy Barthel, wins the tie at Oriel Park 2-1. Also in 2010, CS Grevenmacher's new clubhouse, built as an extension of the main stand of Stade Op Flohr, is inaugurated.
  • 2012 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by KF Tirana. After losing the away tie at Stadiumi Kombëtar Qemal Stafa (2-0), the club holds the Albanians to a 0-0 draw, played at Dudelange's Stade Jos Nosbaum. To date, it is CS Grevenmacher's last European involvement. In 13 participations in the various international cup competitions, the club always stumbled over the first hurdle.
  • 2016 / After an uninterrupted spell of 31 years in National Division, CS Grevenmacher, finishing in 14th place, is relegated to Promotion d'Honneur. 
  • 2018 / The lowpoint in club history, CSG suffers a second relegation in three seasons, dropping back into Division 1, the third tier of the Grand-Duchy's league pyramid - a level at which the club had not played since the mid-1940s.
  • 2019 / CS Grevenmacher reaches the final of Coupe FLF, Luxembourg's cup competition for clubs playing in the three lower divisions of the league pyramid, but suffers a 3-1 defeat at the hands of FC Yellow Boys Weiler-la-Tour.
  • 2022 / Clinching the D1 title, CS Grevenmacher manages a return to Promotion d'Honneur.
  • 2024 / Finishing in second-last place in Promotion d'Honneur, CSG drops back into Division 1 along with FC Lorentzweiler, Yellow Boys Weiler-la-Tour, and bottom club Blo-Weiss Medernach.
  • 2026 / Runner-up in Division 1 Group 2, 7 points behind champions Union Remich-Bous, CS Grevenmacher goes on to suffer defeat in a promotion-relegation play-off, played at Stade Rénert in Berbourg, against local rivals FC Koeppchen Wormeldange (2-1). As such, the club misses out on an immediate return to Promotion d'Honneur.
Note 1: Thanks to CS Grevenmacher's chairman Guy Fusenig and secretary Norry Stoltz for providing important parts of the information given above at my match visit in November 2022.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-3 = non-matchday visit, July 1995 / pictures 4-24 = match visit, November 2022.























All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: ES Torgny (1969-2007) / FC Torgny-Rouvroy (2007-2025) / AFC Rouvroy (2025-)

Rue Grande, Torgny (FC Torgny-Rouvroy, formerly ES Torgny)

Belgium, province: Luxembourg

27 XI 2022 / FC Torgny-Rouvroy - RSC Athusien Reserves 1-5 / Belgian Luxembourg, Reserves' League B

Timeline
  • 1933 / Foundation of a first football club in the southernmost village of Belgium, Torgny, called Espérance FC. Upon joining Belgium's FA, the new club obtains matricule 1974. It is unclear where Espérance FC's ground was situated.
  • 1934 / Espérance FC folds after an existence of barely one year.
  • 1969 / After a 35-year gap, football returns to the village, as Entente Sportive (ES) Torgny sees the daylight. The club's first chairman is Marcel Bekaert. ES Torgny, its ground situated at Rue Grande, takes part in Belgian Luxembourg's Provincial League 3A for the first time in the 1970-71 season.
  • 1983 / Finishing 10th in a field of 15 clubs, ES Torgny manages a finish outside the bottom five of the Provincial League 3 table for the first time.
  • 2000 / Never having managed a better finish in P3 than a ninth place previously, out of the blue, ES Torgny clinches the title in Provincial League 3B with an advantage of just one point over RAC Saint-Mard.  
  • 2001 / In what turns out to be the club's only-ever season in Provincial League 2, ES Torgny finishes in last place in P2A, thus dropping back into P3 straightaway. In the following seasons, the club returns to its old habits, steadily finding itself among the bottom teams in Provincial League 3.
  • 2007 / Following a series of robberies of the clubhouse at Rue Grande - among those one committed by one of the club's board members, leading to a conviction at Arlon's Court of Justice -, ES Torgny succumbs to its debts and folds, ceasing all activities; matricule 7407 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists in October 2007. Five months previously, a successor club is founded, taking on the name FC Torgny-Rouvroy and joining Belgium's Football Association under matricule 9509. 
  • 2008 / Having an excellent first season, FC Torgny-Rouvroy finishes third in Provincial League 3A.
  • 2013 / Seemingly reverting to the old ways of its predecessor ES Torgny, FC Torgny-Rouvroy finishes dead-last in P3A with just one point in the entire season, in which it suffers several comprehensive defeats, amongst which a 11-0 drubbing away at R Excelsior Fouches. The only point is picked up in a home game against SC Villers-devant-Orval (2-2). In the end, Torgny's goal difference is -105.
  • 2015 / In a reversal of fortunes, after a respectable 5th place in 2014, FC Torgny-Rouvroy, guided by head coach Lindsay Faber, obtains the league title in P3A after a close-run race with RSC Rachecourt, which in the end falls just one point short. 
  • 2016 / Like ES Torgny in 2001-02, FC Torgny-Rouvroy's stay in P2 lasts for one season only; with 13 points and a last place, the club returns to the familiar surroundings of Provincial League 3.
  • 2019 / In the worst season in club history, FC Torgny-Rouvroy does not manage to pick up a single point in Provincial League 3B, suffering 11 defeats in which it concedes ten goals or more - with a 22-0 away defeat at ROC Meix-devant-Virton B being the uncontested lowpoint of the campaign. The club enters a team in Provincial League 3 for 2019-20, but it withdraws before the start of the season. In the following seasons, FC Torgny-Rouvroy took part in Belgian FA competitions with a reserves' team only.
  • 2024 / After an absence of five years, FC Torgny-Rouvroy returns with a first team in Luxembourg's Provincial League 3.
  • 2025 / Following a disastrous season, in which FC Torgny-Rouvroy finishes in last place in Luxembourg's Provincial League 3B, with 0 points from 24 matches (goal difference: 4-259). Withdrawing from first team football yet again, the club changes its name to become AFC (Athlétic Football Club) Rouvroy, with just one team taking part in the reserves' competition.




















All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author