Football club
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
[1]
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.
[2]
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.
[3]
Structure
[
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]
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.
[4]
The goal of the Feyenoord Academy is to develop young players into professional football players for Feyenoord's first team squad.
[5]
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.
[5]
Teams and players
[
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]
Feyenoord U21
[
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]
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.
[6]
As of the 2020/21 season, the reserve team has been replaced with an Under-21 team.
Current squad
[
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]
- 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.
Staff
[
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]
Academy graduates in first team squad
[
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]
Notable former players
[
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]
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.
1900-1970s
1980s
1990s
|
2000s
|
2010s
2020s
|
Honours
[
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]
- Rinus Michels Award
: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
[3]
[7]
- National Champions (Under-19): 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1981, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010, 2013
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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