Sparta Rotterdam Tryouts & Club Guide: History, Stadium, Players, and More!

Explore the ultimate Sparta Rotterdam guide! Dive into detailed tryout processes, rich club history, iconic stadium tours, and profiles of players. Your comprehensive source for all things Sparta Rotterdam, for aspiring talents to seasoned fans.

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Sparta Rotterdam is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.

Sparta Rotterdam trials

Sparta Rotterdam Youth Development System

​For our players, football is not a hobby. It’s all about one thing, football. It’s their life. And that is why it is important that a player feels at home in the Sparta youth academy and can be himself. We are there to celebrate successes when things go well, but we are also there when things go wrong. On the field, in the locker room, at school or at home. Because by putting your shoulders to the wheel at those moments, you become stronger, both as a footballer and as a person. After all, we also know that not every player makes it to Camp Nou or Old Trafford. Not every Sparta youth player makes it to Het Kasteel. One thing is certain. If you are allowed to play within the youth academy of Sparta Rotterdam, we will do everything we can to make your football dream come true. Wanting to be the best every day. And as a footballer wanting to get better every day.

Rotterdam – voetbal – Teamfoto’s en portretten Team Sparta O15 gemaakt in het Sparta Stadion – foto Carla Vos/Cor Vos © 2021

​Because if football becomes your life, you have to keep developing yourself as a player, but above all as a person. We guide you in this by using the right training methods, by monitoring pleasure in the game, but above all by being a home. A home for players, visitors, staff and all volunteers. We work together every day to enable as many football players as possible to take the step. Whether that is the step from Sports Complex Nieuw Terbregge to Het Kasteel or to other clubs at home and abroad. Sparta Rotterdam tries to continue to strengthen the position of one of the best youth training programs in the Netherlands and to continue to contribute to the development of Dutch football.

Sparta Rotterdam Academy Video Analysis

More than ten years ago, video analyzes were introduced at Sparta. Since then they have played an important role in the youth academy. Noah (video analyst) explains exactly what a video analyst does. “On Saturdays, I record the matches and code them at the same time. The coding means that we list the team functions and highlights for both the team and individual. We then make analyzes that trainers can use for afterthoughts. That, in a nutshell, is our work as a video analyst.’

Sparta Rotterdam Academy video analysis

Attention

Noah tries to film everything, but sometimes it is difficult to provide analysis to all teams during the weekend. ‘I do film and code the football school (U8 to U12), but that’s one home game a month. This is because we can only film one field. I then code the highlights and chances of the team, but not for an individual. The O17 and O19 always receive their images and analyzes for both home and away matches. From the talent training (U13 to U16) the individuals are coded, but the players and trainers receive analyzes twice a month.’

Positive effect

The video analyzes should ensure a better development of the players. Noah: ‘Over the past three years we’ve had more time to roll it out and go in depth, so it’s getting more attention. With the analyzes we try to show players and trainers what is happening on the field. With this we try to contribute to the development of players and trainers.’

NVB

The KNVB started training for video analysts last year. The union calls it a basic training for Video Analyst B. Noah is enthusiastic about the training. ‘I think it’s good that the KNVB is rolling this out, because video analysis is getting bigger and bigger. In addition, it is good that in addition to the trainer training, there is now also a video analyst training course. This is good for the level’, says Noah.

Sparta Rotterdam Academy Academics

A top athlete also has to study

The players in the youth academy of Sparta Rotterdam are trained to become professional football players, but in addition to sporting achievements, study performance is also supervised and closely monitored. The club feels co-responsible for more than just the sporting development of the players.

Sparta Rotterdam Academy Academics

Study opportunities
To ensure that the players are optimally supervised, there are a number of compulsory study moments and various rooms are available. There is an explanation room, a quiet room and a computer room. In the explanation room the players work independently on the assignments that have been given from school, but there is also room to ask questions to the teachers present. All lecturers have different areas of expertise, which is why there is always a lecturer who can explain the requested material. In the quiet room people work quietly and independently, and in the computer room they work with computers, provided they are used for school assignments and not for other things. The talents therefore have enough space and opportunities to study in their own way. The selections of U13 and U14 are required to work at school for one hour on Tuesday, three hours on Thursday. Different rules apply to the O15 and O16, they are obliged to work on their school assignments for three hours on both Tuesday and Thursday. These mandatory hours are part of the professional days, in order to fill those days at the club as professionally as possible. The study of the Spartans is taken very seriously and for that reason sufficient time and space is planned to work on the study.

Schools
It is of course not the case that the players at Sparta go to school. Like everyone else, the youth players choose their own secondary school, where they simply follow training for the rest of the days. In this way, the living environment of the players does not change much after the step to the youth academy. There is also sufficient contact between the schools and the study counselors of Sparta Rotterdam to ensure that the club is always well informed about the state of affairs. The club is aware of, for example, roster changes, behavior and results. Players are also given responsibilities, such as keeping their tutors informed about study results, or about the general state of affairs at school. In the period in which the youth players have a lot of tests or exams, they receive specific exam guidance.

Sparta Rotterdam Academy Medical

The medical staff of the youth academy of Sparta Rotterdam does everything they can with  injury and performance management to support youth players in their physical development.

Injury management:
1) Diagnosing injuries.
2) Specifically football rehabilitation of injured players.
3) Preventing injuries through injury prevention.

Performance management:
1) Individual physical development through physical coordination training.
2) Nutrition at top sport level through presentations, workshops and individual conversations.
3) Monitor individual performance & progress through testing & measurement.

Sparta Rotterdam Clinics

Sparta Clinics offers a varied program to train as a Sparta player, both in Rotterdam and at a location of your choice with the On Tour program. Footballers and soccer players from the age of 5 are welcome. Member or no member of an association, girl or boy, much or little football experience, it doesn’t matter. And for the littlest ones between 0 – 5 years we organize an annual Mini Kids Classic.
Do
you want to train like a Sparta Rotterdam player under the guidance of Sparta Rotterdam trainers? You will experience what it is like to be a Sparta player during an instructive clinic, (Keepers) Masterclass, Girls Football Masterclass and tailor-made training sessions at Het Kasteel or at the Sparta Youth Complex. We also like to visit associations or on location to organize an activity.

Do you want to know which activities are on the program? Then view the agenda . Who knows, you may soon go home with a Sparta Clinics diploma. All Sparta Clinics activities are all about an unforgettable football experience full of football fun, attacking, switching, defending and attention to individual development.
Do
you want more information or do you have wishes for a Sparta activity?
Let us know , because we are happy to brainstorm with you for an unforgettable tailor-made football experience.

Sparta Rotterdam Recruitment Trials

At the time of this writing, there is no official publishing’s on Sparta Rotterdam trials. Please come back at a later date while we monitor this club or click here to visit their official news section or their academy social medias.



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Sparta Rotterdam History

Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta was established by a group of Rotterdam students on April 1, 1888. The club’s original name was Rotterdamsche Cricket. In July of 1888, a football section of the club was organized and given its own headquarters. 1890 was the year that Sparta held its first genuine football match, while 1892 was the year that the cricket branch of Sparta was dissolved.

On April 23, 1893, Sparta was elevated to the highest level in Dutch football, and they have remained there ever since. After a string of matches involving Sparta that were arbitrated in a questionable manner, the city of Sparta withdrew from the competition in 1897.

However, the club continued to exist, and in the year 1899, the board of directors of Sparta attended a game played in Sunderland. As a result of the board’s admiration for the red-and-white striped shirt worn by the English club, it was decided that the colors of Sparta will henceforth be those of Sunderland, which are a red-and-white striped jersey and black shorts. In 1905, Sparta was responsible for initiating and organizing the first home match for the Netherlands national team, which was played against Belgium.

The game was a rematch of a game that took place two weeks earlier in Antwerp, Belgium, where the Netherlands won 4–1 over Belgium. The Netherlands won the rematch game by a score of 4–0. On October 14, 1916, the inaugural game was played at Sparta’s new stadium, which was named Het Kasteel (The Castle) and was located in the Spangen neighborhood of west Rotterdam. The stadium underwent major renovations in 1999 and continues to serve as Sparta’s home venue.

ROTTERDAM – Jong Sparta – Spakenburg , Football , Season 2019/2020 ,Tweede divisie , Sparta stadium het Kasteel , 15 – 2 -2020 , Spakenburg player Robin Eindhoven, jong Sparta Rotterdam player Taric Dilrosun

Sparta had always played at the highest level up to the 2002–03 season, but after hiring Frank Rijkaard, a former international player, as their manager in 2002, they were demoted from the Eredivisie, the highest level of competition in the Netherlands, the following year. Because of this, Rijkaard decided to step down from his post. During the 2005–2006 season, Sparta competed once again in the Eredivisie. They were demoted once again in the year 2010.

On the 20th of August in 2010, they defeated Almere City 12–1 to tie Ajax and Heracles Almelo’s record for most wins in a single season in the Dutch league. Johan Voskamp scored an Eerste Divisie record 8 goals on his debut to set the record. In April of 2016, after spending the previous six years in the Eerste Divisie, Sparta once again achieved promotion to the Eredivisie. This time, a 3–1 victory over Jong Ajax gave them an insurmountable advantage over VVV-Venlo, who finished in second place.

However, in May of 2018, they were demoted to a lower division for the third time in their existence when they were eliminated from the promotion/relegation play-offs by FC Emmen with a score of 1–3 on aggregate. Because of this outcome, Emmen earned their very first promotion to the Eredivisie, making it a momentous day in the club’s history.

Sparta Rotterdam Stadium

The neighborhood of Spangen is home to the stadium, which was originally constructed in 1916 under the name Stadion Spangen and was named for the two architects who designed it, J.H. de Roos and W.F. Overeynder. The little building with two modest towers that backs onto the south-facing tribune (Kasteel Stand) of the stadium got its name, “Het Kasteel” (The Castle), since it resembles a castle.

This building is located behind the Kasteel Stand. This building is the only one of the original design that has been preserved in its original form. It was constructed in the year 1916. The structure of the castle, which is now situated behind one of the goals and runs the length of the field, was at one time located in front of another.

When Feyenoord goalkeeper Eddy Treijtel was taking a goal kick in November 1970 at het Kasteel, he shot a passing bird out of the sky with his goal kick. This became a memorable occurrence in the history of the stadium. To the chagrin of a number of notable Sparta backers, the taxidermied bird has been on display in the museum at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadion rather than in Sparta’s own museum.