Feyenoord Academy (Varkenoord)

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For the Ghanaian football club and academy, see Feyenoord Ghana.
Feyenoord Academy
Full nameFeyenoord Academy
GroundSportcomplex Varkenoord
Rotterdam
Capacity3.531
Academy DirectorNetherlands Rini Coolen
WebsiteClub website

Feyenoord Academy, often referred to as Varkenoord, is the youth academy of the professional football club Feyenoord located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Feyenoord Academy received the official regional youth academy status from the KNVB and is located at Sportcomplex Varkenoord.

Feyenoord Academy has been voted as the best developmental system in the Netherlands, winning the Rinus Michels Award for best youth academy five years in a row since 2009. No other academy produced more players for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where eleven former Feyenoord Academy players were active.[1] In May 2010, Feyenoord Academy won the Rinus Michels Award for the first time. Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam were the other nominees. Feyenoord Academy won the award for its innovation within the academy, the overall success of its teams in the national youth leagues and the high number of players in the national youth teams.[2]

Structure[]

Feyenoord Academy was officially founded in the summer of 2010, when the youth academies of Feyenoord and Excelsior merged. The newly formed academy received the official regional youth academy status from the KNVB and was based on the structure of the former Feyenoord youth academy, with the addition of various Excelsior youth players and staff members. Feyenoord's poor financial situation, the rise in transfer fees and the increase in value of young players signaled a further need for Feyenoord and Excelsior to further support the academy. The cooperation between Feyenoord and Exelsior was terminated as of July 2015, where the academy continued solely as Feyenoord's youth academy.[3] The goal of the Feyenoord Academy is to develop young players into professional football players for Feyenoord's first team squad.[4]

The Feyenoord Academy comprises age-group teams ranging from U8's up to the flagship U19's. The youngest players are scouted at amateur clubs in the direct surroundings of Rotterdam. For the age of twelve and older the academy extends its scouting area, mainly to the remaining part of the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia. Until the U12 team, the players only have training sessions during the evening and are largely guided by part-time coaches. When players are ready to join secondary education they start training during daytime. A close partnership with LOOT-school Thorbecke allows Feyenoord Academy to offer players a full-time training program, while the school adapts its time table to the players training program.[4]

Teams and players[]

Feyenoord U21[]

Feyenoord U21 plays in the Beloften Eredivisie and the Premier League International Cup. The team plays its home matches at Varkenoord. Between 2010 and 2018 the reserve team was officially disbanded, but kept participating in the Beloften Eredivisie without a permanent squad. The formation varied and consisted of reserve players from Feyenoord's first team squad, with the possible addition of emerging academy players.[5] As of the 2020/21 season, the reserve team has been replaced with an Under-21 team.

Current squad[]

As of 28 October 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
40 DF Netherlands NED Guus Baars
41 FW Netherlands NED Giuliany Ben-David dos Santos
42 FW Netherlands NED Abdel Belarbi
43 FW Netherlands NED Mimeirhel Benita
44 MF Netherlands NED Ömer Gündüz
46 DF Netherlands NED Quilindschy Hartman
47 MF Norway NOR Mikael Tørset Johnsen
49 GK Netherlands NED Tein Troost
50 GK Netherlands NED Sam Pak
51 GK Netherlands NED Devin Remie
No. Pos. Nation Player
53 MF Netherlands NED Noah Naujoks
54 DF Netherlands NED Denzel Owusu
55 DF Norway NOR Sondre Skogen
56 DF Netherlands NED Kars van Veldhoven
57 DF Netherlands NED Sem Valk
58 MF Netherlands NED Shiloh 't Zand
59 MF France FRA Nesta Zahui
60 DF Netherlands NED Twan van der Zeeuw
61 MF Netherlands NED Sven Zitman
– FW Netherlands NED Delano Ladan

Staff[]

Position Staff
Head coach Netherlands Sipke Hulshoff
Assistant coach Netherlands Arnold Scholten
Physiotherapist Netherlands Ben de Visser
Team manager Netherlands Jacques Poldervaart
Equipment manager Netherlands Davey Verhagen

Academy graduates in first team squad[]

Name Age Pos Debut
Turkey Orkun Kökçü 20 years, 362 days MF 27 September 2018
Netherlands Tyrell Malacia 22 years, 131 days DF 6 December 2017
Netherlands Lutsharel Geertruida 21 years, 171 days DF 25 October 2017
Netherlands Justin Bijlow 23 years, 338 days GK 13 August 2017
Netherlands Naoufal Bannis 19 years, 318 days FW 4 August 2019
Netherlands Lennard Hartjes 18 years, 263 days MF 12 August 2021
Netherlands Antoni Milambo 16 years, 267 days MF 12 August 2021
Netherlands Ramon Hendriks 20 years, 161 days DF 15 August 2021
Netherlands Denzel Hall 20 years, 218 days DF N/A
Netherlands Thijs Jansen 20 years, 27 days GK N/A

Notable former players[]

The following is a list of players who have played in the Feyenoord Academy and represented a country at full international level. Players who are currently playing at Feyenoord are highlighted in bold.

Honours[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Feyenoord find family values pay - as the players it produces prove". The Independent. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Jeugdopleiding Feyenoord beste van Nederland" [Youth academy Feyenoord the best of the Netherlands]. VoetbalPrimeur (in Dutch). 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Feyenoord en Excelsior beëindigen samenwerkingsverband". Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b "General Mission Statement Feyenoord" (PDF). Feyenoord Academy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Feyenoord Academy door KNVB erkend als Regionale Jeugdopleiding" [Feyenoord Academy acknowledged as regional youth academy]. Feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 23 June 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Winnaars Rinus Michels Award". Nederlands Trainerscongres (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 December 2014.

External links[]


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