A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today
Dutch Cup winners in 2025, Go Ahead Eagles last reached the final 60 years before, when this Deventer side were enjoying a rare period in the limelight. Having faced Celtic in 1965, the Pride of the IJssel were pitched against the likes of Aston Villa, Nice and Lyon in the League Phase of the Europa League of the autumn and winter of 2025-26.
Fans more used to rainy days in Enschede and Utrecht could enjoy rare trips to France, Salzburg and Athens, the Greek odyssey the perfect opportunity for young striker Milan Smit to hit a brace in seven minutes and stun favourites Panathinaikos by reversing the scoreline late in the game.
Smit was also one of the successful penalty-takers in the shoot-out that delivered a first Dutch Cup to Deventer the previous April – but the real hero that dramatic day was goalkeeper Jari De Busser. Belgian despite being named after all-time Ajax hero Jari Litmanen, the former Lommel man saved three penalties that afternoon, one retaken for heavy favourites AZ Alkmaar to take the lead in normal time, and two after 120 minutes.
In between, solid full-back Mats Deijl stroked the ball into the corner of AZ net from 11 metres, showing notable calm after Eagles’ own penalty award deep into stoppage time. The club having last won major silverware in 1933, Go Ahead supporters had every reason to cloud half of De Kuip in yellow smoke.
Go Ahead were founded as Be Quick in 1902 by Leo zur Kleinsmiede and Karel Hollander, whose brother Hartog (‘Han’), Holland’s first radio sports journalist, was also involved.
From 1916, Go Ahead won the regional Eerste Klasse Oost eight years running, becoming national champions by beating their other table-topping counterparts in 1917 and 1922. Key to the second victory was Wim Roetert, whose extra-time goal defeated Blauw-Wit. After 1922, Jan Halle also went on to win two further titles with Go Ahead, against Blauw-Wit in 1930 and PSV in 1933, when his brother Leo was also goalkeeper.
By 1920, the nomadic Go Ahead had settled at De Adelaarshorst, just outside the town centre, later named ‘Home of Football’. Initially witnessing nearly two decades of success, the Eagle’s Nest saw Go Ahead win their last Eerste Klasse Oost title in 1957. Han Hollander died in the Holocaust in 1943 and Go Ahead struggled in the post-war, later professional, era.
František Fadrhonc arrived in 1962, having escaped Communist Prague through Austria in 1948. On the medical team of the strong Czechoslovakia national side of the 1940s, Fadrhonc brought Central European football savvy to his first club, Willem II, whom he led to Holland’s first professional league title in 1955.
Founded by Fadrhonc, Holland’s first football academy set up at Go Ahead soon began to produce players such as Bert van Marwijk, later coach of Feyenoord, Borussia Dortmund and the Netherlands.
The position of Dutch national coach is what took Fadrhonc away from De Adelaarshorst, after lifting Go Ahead into top bracket of the Dutch league, reaching the cup final in 1965 and playing in Europe a year later. It was Fadrhonc, after eight years at Go Ahead, who oversaw the development of Holland’s best-ever national side, between 1970 and 1974, remaining part of the set-up under Rinus Michels at the World Cup finals.
Meanwhile, Go Ahead had Welsh singing star Barry Hughes. The former WBA youth player had spent most of his playing career in Holland before becoming a coach, taking over from Fadrhonc at Go Ahead, changing the name to Go Ahead Eagles in 1971. Hughes later discovered Ruud Gullit while at HFC Haarlem and released a string of hit records (‘Sing Along With Barry’) in the 1980s.
Though still producing decent young players – most notably later Arsenal star Marc Overmars and Paul Bosvelt – none stayed around. Go Ahead Eagles waned. Rarely in the top flight from the late 1980s onwards, the Deventer club closed its academy in 1996.
A play-off win in 2013 led to two seasons in the Eredivisie, relegation coinciding with a surprise appearance in the Europa League as national Fair Play winner. Caught on the hop, modernising their venerable De Adelaarshorst ground before the new league season, Go Ahead were forced to move the home tie with Ferencváros to Emmen, a somewhat underwhelming return to Europe for the club after 50 years. A 1-1 draw was followed by a 4-1 defeat in front of an empty stadium in Budapest, the Hungarians serving a UEFA fan ban.
With memories of the dramatic play-off win over De Graafschap in 2016 still fresh – when triumphant Go Ahead players were attacked by opposing fans as they left the pitch – games with the Superboeren were always tense.
In 2021, De Graafschap were again outdone by the Deventer side as Go Ahead under former Feyenoord centre-back Kees van Wonderen pipped their rivals to an automatic promotion spot on goal difference. Not surprisingly, their success was built on a solid defence, conceding only 25 times in 38 games. Former Ajax defender Bas Kuipers hit the only goal in the decisive match against Excelsior to take Deventer up to the top tier.
Despite only finishing ninth in the Eredivisie, Go Ahead snuck into Europe in 2024, reversing the scoreline each time in late, late wins at near neighbours NEC Nijmegen and Utrecht in the play-offs. Coach René Haké earning himself a lucrative assistant role under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, Eagles brought in their own former assistant coach Paul Simonis, who would lead the club to a surprising triumph in the Dutch Cup.
Simonis lured away by Wolfsburg, the Deventer side placed their trust in Melvin Boel, short on top-level coaching experience when thrown in the deep end to lead his side in the Johan Cruyff Shield – Holland’s traditional season curtain-raiser – against PSV in August 2025. Leading hosts PSV for much of the game, Go Ahead then succumbed to the Dutch champions but Boel would soon deliver the club’s first-ever win in Europe, the unexpected defeat of Panathinaikos in Athens in the Europa League.
Stadium Guide
The field of dreams – and the story behind it
Its gates bearing the motto ‘Home of Football’, De Adelaarshorst (‘De Horst’) was commissioned after Go Ahead’s first national title of 1917, opened in 1920, then improved upon with each of three subsequent wins before the war.
A record 25,000 attendance for the visit of Celtic in 1965 was soon broken by the 26,000 crowd who witnessed the Derby of the East against FC Twente in 1969 – but it would be five decades before the stadium was fully modernised with the complete revamp of 2015.
Works to expand capacity to 12,700 have been slated for summer 2026, dovetailing with the complete renovation of the B-side, aka Brinkgreverwegtribune, and the IJsseltribune stands.
Currently, the ground holds 10,000. Home fans, the B-Side, gather behind the goal alongside Brinkgreverweg. Opposite, by Vetkampstraat, 400 away fans are accommodated in sector 18 of the Leo Halle tribune, its 2015 design inspired by Fulham’s Craven Cottage.
Business seats line the main Hoofdtribune, with the IJsseltribune set facing it.
getting here
Going to the stadium – tips and timings
The stadium is beside the Veenweg busstop on route 5 (every 15mins, every 30mins eve & Sun, destination Wkc Colmsch) three stops from Deventer station. To walk it (15-20mins), turn left on Stationsplein outside the station, head below the railtracks, then straight up Brinkgreverweg.
getting in
Buying tickets – when, where, how and how much
what to buy
Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts
The Fanshop behind the main stand opens on match days. On offer are footballs, flags and beach towels (‘Here Lies An Eagle’), all in signature red, yellow and black.
Where to Drink
Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors
There are no bars or cafés in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. Eagles fans gather in the Spelershome bar behind the main stand from 1hr before kick-off, while business clients are looked after in the Coldec lounge.
Everyone else has to make do with kiosks set up around the ground. As elsewhere in the Netherlands, the beer sold is low-strength. Purchase is by tokens, also sold around the ground.
