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Fortuna Sittard

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Fortuna Sittard
Full nameFortuna Sittard
Nickname(s)Fortuna, Fortunezen
Founded1 July 1968; 56 years ago (1968-07-01)
GroundFortuna Sittard Stadion
Capacity12,500
OwnerPrincipion Holding 65%
Özgür Işıtan Gün 20%
Fortuna Sittard 10%
STAK 5%[1][2]
ChairmanÖzgür Işıtan Gün
Head coachDanny Buijs
LeagueEredivisie
2023–24Eredivisie, 10th of 18
Websitehttps://www.fortunasittard.nl/
Current season

Fortuna Sittard (Dutch pronunciation: [fɔrˈtynaː ˈsɪtɑrt]; Limburgish: Fortuna Zitterd [fɔʀˈtyːnaː ˈzɪtəʀt])[tone?] is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger of former clubs Fortuna 54 and Sittardia, which merged as the Fortuna Sittardia Combinatie on 1 July 1968.

History

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Historical chart of league performance

The club experienced mixed fortunes throughout its history, although it was a regular fixture in the Eredivisie in the 1990s, with players such as Kevin Hofland, Mark van Bommel and Fernando Ricksen emerging from its youth system. These players later joined PSV Eindhoven and Rangers and played for the Netherlands national team. The team also signed Wilfred Bouma and Patrick Paauwe from the youth setup of PSV. Both players developed under manager Bert van Marwijk before joining the Dutch national side and moving to bigger clubs.

Fortuna 54 won the KNVB Cup in the 1956–57 season and finished the Eredivisie season in second place behind champions Ajax. Sittardia were less successful and battled against relegation for many seasons. Fortuna 54 won the KNVB Cup again in 1964 before the merging of the two clubs in 1968, due to financial difficulties.

At the end of the 1999–2000 season, manager Bert van Marwijk left to join Feyenoord, and the team was relegated to the Eerste Divisie in the 2001–02 season.[3]

Financial difficulties (2002–16)

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Financial irregularities were discovered, and the team faced bankruptcy over several seasons. In the winter of 2003, two of the club's fans won the Dutch lottery and donated all of the prize money to the club.[4] The club cleared most of its debts by selling off its new stadium, the Wagner & Partners stadium.[5]

On 19 May 2009, the KNVB announced it would withdraw the club's license to play for the 2010–11 season. After going to civil court, this decision was revoked.[6] Despite ongoing financial difficulties, the club gradually began to recover financially in the following years, leading to improved results. In the 2011–12 season, Fortuna Sittard narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs for promotion to Eredivisie, conceding an equaliser in the final seconds of the season in a home match against the Go Ahead Eagles, resulting in the Eagles taking the final playoff spot instead. Although the club qualified for the playoffs in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, offering them a chance to return to Eredivisie since relegation in 2002, Fortuna was unsuccessful in both first-round matches against De Graafschap.[7][8]

Takeover and Eredivisie (2016–present)

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The club again faced financial troubles in 2016, leading to its takeover by Turkish investor Işıtan Gün, who previously served as the chief operating officer of Galatasaray.[9] The 2016–17 season was a tough start for the club, but it managed to avoid relegation after changing coaches and recruiting new players, including some from Galatasaray.[10]

In December 2016, Sunday Oliseh was appointed as the new coach of Fortuna Sittard. During his time as coach, he set two new records for the club, with eight consecutive home victories and the biggest away victory in the club's history, against Telstar by a score of 6–0. In January 2018, the team won a periodetitel after a 2–1 victory over Jong Ajax. However, on 14 February 2018, Oliseh was suspended due to "repeated and culpable actions towards multiple individuals within the organisation over an extended period," according to a statement on the club's website announcing his release.[11] Oliseh posted online that he was suspended due to his "refusal to participate in Illegal activities."[12]

In 2018, after 16 years in the Eerste Divisie, Fortuna won promotion to the Eredivisie again after beating Jong PSV 1–0 to stay clear from NEC and finishing runner-up to champions Jong Ajax, which cannot be promoted.[13]

Fortuna Sittard finished in 16th place during the 2019–20 season. However, because the season was suspended and declared void due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club remained in the Eredivisie for the 2020–21 season.[14] After that reprieve, the club finished in 11th place that season. The following year, Fortuna Sittard finished 15th, just one point clear of the relegation playoff. Since then, the club's results have placed it more comfortably in the mid-table. Fortuna Sittard finished in 13th place in the 2022–23 season and 10th place in the 2023–24 season.

Honours

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International

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Totals

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Competition Participations Games Won Draw Lost Goals scored Goals conceded
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1 6 2 1 3 6 7
UEFA Intertoto Cup 1 4 2 1 1 8 6
Total 2 10 4 2 4 14 13

Results

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EredivisieEerste DivisieEredivisieEerste DivisieEredivisie

Below is a table with Fortuna Sittard's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 5 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Netherlands NED Luuk Koopmans
4 DF Belgium BEL Shawn Adewoye
5 DF Austria AUT Darijo Grujcic
6 DF Netherlands NED Syb van Ottele
7 FW Sweden SWE Kristoffer Peterson
8 MF Netherlands NED Jasper Dahlhaus
9 FW Netherlands NED Kaj Sierhuis
10 MF Croatia CRO Alen Halilović
11 FW France FRA Makan Aïko
12 DF Portugal POR Ivo Pinto (captain)
14 DF Brazil BRA Rodrigo Guth
17 FW Turkey TUR Onur Demir
22 MF Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Samuel Bastien
23 MF Cape Verde CPV Alessio da Cruz
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 FW Netherlands NED Sjors-Lowis Hermsen
28 FW Croatia CRO Josip Mitrović
31 GK Netherlands NED Mattijs Branderhorst (on loan from Utrecht)
32 MF France FRA Loreintz Rosier
33 MF Argentina ARG Ezequiel Bullaude (on loan from Feyenoord)
35 DF Netherlands NED Mitchell Dijks
38 MF Netherlands NED Tristan Schenkhuizen
50 FW Croatia CRO Ante Erceg
71 GK Netherlands NED Ramazan Bayram
77 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Luka Tunjić
80 MF Switzerland SUI Ryan Fosso
85 FW Portugal POR Umaro Embaló
DF Turkey TUR Baran Yılmaz

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Netherlands NED Robyn Esajas (at MVV until 30 June 2025)
DF Comoros COM Rémy Vita (at Amiens until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Algeria ALG Mouhamed Belkheir (at RAAL La Louvière until 30 June 2025)
FW Belgium BEL Milan Robberechts (at RSCA Futures until 30 June 2025)

Former players

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National team players

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The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Fortuna Sittard:[nb 1]

  • Players in bold actively play for Fortuna Sittard and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Fortuna Sittard.

National team players by Confederation

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Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Fortuna Sittard players represented Internationally

Total national team players by confederation
Confederation Total (Nation) Association
AFC 0  
CAF 4 Cape Verde Cape Verde (2), Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo (1), Togo Togo (1)
CONCACAF 2 Suriname Suriname (2)
CONMEBOL 0  
OFC 1 New Zealand New Zealand (1)
UEFA 22 Netherlands Netherlands (12), Moldova Moldova (2), Finland Finland (1), Greece Greece (1), Luxembourg Luxembourg (1), North Macedonia North Macedonia (1), Northern Ireland Northern Ireland (1), Slovakia Slovakia (1), Sweden Sweden (1), Turkey Turkey (1)

Players in international tournaments

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The following is a list of Fortuna Sittard players who have competed in international tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations. To this date no Fortuna Sittard players have participated in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, CONCACAF Gold Cup, AFC Asian Cup, Copa América or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Fortuna Sittard.

Cup Players
Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde Lisandro Semedo
Ivory Coast 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde Deroy Duarte

Club staff

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Position Staff
Head Coach Netherlands Danny Buijs
Assistant Head Coach Netherlands Adrie Poldervaart
Netherlands Stijn Kuijpers
Netherlands Roy de Decker
Striker's Coach Netherlands Toon Oijstra
Physiotherapist Netherlands Jeroen Dieteren
Netherlands Martijn Smeets
Team Manager Netherlands Danny van der Weerden
Club doctor Netherlands Robert van Gool
Materialman Netherlands Ronald Ronken
Video Analyst Netherlands Tjerk van Eggelen

Coaches

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Women's football

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On 25 January 2022, Fortuna announced it was beginning a women's football department.[15] The club started playing in the Dutch women's Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. In its first season, the club finished third out of 11 teams. In the 2023–24 season, Fortuna finished in fourth place out of 12 teams, and forward Tessa Wullaert was the top goal scorer and Player of the Year.[16] However, prior to the 2024–25 season, the club announced it had not generated sufficient revenue from the women's team and cut its player spending, with Wullaert, Alieke Tuin, and other players departing for new clubs.[17]

Current squad

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As of 3 October 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Netherlands NED Claire Dinkla
2 DF Netherlands NED Moïsa van Koot
3 DF Netherlands NED Nicole Stoop
5 DF Netherlands NED Diana Hilhorst
8 MF Netherlands NED Amber van Heeswijk
9 FW Netherlands NED Femke Prins
10 FW Netherlands NED Lakeesha Eijken
11 FW Netherlands NED Isa Dekker
14 DF Netherlands NED Sara Vijfhuizen
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF Netherlands NED Femke Pietersma
18 MF Netherlands NED Maud van Berlo
19 MF Netherlands NED Sanne Peereboom
20 MF Netherlands NED Ted Rooijendijk
21 FW Netherlands NED Sanne Arons
22 GK Belgium BEL Hanne Thijs
23 MF Netherlands NED Briony Duijzings
24 DF Netherlands NED Rosa van Wershoven
26 DF Netherlands NED Isabel Kopp
27 GK Belgium BEL Silke Baccarne

Source[18][19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Shares of Fortuna Sittard". Fortuna Sittard. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Shares of Fortuna Sittard". Fortuna Sittard. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ Fortuna Sittard: geen toekomst, maar een fraaie historie - Voetbal International (in Dutch)
  4. ^ "Help Fortuna! wint half miljoen bij staatsloterij". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 6 January 2003. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. ^ Vossers, Anna (7 December 2013). "'Geldproblemen Fortuna Sittard voorbij door verkoop stadion'". Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  6. ^ "KNVB gaat licentie Fortuna Sittard intrekken". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 19 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Go Ahead en De Graafschap overtuigend door". NU (in Dutch). 11 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  8. ^ "De Graafschap door in play-offs". NOS (in Dutch). 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Özel Durum Açıklaması (Genel)". KAP (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Fortuna Sittard haalt speler 'met vinkje op Twitter' van Galatasaray". Sportnieuws (in Dutch). 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Fortuna Sittard stelt Sunday Oliseh op non-actief". Fortuna Sittard (in Dutch). 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018.
  12. ^ Oliseh, Sunday (14 February 2018). Twitter https://x.com/SundayOOliseh/status/963804333618946049. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ Bergen, Dennis van (28 April 2018). "Fortuna Sittard na zestien jaar terug in de eredivisie". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Afwikkeling voetbalseizoen 2019/'20 een feit | Eredivisie". Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Fortuna Sittard start met vrouwenvoetbal: "Die gaan we benaderen"". Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Big winners of the Eredivisie Awards: Luuk de Jong, Tessa Wullaert, Johan Bakayoko, and Lily Yohannes". Eredivisie. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  17. ^ Schreurs, Joost (27 September 2024). "Na zomer vol veranderingen beginnen vrouwen Fortuna Sittard aan nieuw seizoen". www.l1nieuws.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Fortuna Vrouwen". Fortuna Sittard (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Netherlands - Fortuna Sittard - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Women Soccerway". us.women.soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

Notes

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  1. ^ The following is a consolidated list of clubs' RKSV Sittardia, Fortuna '54 and Fortuna Sittard, as a result of the merger of the two prior aforementioned clubs in 1968.


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