FC Twente Enschede, City’s first opponents in the UEFA Cup group stage next month, are a name familiar to many with a reputation for fielding some top-drawer players.
The club was only formed in 1965 when the Sportclub Enschede and the Enschedese Boys clubs merged, with home being the Diekman Stadion until 1998.
Consistent high finishes in the Dutch Eredivsie climaxed with a runner’s up spot that saw them enter the UEFA Cup, where they went all the way to the two-legged final in 1975 – only to lose out to Borussia Monchoengladbach. Yet to win the Eredivsie title, Twente have won the Dutch Cup twice, in 1977 and 2001.
By the mid-seventies, ‘the Tukkers’, as they are known in Holland, had gained a reputation for producing talented players, with Rene and Willy van der Kerkhof (
pictured)starting out in Enschede before they were both snapped up by PSV Eindhoven. The brothers played a big part in the famous Dutch ‘Total Football’ side of the 1970s, but later in that decade the club provided English football with two of the more successful foreign imports to have played over here.
Frans Thijssen and Arnold Muhren moved to Ipswich Town in 1978 and were crucial to that club’s finest period, one that culminated in the 1981 UEFA Cup win. Since then, Martin Jol, Ronald de Boer, Collins John, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and a pre-Manchester City Paul Bosvelt are among those to have plied their trade with Twente.
There is some history between City and Twente in the UEFA Cup. The clubs faced each other early in the 1978/79 competition, the Blues gained a valuable away goal in the away leg thanks to Dave Watson. The return game at Maine Road saw a 3-2 win for City with an own goal coming after Brian Kidd and Colin Bell had got onto the score-sheet, that win helping City along the road to an eventual quarter final.
Relegation to the second tier of Dutch football came in 1982, but Twente bounced back a year later and have been frequent visitors to the European stage. Winning a play-off last season gained them entry to this season’s Champions League, but they fell at the first hurdle when Arsenal beat them 6-0 on aggregate. Dropping into the UEFA Cup, Twente beat Rennes in the first round on away goals after drawing the tie 2-2.Last summer saw a change in the manager at the Grolsch Veste, with Steve McClaren moving to Holland for his first job since leaving the England post. His predecessor at Twente, Fred Rutten, moved to Schalke 04 in the summer and in an ironic twist he will now face his old side in the group stage of the UEFA Cup.
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