FC TwenteFC Twente was founded on 1 July 1965 through the merger of two long-standing rivals from Enschede, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys. The decision is remembered by supporters as the "Night of Vrieler," the night of 13–14 April 1965, when members of both clubs, despite decades of mutual hostility, voted to unite in order to save professional football in the city. The new club inherited SC Enschede's place in the Eredivisie.
Known as De Tukkers, the team spent decades among the Dutch elite but had to wait until the 2009–10 season for its first national title. Led by Englishman Steve McClaren — a manager mocked back home just eighteen months earlier following his failed spell in charge of the national team — the side finished one point ahead of Ajax and, on 2 May 2010, sealed a 2-0 win away at NAC Breda to claim the club's first-ever Eredivisie championship. That same summer, Twente also won the Dutch Super Cup (Johan Cruyff Shield), beating Ajax once again. The club's honours further include three KNVB Cup triumphs, in 1977, 2001 and 2011, and a second Super Cup won a year later.
The club's most significant European chapter remains the 1975 UEFA Cup final. After a goalless first leg in Düsseldorf, Twente lost the return match 1-5 to Borussia Mönchengladbach, played at the Diekman Stadion in Enschede in front of more than 21,000 spectators — still the closest the club has come to lifting a European trophy, although the 2010 title did open the door to the club's only-ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
That triumph fifteen years ago stands in sharp contrast to the turbulent period that followed. A controversial investment deal with the Doyen Sports fund plunged the club into serious financial trouble: between 2014 and 2016, the Dutch football association (KNVB) docked Twente league points on three separate occasions, and the club even risked losing its professional licence altogether. Twente survived, but in 2018 the team was relegated from the Eredivisie for the first time in 34 years, returning to the top flight after a single season in the Eerste Divisie. Since 1998, Twente have played their home matches at the ground now known as De Grolsch Veste, built on the site of the historic Diekman Stadion. The team traditionally wears an all-red kit featuring the Twente horse emblem, and its all-time leading scorer remains Swiss forward Blaise Nkufo, with 114 goals.
