Manchester United embark on their 2024/25 Europa League campaign with a home game against Dutch side FC Twente. They might be unfamiliar to a lot of us so I took a look at them ahead of our game on Wednesday.
The Enschede based outfit in the east of the country are currently placed fourth in the table. They lie behind PSV and the surprise packages of AZ Alkmaar and Utrecht. They are managed by the experienced Joseph Oosting who took over the side in July of 2023. They have a record of three wins and two draws from their six league games so far. Their only loss so far coming against Utrecht.
As a result of finishing third last year, they qualified for the Champions League. They were unable to progress beyond the third qualifying round going down narrowly 5-4 to Red Bull Salzburg.
The club in its current inception formed in 1965 as the result of a merger between two former clubs, Sportclub Enschede and Eschedese Boys. Under the innovative coach, Kees Rijvers, they featured highly in the first couple of years in the league.
In a squad of predominately local players, they pushed Feyenoord all the way in the title race of 1973/74. A play-off finally sealed the win for the Rotterdam club. They were eligable to play in Europe for the first time and went all the way to the final of the UEFA Cup the following year. They lost out to German giants Borussia Munchengladbach on aggregate. In 1977 like Utd that year, Twente won the national cup. It was their first piece of silverware.
The club won another cup, but the title seemed to be out of their reach. All of that was to change with the arrival of Steve McClaren who had just lost his job as England national coach. The club lost just twice on the way to the hallowed ground in 2010. Despite him leaving for Wolfsburg the following year, the club continued to see success. Another cup followed the year after.
Financial troubles rocked the club soon after and they were relegated in 2018. Since achieving promotion the following year, aspects have been settled despite going through a number of managers.
Key players to look out for include highly rated goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall, young centre half Mees Hilgers and attacking midfielder Sam Steijn who has been in great form so far this season with five goals. Other notable names include Ricky van Wolfswinckel (formally of Norwich), Sam Lammers and the pacy but inconsistent Rots Van Bergen.
Interesting facts about FC Twente
- They might not be the first club in The Netherlands, but Enschede was the location for the first confirmed game of football in the country. On the 6th of September in 1885, businessman Bernard van Heek brought a ball home from a trip to Burnley. He showed the game to his workers and the game quickly caught on.
- They are nicknamed the Tukkers due to the amount of people involved in the textile industry in the region. A tucker was someone working for the textile industry at the time.
- Players who have represented the club include Bryan Ruiz, Cheick Tiote, Hakim Ziyech, Nacer Chadli, Theo Janssen, Luuk de Jong, Marko Arnautovich, Dusan Tadic, Eddy Achterberg and Theo Phalpatz.
- Even in the relegation season, crowds have stood strong with an average of 25-30 thousand.
- The name chant is “We could be last, we could relegate, we could play with the amateurs. Our club will remain FC Twente and our love will never change. COTE! which stands for Come On Twente Enschede!
- Current Utd manager Erik ten Hag is a former player and coach of Twente. Can’t have any divided loyalties though on Wednesday!
Credit to r/fctwente for a lot of the information.