Go Ahead Eagles, our opponents in our upcoming UEFA Europa League home match (Thursday, 18:45 CET), are arguably the biggest surprise package in Dutch football. Their cup win last season not only saw them enter a UEFA competition proper for the first time, but they have also made a strong statement in the first three Europa League fixtures with victories against Panathinaikos and Aston Villa! We've compiled five interesting facts about our upcoming opponents for you here.

#1 | Eagles flying high

First and foremost, most people are probably wondering: how did this rather unusual name come about? The club was originally founded as Be Quick, but due to a name clash with another team, it was changed shortly afterward to Deventer Voetbalvereniging Go Ahead at the request of the Dutch Football Association. The eagle suffix was added in 1971, based on the city's coat of arms. However, its fans almost exclusively call the club 'Kowet'. That's how Go Ahead sounds in the Deventer regional dialect.

#2 | Names of the past, present and future

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One of the most famous former players the team has produced is Dutch striker Marc Overmars. He began his career, which later took him to Ajax and Barcelona, in Deventer in the late 1980s. Another familiar name is Bert van Marwijk, the Netherlands' former World Cup final-reaching coach in 2010. On Thursday, players to watch include captain Mats Deijl, youngster Jakob Breum (recently sidelined with an injury), and top scorer Milan Smit.

#3 | A very long barren run

Although the club, founded in 1902, already boasts four national league titles, their recent KNVB Cup victory was their first trophy in almost a century! The Eagles' most successful period was at the beginning of the 20th century, when they won four league titles between 1917 and 1933. The seventh-placed team in the Eredivisie currently caused a major upset in the domestic cup last season, defeating AZ Alkmaar in a penalty shootout!

By the way: The Dutch Cup winners celebrated their trophy in traditional style, wearing bathrobes – a tradition that is over 100 years old and made a comeback in 1995.

#4 | A cup win leading to a European fairytale

Deventer's current participation in the UEFA Europa League is a football fairytale not only because of their points tally so far (six points from three games), but also because it's the club's first-ever appearance in a UEFA group stage. In the 1965/66 European Cup Winners' Cup, the team were eliminated with an aggregate score of 0-7 against Celtic. In 2015/16, they suffered a first-round exit in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round against Ferencvaros (2-5), and in 2024/25, their run ended in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League against Brann Bergen (1-2). It's hardly surprising, then, that the excitement is now so high, and the visitors are coming with a sold-out fan section.

#5 | Hanseatic tradition and football soul

The Go Ahead Eagles are based in Deventer (population approx. 100,000) in East Holland, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. Deventer is a proud Hanseatic city on the IJssel River, known for its historic streets and the famous Deventer Koek (a type of Dutch cake).

The club embodies this down-to-earth tradition. Their home ground, De Adelaarshorst (Eagle's Nest), is one of the oldest stadiums in the country. While it only holds 10,000 fans, it's notorious for its intimate and fiery atmosphere.

Get your tickets now!

Tickets for the Europa League match against the Go Ahead Eagles are still available online in our ticket shop! Only ticket-holders from the current season and the last three seasons are eligible to purchase tickets (as of 1 July 2022).

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5 facts on Go Ahead Eagles