SC Heerenveen

Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July 1920 in the town of Heerenveen, Friesland, as Athleta. It changed name twice, first to Spartaan and then to v.v. Heerenveen in 1922. Trailing 5–1 with 25 minutes remaining, the Frisian team inexplicably fought back for a 6–5 victory. Under the tenure of Trond Sollied, Heerenveen won its first KNVB Cup, also its first ever major trophy. Trond Sollied, however, was sacked on 31 August 2009 due to a weak opening of the season and a conflict with the board. On 17 May 2009, the club defeated Twente 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out to win the Dutch Cup for the first time after a 2–2 draw in the final, with Gerald Sibon scoring the winning penalty. On 13 February 2012, it was announced that Marco van Basten would replace Ron Jans, who had led Heerenveen for two years, as team manager for the 2012–13 season.. Van Basten would lead Heerenveen to an 8th place finish in his first season and a 5th place finish in the 13 - 14 season, missing out on European qualification by just 2 points. In this season Alfreð Finnbogason would also crown himself top scorer of the league, whilst also becoming Heerenveen's all time top scorer in the Eredivisie. In January 2014 Van Basten would announce he wouldn't sign a new contract with the club. Dwight Lodeweges would be his replacement, joining from rivals Cambuur. Lodeweges would stay at the club until October 2015, where a bad start in the 15 - 16 season would see Heerenveen in 15th after nine games with just one win would see him resign. Foppe de Haan would return as interim manager for the next few games, but in the end ended up finishing the entire season. At the start of 2016 the club would announce that Luuc Eisinga would become director. In March of 2016 the club would announce that Jurgen Streppel would join from Willem II for the 2016 - 17 Eredivisie season. He would lead the club to consecutive European play-offs, leaving the club after 2 years in 2018. His replacement Jan Olde Riekerink would get sacked in April of 2019 with the club in 10th place of the Eredivisie. His assistant Johnny Jansen would see out the season as the interim manager. Jansen would sign a contract keeping him as permanent manager at the end of the season. On the 1st of March 2019 Luuc Eisinga would also get removed from his position as director, getting replaced by Cees Roozemond, who would stay in the job until 2023. In January of 2022 Jansen would get sacked, being replaced by Ole Tobiasen on an interim basis. Tobiasen would lead the team to European play-offs in the 21 - 22 season. In the summer Kees van Wonderen would take the job, joining from Go Ahead Eagles. He would bring the club to the European play-offs in his first season, but failed to do so in his second, meaning the club wouldn't renew his contract. He would be replaced by Robin van Persie in the summer of 2024. Van Persie would leave the club after just eight months to rejoin Feyenoord. Robin Veldman who had previously been manager of several youth teams at the club, would come in to replace him. Heerenveen would end the 24 - 25 Eredivisie in 9th place, once again sending them into the European play-offs. ==Stadium==

The club plays its home matches at the Abe Lenstra Stadium, which opened in 1994 and holds 26,100 people. Before that, the team played at a ground with the same name elsewhere in the town, but it could not meet the increasing popularity of the club. Throughout the years, the club developed several plans to further expand the stadium. One of the plans was to extend at least one side stand towards the pitch, as seen in English football stadiums. Due to deteriorating league results and financial limitedness, however, those plans were shelved. It is uncertain whether or not the club will ever carry them out. Before the move to the Abe Lenstra Stadion, Heerenveen played at the Sportpark Noord. The club's training facilities are regarded as world class, which is said to be a major factor in their recruitment of younger players. The name of the clubs facilities is sportpark . The facilities are shared with VV Heerenveen and sc Heerenveen (women). ==Colours, crest and anthem==

The crest on the club emblem is the symbol of the flag of Friesland. The flag of Friesland is based on the arms of the 15th century. The stripes and seeblatt shapes represent the districts of Friesland. A unique tradition in the Dutch Eredivisie is that the Frisian national anthem is played and sung before every domestic match. UEFA does not allow this tradition in European matches. Nevertheless, the anthem is sung by the supporters anyway. ==Rivalry==

SC Cambuur Heerenveen retain a very fierce rivalry with SC Cambuur. One of the reasons of the rivalry is the short distance between the two clubs. Because of that the clubs often refer to each other as DKV which stands for Dertig Kilometer Verderop (Thirty Kilometers Away) so that they do not have to mention each other's names. However, the biggest and also the most confusing reason is the background of the clubs. Many people who aren't involved in the rivalry find it difficult to understand. Most of the Heerenveen fans are from small villages from the entire province (and even outside it) and are very proud of their Frisian identity. Since the 80's the club have been expressing this Frisian pride to the rest of the Netherlands. The Frisian flag, the Frisian anthem, all Frisian symbols were linked to the club, which made Heerenveen the face of Frisia. Because of this Cambuur slowly disappeared in the shadow of Heerenveen, as a reaction to this Cambuur fans started distancing themselves from the Frisian identity. Nowadays Cambuur do not consider themselves Frisian even though they are from the capital of the province. They now call themselves Leeuwarders aka people from the city. Heerenveen fans are mockingly called boeren (farmers) because Heerenveen isn't a city and the fans mainly live in small villages. Because of the successes of Heerenveen and the meager performances of Cambuur including almost going bankrupt, the rivalry was almost forgotten. When Cambuur got promoted back to the Eredivisie in 2013 by winning the 2012/13 season of the Jupiler League the rivalry got revived. Before the meeting on 29 September 2013 the game hadn't been played for 13 years, giving Cambuur a great opportunity to prove themselves. Heerenveen won that game 2–1. The away game later in the season was won 3–1 by Cambuur. FC Groningen The absence of Cambuur caused FC Groningen to be the nearest Eredivisie team and soon it became rivals with Heerenveen. Strikingly, both northern sides used to maintain more or less of a friendship in the past. Therefore, this Northern Derby rivalry is only based on geographical location. Because most Heerenveen fans have always considered Cambuur as main rivals, this derby is often referred to as a surrogate derby. Days before the game, Heerenveen and Groningen fans tease each other by means of playful actions, usually with no violence. Heerenveen fans once stole the centre spot from Stadion Oosterpark, and raised the Frisian flag at the Martinitoren, the highest tower in Groningen, combined with a banner saying "SCH op eenzame hoogte" (SCH on lonely height). The front yard of a Groningen chairman once got filled with rubble from a construction site. This was because the construction of the Euroborg had to be halted due to a major design mistake. Groningen fans countered by painting a statue of all-time Heerenveen hero Abe Lenstra green and white, the colours of Groningen. They also transformed a viaduct near Heerenveen to green and white. In the 2001–02 season, Groningen fans awarded Heerenveen player Anthony Lurling with the title of "biggest cheat of the season" ("matennaaier van het seizoen" in Dutch) and handed him therefore a sewing machine ("naaimachine" in Dutch). In that same week the town signs of Heerenveen were changed to "Hoerenveen It Sucks" (Whore-veen) by the Groningen supporters. The following season, Groningen fans teased the Heerenveen following again, this time by establishing a border post on the border of Groningen and Friesland. ==Honours==

• Netherlands Football League Championship / Eredivisie • Runners-up (3): 1946–47, 1947–48, 1999–2000 • KNVB Cup • Champions (1): 2008–09 • Runners-up (2): 1992–93, 1996–97 • Eerste Divisie • Play-off Winners (2): 1989–90, 1992–93 • Runners-up (1): 1980–81 • Tweede Divisie • Champions (1): 1969–70 • Play-off Winners (1): 1959–60 ==Domestic results==

Below is a table with sc Heerenveen's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956. ==European competition==

SC Heerenveen played 16 seasons in one of the European club football competitions. : score marked with * = first played match : Due to safety concerns in Israel, the first leg was cancelled by UEFA. : Played in Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon. ==Current squad==

Players listed below have had junior and/or senior international cap(s) for their respective countries before, while and/or after playing at Heerenveen. • Raphael Bove • Thomas Prager • Sven Kums • Brian Vandenbussche • Afonso Alves • Paulo Henrique • Ivan Tsvetkov • Tristan Borges • Rob Friend • Will Johnson • Cecilio Lopes • Danijel Pranjić • Martin Lejsal • Michal Papadopulos • Michal Švec • Kristian Bak Nielsen • Daniel Jensen • Allan K. Jepsen • Hjalte Nørregaard • Marc Nygaard • Jakob Poulsen • Lasse Schöne • Ole Tobiasen • Jon Dahl Tomasson • Sergei Mošnikov • Hannu Haarala • Mika Nurmela • Juska Savolainen • Niklas Tarvajärvi • Mika Väyrynen • Mark Uth • Matthew Amoah • Georgios Samaras • Marco Pappa • Lesly Fellinga • Arnór Smárason • Alfred Finnbogason • Thom Haye • Nathan Tjoe-A-On • Reza Ghoochannejhad • Bonaventure Kalou • Yuki Kobayashi • Ibrahim Drešević • Arbër Zeneli • Samir Fazli • Mile Krstev • Goran Popov • Ion Nicolaescu • Oussama Assaidi • Ali Elkhattabi • Abdelkarim Kissi • Khalid Sinouh • Oussama Tannane • Hakim Ziyech • Mario Been • Roy Beerens • Paul Bosvelt • Michel Breuer • Arnold Bruggink • Jerry de Jong • Marten de Roon • Romano Denneboom • Bas Dost • Denzel Dumfries • Johan Hansma • Germ Hofma • Klaas-Jan Huntelaar • Daryl Janmaat • Kees Kist • Martin Koeman • Abe Lenstra • Henny Meijer • Luciano Narsingh • Andries Noppert • Stijn Schaars • Gerald Sibon • Victor Sikora • Daley Sinkgraven • Jerry St. Juste • Jeffrey Talan • Henk Timmer • René van der Gijp • Milan van Ewijk • Jan Paul van Hecke • Ruud van Nistelrooy • Henk Veerman • Joey Veerman • Michel Vlap • Uğur Yıldırım • Emmanuel Ebiede • Henry Onwuzuruike • Daniel Berg Hestad • Tarik Elyounoussi • Christian Grindheim • Thomas Holm • Martin Ødegaard • Radosław Matusiak • Arkadiusz Radomski • Tomasz Rząsa • Ioan Andone • Rodion Cămătaru • Florin Constantinovici • Dumitru Mitriță • Igor Korneev • Filip Đuričić • Igor Đurić • Miralem Sulejmani • Hans Vonk • Marcus Allbäck • Erik Edman • Viktor Elm • Petter Hansson • Sam Larsson • Lasse Nilsson • Amin Sarr • Stefan Selaković • Michael Bradley • Robbie Rogers • Radoslav Samardžić ==Club staff==

No official trainer from 1920 to 1930 • Sjoerd van Zuylen (1930–32) • Sid Castle (1932) • Otto Pinter (1932–33) • Dirk Steenbergen (1934) • Theo Eikenaar (1934–36) • Sid Castle (1936–38) • Piet Smit (1938–39) • (1939–45) • Otto Bonsema (1945) • Abe Lenstra (1946–47) • Piet van der Munnik (1947–51) • Bob Kelly (1951–55) • Volgert Ris (1955–58) • Siem Plooijer (1958–61) • Arie de Vroet (1961–63) • Evert Mur (1963–65) • László Zalai (1965–66) • Ron Groenewoud (1966–67) • Evert Teunissen (1967–69) • Bas Paauwe Jr. (1969–71) • Meg de Jongh (1971–73) • Laszlo Zalai (1973–78) • Jan Teunissen (1978–80) • Hylke Kerkstra (interim) (1980) • Henk van Brussel (1980–85) • Foppe de Haan (1985–88) • Ted Immers (1988–89) • Ab Gritter (1989–90) • Fritz Korbach (1 July 1990 – 30 June 1992) • Foppe de Haan (18 October 1992 – 30 June 2004) • Gertjan Verbeek (1 July 2004 – 30 June 2008) • Trond Sollied (1 July 2008 – 31 August 2009) • Jan de Jonge (31 August 2009 – 3 February 2010) • Jan Everse (int.) (5 February 2010 – 30 June 2010) • Ron Jans (1 July 2010 – 30 June 2012) • Marco van Basten (1 July 2012 – 30 June 2014) • Dwight Lodeweges (1 July 2014 – 20 October 2015) • Foppe de Haan (int.) (20 October 2015 – 30 June 2016) • Jurgen Streppel (1 July 2016 – 30 June 2018) • Jan Olde Riekerink (1 July 2018 – 10 April 2019) • Johnny Jansen (10 April 2019 – 24 January 2022) • Ole Tobiasen (int.) (4 February 2022 – 30 June 2022) • Kees van Wonderen (1 July 2022 – 17 May 2024) • Robin van Persie (17 May 2024 – 23 February 2025) • Henk Brugge (int.) (23 February 2025 – 21 March 2025) • Robin Veldman (21 March 2025 –) – manager from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 until 2004 and from 2015 until 2016 (int.). == Match statistics ==

; All competitions • Biggest home win: SC Heerenveen - FC Oss 11–1; KNVB Cup (21 December 2011) • Biggest score: Ton Pentre AFC - sc Heerenveen 0–7; Intertoto (2 July 1995) • Largest double result: Helsingborg IF - sc Heerenveen 8-6 (3-5 and 5–1); UEFA Cup 1st Round (2007) • Most goals in a season: 88 goals, 2007/08 • Most goals in a game: Afonso Alves 7 (also an Eredivisie record); sc Heerenveen - Heracles (7 October 2007) ; Eredivisie • Biggest home win: sc Heerenveen - Heracles Almelo 9-0 (7 October 2007) • Biggest game: Willem II - sc Heerenveen 1-6 (23 February 2001) • Largest home defeat: sc Heerenveen - PSV Eindhoven 0-8 (25 April 2024) • Fastest penalty for: sc Heerenveen - sc Cambuur (19 October 2014) ; Champions League • Biggest home win: SC Heerenveen - Olympiakos Piraeus 1-0 (17 October 2000) • Most spacious stay: none • Highest draw: Valencia CF - sc Heerenveen 1-1 (7 November 2000) • Largest double result: SC Heerenveen - Lyon 1-5 (2000) ; European Cup II • Biggest home win: SC Heerenveen - KS Amica Wronki 3-1 (17 September 1998) • Biggest game: KS Amica Wronki - sc Heerenveen 0-1 (1 October 1998) • Largest double result: sc Heerenveen - KS Amica Wronki 4-1 (1998) ; UEFA Cup • Biggest home win: SC Heerenveen - Maccabi Petach Tikwa 5-0 (30 September 2004), SC Heerenveen - FC Baník Ostrava 5-0 (29 September 2005) and SC Heerenveen - FK Ventspils 5-0 (16 December 2009) • Biggest game: Vitória Setúbal - sc Heerenveen 0-3 (14 September 2006) • Largest double result: Helsingsborg IF - sc Heerenveen 8-6 (2007) ; Intertoto Cup • Biggest home win: SC Heerenveen - Aalborg BK 8-2 (19 July 1997) • Biggest score: Ton Pentre AFC - sc Heerenveen 0-7 (2 July 1995) • Largest double result: FHK Liepajas Metalurgs - sc Heerenveen 4-8 (2001) ==Women's team==

In 2007, SC Heerenveen created a women's football team, which competes in the Vrouwen Eredivisie, and between 2012 and 2015 in the BeNe League. While it has ranked mostly in the table's bottom positions, in 2011 it reached the national cup's final, lost against AZ. Vivianne Miedema and Sherida Spitse started their professional career at Heerenveen. == See also ==