Feyenoord Academy (Varkenoord)

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 international 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. 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.

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. The goal of the Feyenoord Academy is to develop young players into professional football players for Feyenoord's first team squad.

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.

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. As of the 2020/21 season, the reserve team has been replaced with an Under-21 team.

Current squad

As of 5 September 2022

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
49 GK Netherlands NED Tein Troost
59 GK Netherlands NED Jaimy Kroesen
- GK Netherlands NED Mannou Berger
51 GK Netherlands NED Devin Remie
40 DF Netherlands NED Guus Baars
52 DF Netherlands NED Milan Hokke
57 DF Netherlands NED Sem Valk
60 DF Netherlands NED Twan van der Zeeuw
62 DF Netherlands NED Jayden Candelaria
56 DF Netherlands NED Kars van Veldhoven
47 MF Togo TOG Dermane Karim
No. Pos. Nation Player
64 MF Netherlands NED Gjivai Zechiël
67 MF Netherlands NED Mike Kleijn
- MF France FRA Tidjany Touré
48 MF Netherlands NED Antoni Milambo
50 MF Indonesia IDN Délano van der Heijden
58 MF Netherlands NED Shiloh 't Zand
- FW Germany GER Youssef Amyn
62 FW Slovakia SVK Leo Sauer
63 FW Netherlands NED Jaden Slory
61 FW Morocco MAR Ilyas el Moussaoui
64 FW Netherlands NED Nesto Groen

Staff

Position Staff
Head coach Netherlands Melvin Boel
Assistant coach Netherlands Ulrich van Gobbel

Academy graduates in first team squad

Name Age Pos Debut
Netherlands Bart Nieuwkoop 27 years, 95 days DF 4 October 2015
Netherlands Justin Bijlow 25 years, 257 days GK 13 August 2017
Netherlands Lutsharel Geertruida 23 years, 90 days DF 25 October 2017
Netherlands Antoni Milambo 18 years, 186 days MF 12 August 2021
Netherlands Quilindschy Hartman 21 years, 326 days DF 21 August 2022
Netherlands Gjivai Zechiël 19 years, 127 days MF 27 August 2023

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

  • Rinus Michels Award: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
  • National Champions (Under-19): 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1981, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010, 2013

This page was last updated at 2023-10-06 15:44 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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