IJsselmeervogels

Early years

The club was formed in 1932. In its early days, it had a number of different names, including VVIJV, V.V. IJsselmeer and n.a.s. (Na Arbeid Sport, Sport after Labour) and soon the club colors of red and white were adopted. The kit consists of a white shirt with deep red centre (reminiscent of Ajax) and red shorts. The socks were initially red with a white stripe, but in recent years have gradually changed to become all-white.

IJsselmeervogels first played in a regional federation in Utrecht, but always played in the highest possible class in the district, and not without success; nearly every year they competed for the title against local rivals SV Spakenburg and regional clubs like HSV De Zuidvogels and SV Huizen. IJsselmeervogels won several titles and cups in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Championship. After the sixties, the KNVB created a national amateur competition, the First Class (Eerste Klasse). Promotion proved more difficult than expected, but after a play-off with VRC and VV Rijsoord, IJsselmeervogels secured a place in the Erste Klasse.

Rival club SV Spakenburg were also promoted to the First Class. It was then that IJsselmeervogels moved to the same complex as Spakenburg and since then only the canteens, a fence and some trees have separated the two clubs. In IJsselmeervogels' second season in the new division, 1971/72, the club became champions, repeating the feat in 72/73.

1975: Sports team of the year

IJsselmeervogels gained national fame in the 1974/75 season for their excellent run in KNVB Cup, starting with wins over SV Limburgia and SC Amersfoort (the former professional club from the nearby large town). Subsequently, IJsselmeervogels won their match against FC Groningen, then leaders of the Eerste Divisie, 2–1, and reached the quarter-finals.

In March 1975, IJsselmeervogels played away in against AZ Alkmaar, then 5th in the Eredivisie. AZ fielded celebrated players like Kees Kist and Hugo Hovenkamp, but Jan Vedder and Jaan de Graaf gave the amateurs a 0–2 lead. AZ came back to equalise, but neither side could find the net during extra time, so the match had to be decided on penalty kicks. Thanks to saves by goalkeeper Jos de Feyter, IJsselmeervogels reached the semi-finals.

Singer Peter Koelewijn of 'Peter en zijn Rockets' composed songs for IJsselmeervogels, sung by the players: Vogels van het IJsselmeer (Birds of the IJsselmeer) "Alle Vogels vliegen" ("All Birds fly").

This victory is considered the high point in the club's history and was celebrated in the village. In the semi-finals, FC Twente proved far too strong, winning 6–0. Following this improbable cup run, IJsselmeervogels received the 'Dutch Sports team of the year' award. IJsselmeervogels are the only amateur club ever to win this prize.

1976–1989

During the remainder of the 1970s and 1980s, IJsselmeervogels were crowned champions a number of times. In 1976, 1977 and 1983, playing largely against teams from the own village, IJsselmeervogels won three national titles. At the end of the 1980s, the club went through a difficult period. The club veered between using players from their own town and drafting in players from other parts of the country. There was a change in policy around 1988. IJsselmeervogels started to pay their previously unpaid players, as some other amateur clubs already did. This lack of success in this period caused discontent among supporters, even leading to riots on occasion.

1990s

In the mid-1990s the board appointed Erik Assink as coach. He inherited a team with some young home grown players supplemented by a few veterans. In 1995, IJsselmeervogels won all amateur titles. The largely unchanged squad also won the Saturday titles in 1998 and 1999, after which the club slowly built a new team, which took several years.

2000s

From 2003, after attracting five players from then-champions but nearly bankrupt SV Huizen, performances were improving. With Philip den Haan joining as manager, results improved further, culminating in winning the Saturday league championship. ASWH and Excelsior '31 were, however, too strong, with the former becoming overall champions.

In the 2005–2006 season, IJsselmeervogels became the overall amateur champions for the fifth time in their history. Under the guidance of coach Willem Leushuis they won the amateur title again, finishing far ahead of competitors ASWH, VV SHO and GVVV. Dogan Corneille, their leader in midfield and a former professional player, used his experience to guide the team and raise overall standards. First team players from Spakenburg were left-back Henri de Graaf and right-back Jan Pieter Hartog. After winning the league title, IJsselmeervogels had to play ONS Sneek and Rijnsburgse Boys. In this competition IJsselmeervogels narrowly won the title, with the match against Rijnsburgse Boys being particularly close. Eventually, penalty shootouts made the difference and gave IJsselmeervogels their thirteenth Saturday title. On 17 June 2006, IJsselmeervogels was crowned the best amateur club in the Netherlands for the first time in 11 years, securing the overall amateur title with a 0–3 win away at Türkiyemspor following a 1–2 defeat in the first leg. After this success, some players were picked up by professional clubs. Kwong-Wah Steinrath, the top scorer, was signed by Haarlem and defender Stanley Tailor left IJsselmeervogels for FC Emmen. The most notable transfer was that of left winger Gijs van Manen, who had mostly been on the bench only a year earlier at SDV Barneveld. He went on to play in the reserves of FC Utrecht.