A Dictionary of Dutchness

Willem II

Set up in 1896, the Tilburg premier league club Willem II is one of the oldest football clubs in the Netherlands. It was originally called Tilburgia but was re-named Willem II some 18 months later after the Dutch king of 1840-49 who was a local hero. The club has won the national title three times (1916, 1952, 1955). In more recent times it enjoyed glory days under trainer Cor Adriaanse at the end of the 1990s. The team’s nickname is tricoloures because of its official red, white and blue striped shirts.