Fortuna Sittard

Fortuna Sittard is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Trendwork Arena and features in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. The club was a merger of former clubs 'Fortuna 54' and 'Sittardia' to merge as the Fortuna Sittard Combinatie on July 1, 1968. 'Fortuna 54' was a relatively successful club which once won the KNVB Cup in the 1956/1957 season where they finished the Eredivisie season 2nd place behind champions Ajax Amsterdam whereas the 'Sittardia' battled against relegation for many seasons. Another KNVB Cup triumph was also celebrated by 'Fortuna 54' in 1964 before the merging of the two clubs in 1968 due to financial difficulties. On May 19, 2009 the KNVB announced it will withdraw the license to play of Fortuna Sittard for the 2010–2011 season. After going to civil court, this decision was revoked and the club did not lose its license. , Voetbal International (May 19, 2009)

History

The club experienced mixed fortunes throughout its history although they were a regular fixture in the Eredivisie in the 1990s, with many talented players such as Kevin Hofland, Mark van Bommel and Fernando Ricksen emerging from its youth system. These players later joined PSV Eindhoven and Rangers thereafter featured for the Dutch team. The team's management also had an eye for talent, as they snapped up Wilfred Bouma and Patrick Paauwe from the youth setup of PSV. Both players developed well under manager...
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