Feyenoord Academy (Varkenoord)

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.

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

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

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

Academy graduates in first team squad
NameAgePosDebut
Justin Bijlow24 years, 89 daysGK13 August 2017
Lutsharel Geertruida21 years, 287 daysDF25 October 2017
Tyrell Malacia22 years, 247 daysDF6 December 2017
Orkun Kökçü21 years, 113 daysMF27 September 2018
Lennard Hartjes19 years, 14 daysMF12 August 2021
Antoni Milambo17 years, 18 daysMF12 August 2021
Ramon Hendriks20 years, 277 daysDF15 August 2021
Mimeirhel Benita18 years, 155 daysDF26 August 2021
Denzel Hall20 years, 334 daysDF23 January 2022
Thijs Jansen20 years, 143 daysGKN/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. "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. "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.
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