Fortuna Sittard

The origins of professional football in the Netherlands

On 1 June 1954, businessman Gied Joosten founded Fortuna ’54 in Geleen. At a time when the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) officially opposed professional football, Joosten began paying players to play for Fortuna ’54. The club has founded professional football in the Netherlands and became the first professional football club in the Netherlands and played in the newly established Nederlandse Beroepsvoetbalbond (NBVB), a rival football association to the KNVB. The initiative of Fortuna ’54 and the NBVB played a major role in forcing the establishment of professional football in the Netherlands. In November 1954, the NBVB and KNVB reached an agreement and merged their competitions, formally establishing professional football within the Dutch football structure.

Fortuna ’54 quickly attracted some of the leading Dutch players of the era, including Frans de Munck, Cor van der Hart, Bram Appel, Faas Wilkes and Bart Carlier. The club developed a reputation as a pioneering and ambitious side and became one of the most prominent teams in the early years of Dutch professional football.

The golden era of Fortuna ’54

The 1950s were the most celebrated period in the history of Fortuna ’54. The club played a large number of international exhibition matches against major European and South American clubs. Opponents included Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Botafogo and Boca Juniors. Fortuna ’54 became known internationally for its ambitious style and its collection of prominent players.

One of the most famous matches was played against Brazilian side Botafogo in Geleen in 1959. Botafogo featured legendary Brazilian forward Garrincha, and Fortuna ‘54 lost the match 3–4. Fortuna also played against Real Madrid during this period, including a match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The club’s international programme was remarkable for a Dutch team of its era and contributed to its reputation as one of the pioneers of Dutch football.

In the 1956–57 season, Fortuna ’54 finished second in the national competition behind Ajax and won its first KNVB Beker, defeating Feyenoord 4–2 in the final. Fortuna ’54 won the KNVB Beker for a second time in 1964, defeating ADO after a penalty shoot-out.

Despite its strong squad and international reputation, Fortuna ’54 never won the Dutch national championship. Its extensive programme of international exhibition matches was also considered one of the reasons why the club did not achieve greater success in the league.

Decline and merger

During the 1960s, Fortuna ‘54’s sporting and financial position deteriorated. The financial problems became increasingly serious following the decline and eventual bankruptcy of its major sponsor Vascomij. Fortuna ’54 was relegated from the top flight in 1968. In the same year, it merged with neighbouring Sittardia, which had also been relegated, in an attempt to create a financially viable professional club in the Sittard-Geleen region.

On 1 July 1968, the new club was established as Fortuna Sittardia Combinatie (FSC). The club initially played its matches in both Sittard and Geleen. Geleen no longer wanted to accommodate Fortuna and the club no longer received support from the then municipality of Geleen. As a result, Fortuna moved to Sittard, and the name was later incorporated into Fortuna Sittard in 1979. De Baandert in Sittard became its permanent home. FSC soon returned to the second tier, where it would spend much of the following decade.

Return to the Eredivisie

The club’s first major breakthrough after the merger came in 1982. Fortuna Sittard finished second in the Eerste Divisie and secured promotion to the Eredivisie after defeating Heracles Almelo 3–1 on 16 May 1982. The club subsequently spent eleven seasons in the top division.

Fortuna enjoyed one of its strongest periods during the 1980s. In 1984, the club reached the KNVB Beker final against Feyenoord but lost 1–0. The result nevertheless earned Fortuna a place in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup for the following season.

European football

Fortuna Sittard’s European campaign in the 1984–85 season remains one of the most significant international periods in the club’s history. Fortuna defeated FC Copenhagen in the first round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup and then eliminated Wisła Kraków in the second round. This earned the club a quarter-final against English side Everton F.C., one of the leading teams in European football at the time.

Fortuna lost the tie to Everton, but reaching the quarter-finals of a European competition represented one of the greatest achievements in the club’s history. The campaign also generated some of the largest attendances in the history of De Baandert.

The 1990s

After several successful seasons in the Eredivisie, Fortuna’s league performances declined and the club was relegated in 1993. The stay in the Eerste Divisie lasted only two seasons. In 1994–95, under manager Pim Verbeek, Fortuna won the Eerste Divisie and returned to the Eredivisie. The title was achieved with a relatively young squad, with several players from the club’s youth system becoming important to the team.

The 1990s also produced a new generation of prominent Fortuna players, including Mark van Bommel, Kevin Hofland and Fernando Ricksen, all of whom later played for the Netherlands national football team.

Under manager Bert van Marwijk, Fortuna reached the KNVB Beker final again in the 1998–99 season. After defeating PSV Eindhoven 3–1 in the semi-final in Eindhoven, Fortuna reached the final against AFC Ajax. Ajax won the final 2–0.

The move to the new stadium

In 1999, Fortuna Sittard left its historic home at Stadion De Baandert after 35 years. The club had decided that the stadium no longer met modern requirements and that a complete renovation would be too expensive. A new stadium was therefore built on the outskirts of Sittard, at the newly developing business park along the Bergerweg. The new stadium, which cost approximately 30–33 million Dutch guilders, was intended to provide Fortuna with modern facilities and a new future.

The final match at De Baandert was played on 23 October 1999 against Sparta Rotterdam. Fortuna won 3–2, bringing an end to an era that had begun with Sittardia’s move to the stadium in 1964. The new stadium was opened in November 1999 with a friendly match against FC Schalke 04, which ended in a 1–1 draw.