With regard to European competition, Willem II first appeared in
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
of 1963 where they lost to
Manchester United
in the first round by an aggregate score of 7–2. In 1998–99, Willem once again competed in the
Cup Winners' Cup
and after beating
Dinamo Tbilisi
of Georgia 6–0 in both legs, Willem then lost to Spanish side
Real Betis
in the second round, 4–1 on aggregate. A second place in the Eredivisie of
1999
guaranteed the club a
UEFA Champions League
berth for the first time. At the tournament's group stage, Willem only attained two points in their six group G matches and were thus eliminated. After reaching the KNVB Cup final in
2005
where they lost 4–0 against
PSV Eindhoven
, Willem II again qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side
AS Monaco
in the first round by 5–1 on aggregate.
[1]
At the end of the 2010–11 season, Willem II were relegated from the Eredivisie for the first time in 24 years. In the 2011–12 season under new manager
Jurgen Streppel
Willem II was promoted back to the Eredivisie, but they went right back down the next season after finishing bottom of the table. The club became champions of the
Eerste Divisie
in the subsequent season and were thus promoted back to the Eredivisie.
[1]
In early 2015, journalists at
De Volkskrant
revealed that Willem II had its
matches fixed
by an "Asian gambling syndicate", who had paid Willem's players a total sum of €100,000 to lose matches against
Ajax
and
Feyenoord
(in October and December 2009). According to the journalists, midfielder
Ibrahim Kargbo
was the Asians' main contact within the club; Kargbo denies having accepted their money.
[1]
[2]
The
Royal Dutch Football Association
called the affair "the most concrete case of match fixing in the Netherlands" and took legal action as well as asking
UEFA
and
FIFA
to reevaluate previous matches.
[3]
In 2019, Willem II reached the
KNVB Cup Final
for the fourth time in their history. They beat
AZ Alkmaar
in the semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out, but were defeated by in the final by
AFC Ajax
.
The fans of Willem II have close links with the fans of English
championship
club
Bristol City
. Willem supporters have been known to travel to Bristol, with Bristol City fans heading the other way to Tilburg. At Bristol City's game on 31 October 2009 against
Sheffield Wednesday
, some Willem II fans were seen in the 'Eastend' of the
Ashton Gate Stadium
, and songs were sung about Willem II by City fans.
[4]
[5]
Rivalries
Willem II longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest neighbour,
NAC Breda
. This rivalry originated in the 1920s. Matches between the two are referred to as the derby of Brabant. The two cities of Breda and Tilburg are just 20 kilometres apart, leading to an intense feeling of a cross-town rivalry, heightened by a feeling that it is city against city with local pride at stake. The cities differ culturally where Tilburg is considered a elitist class city and Breda is considered more a working class city. This is also apparent from the fact that Willem II is named after a Dutch king.
Players
Current squad
As of 12 August 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for Willem II.
1914–15
Koninklijke HFC
(3/3)
1915–16
Quick D.Haag (4/4)
1916–17
Ajax
(1/19)
1917–18
RHC (1/2)
1918–19
not played
1919–20
CVV
1920–21
Schoten
1921–22
not played
1922–23
not played
1923–24
not played
1924–25
ZFC
1925–26
LONGA
1926–27
VUC Den Haag
1927–28
RHC (2/2)
1928–29
not played
1929–30
Feyenoord
(1/13)
1945–46
not played
1946–47
not played
1947–48
FC Wageningen
(2/2)
1948–49
Quick 1888
1949–50
PSV
(1/11)
1950–51
not played
1951–52
not played
1952–53
not played
1953–54
not played
1954–55
not played
1955–56
not played
1956–57
Fortuna '54
(1/2)
1957–58
Sparta
(1/3)
1958–59
VVV
1959–60
not played