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Willem II ((:ˈʋɪləm də ˈtʋeːdə)), also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as ''Tilburgia''. On 12 January 1898, the club was renamed ''Willem II'', after Dutch king William II of the Netherlands (reign from 1840 until 1849), who, as Prince of Orange and commander of the Dutch army, had his military headquarters in Tilburg during the Belgian uprising of 1830. Notable former players for the club include Dutch internationals Jan van Roessel, Joris Mathijsen, Jaap Stam and Marc Overmars plus the Finn Sami Hyypiä. The club's shirt consists of red-white-blue vertical stripes, inspired by the colours of the flag of the Netherlands. Willem II plays its home matches in the Koning Willem II Stadion, also named after the King. The stadium, opened on May 31, 1995, has a capacity of 14,700 spectators. The average attendance in 2004–05 was 12,500 people. Despite never winning the Eredivisie, the club came second in 1998–99, qualifying for the Champions League as a result. ==History== Willem II were the first champions of the Dutch league after professional football was introduced in 1954–55. The club has won three national titles (1916, 1952 and 1955) and two national cups (1944 and 1963). In 1987, 1990 and 1999, Willem II were voted Dutch Club of the Year. In 1999, a second place in the league guaranteed the club a UEFA Champions League berth. In the first group stage (Group G), Willem II were eliminated. They scored 2 points in 6 matches. In 1963, Willem II lost to Manchester United (7–2 on aggregate) in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 1998–99, Willem II competed in the UEFA Cup. After beating Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6–0 on aggregate in the first round, Willem II lost to Spanish side Real Betis in the second round, 4–1 on aggregate. After reaching the Dutch cup final in 2004 (4–0 loss against PSV Eindhoven), Willem II qualified again for the UEFA Cup, in which they lost to French side AS Monaco in the first round (5–1 on aggregate). The fans of Willem II have close relations with the fans of English championship club Bristol City. Some Willem II fans were seen in the 'Eastend' (Bristol City's most popular stand) for their game against Sheffield Wednesday on the 31st October 2009, there were songs sung about Willem II. Fans of the club have been known to travel to Bristol, with Bristol City fans heading the other way to Tilburg. After the 2010–11 season, Willem II was 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 2013–14 season and were promoted back to the Eredivisie. In early 2015, ''Volkskrant'' journalists revealed that Willem II had its matches fixed by an "Asian gambling syndicate", who had paid Willem II players a total sum of €100,000 to lose matches against AFC 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. The Royal Dutch Football Association calls the affair "the most concrete case of match fixing in the Netherlands" and has taken legal action as well as asking UEFA and FIFA to reevaluate previous matches. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Willem II (football club)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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