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ADO Den Haag

"WE ARE BACK!"

For eleven long years the football pride of The Hague vainly attempted to climb out of the basement of Dutch professional football that is the First Division. The long awaited green and yellow party was finally celebrated in May 2003 as ADO finally, finally clinched the First Division championship to jump back to the Eredivisie. The roar from Zuiderpark Stadium must have been audible all over the city: in the Houses of Parliament at Binnenhof, in Queen Beatrix's Soestdijk Palace, on the beaches of Scheveningen. ADO Den Haag finally got to lift the First Division championship shield in front of their ecstatic fans and scream it out: "We are back!" Everyone agreed: Holland's third city in size (also known as The Residence: seat of the government and home of the royal family) deserves a proper Eredivisie team.


Back at last! ADO Den Haag celebrating the First Division 'period title' that would
 eventually bring them back to the Eredivisie in 2003. [Photo: ADO Den Haag.nl]

'ADO' stands for Alles Door Oefening ('Everything By Exercise'). Founded in 1905, ADO initially played in a green and red jersey and had their most successful years between 1935 and 1945, when the first team was coached by former player Wim Tap. He is still ADO's most succesful player ever: 33 caps and 17 goals for the Dutch national team. ADO had their most glorious years during the darkest years of Dutch history: the 1942 and 1943 championships were clinched during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands in World War Two.

After the war the Dutch championship never went to The Hague again, yet the most memorable ADO sides in history are the teams that played between 1958 and 1971. Born and raised Hagenezen such as Piet de Zoete, Theo van den Burch, Ton Thie and 'Mister The Hague' Aad Mansveld led ADO to no less than five Dutch cup finals in eleven seasons. The 1968 final was won against Ajax: 2-1. The club's last season under the original club name (1970-1971) was also the most succesful: Mansveld, Thie and De Zoete were joined by a younger generation of players, such as Dick Advocaat and Lex Schoenmaker, and finished third in the Eredivisie, the club's best ranking since the start of the Eredivisie in 1956.


During the German occupation of The Netherlands the ADO team celebrate the Dutch
championship of 1943, after having beaten Hermes DVS in Rotterdam. [Photo: ADO Den Haag.nl]

In an attempt to financially keep up with the 'Big Three', the The Hague city council forced the city's two Eredivisie sides (ADO and Holland Sport) into a merger in July 1971, to become FC Den Haag. ADO's amateur section continued independently. The glory of 'good old' ADO never returned, but the newly born FC Den Haag did win the KNVB Cup of 1975 (beating FC Twente in the final) and had their most succesful European run in club history the season thereafter: Den Haag made it to the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners Cup, in which Aad Mansveld scored a first-half hattrick in the home game against West Ham United. FC Den Haag were 4-0 up at half-time, after the most legendary 45 minutes of football the club ever played. But West Ham weren't beaten yet: two goals were given away in the second half (4-2), the away leg in London was lost by 3-1.

For some years FC Den Haag belonged to the crown jewels of Dutch football, just like its predecessor ADO. However, in the early 1980s the club's fine reputation sustained serious, almost fatal damage: the club became known for having the most violent hooligans in The Netherlands, a reputation that still haunts the club today. After the relegation of 1982 outraged supporters set fire to the monumental main stand of Zuiderpark Stadium, the club's home ground since 1925. The old stand was destroyed completely. FC Den Haag soon returned to the Eredivisie, but by that time almost everyone in Holland feared The Hague's horrifically violent Mid-North Side. The violence reached its tragic climax on 01 March 1987 during FC Den Haag vs Ajax, a game that lasted only 45 minutes. It is still regarded as a miracle that no-one died during the brutal fan war inside the stadium between Mid-North and Ajax's F-Side. No wonder that KNVB, police as well as many clubs and fans were not unhappy to see FC Den Haag go down to the First Division in 1992, far away from Feyenoord's Vak S, Ajax's F-Side and Utrecht's Bunnik Side.


'Mister FC Den Haag', Aad Mansveld, kissing the
KNVB Cup of 1975. [Photo: ADO Den Haag.nl]

But that's the past. A lot has happened since: the club's name changed into ADO Den Haag when the amateur section of the 'original' ADO merged with the professional 'mother club' again (1996). Meanwhile, the club indefatigably attempted to get the hooligan problem under control in a unique and eventually succesful way: by letting the troublemakers work for the club in order to create a sense of involvement. A new stadium is under construction and last but not least: under the supervision of head-coaches Rinus Israel and former ADO star Lex Schoenmaker the club set course to the Eredivisie again. Remarkably, not the best players on the team, but the two coaches were the supreme fan favourites in 2002-2003: Rinus & Lex became cult heroes, The Hague's equivalent of the Muppets Show's grumpy old men on the balcony. The 'new' ADO Den Haag want to stay in the Eredivisie and show that things have changed at Zuiderpark. (MP)

ADO DEN HAAG FACTS

Founded: 01 February 1905 as ADO. Professional section merged with Holland Sport to become FC Den Haag (01 July 1971). ADO continued as an independent amateur club, but joined FC Den Haag in July 1996. Club name then changed into ADO Den Haag.
City: Den Haag (English: The Hague)
Stadium: Zuiderpark Stadium
Capacity: 11,000
Official website: www.adodenhaag.nl

Honors:

  • Dutch champions: 1942, 1943 (ADO).
  • Dutch Cup winners: 1968 (ADO), 1975 (FC Den Haag).

Recent History: Ajax vs ADO Den Haag