Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Until the 2002/2003 season Sparta Rotterdam had always played at the highest level, but they were relegated from the top-level Eredivisie in 2002. Sparta returned to the Eredivisie for the 2005-06 season. The average attendance in 2005/06 was 9,950.
Sparta has won six national titles (1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915 and 1959) and three national cups (1958, 1962 and 1966). Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior (est. 1902) and Feyenoord (est. 1908), the latter playing in the Eredivisie.
In 1905, Sparta initiated and organised the first home match of the Dutch national team, against Belgium. The match, won 4-0 by the Netherlands, was a rematch of a game two weeks prior, when the Netherlands beat Belgium 4-1 in Antwerp.
The first match at Sparta's new stadium, Het Kasteel (The Castle), in the Spangen area of west Rotterdam, was played on October 14 1916. The stadium was renovated in 1999 and is still Sparta's stadium.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959-60 | European Cup | 1R | IFK Göteborg | 3-1, 1-3, 3-1 |
| 1/4 | Rangers FC | 2-3, 1-0, 2-3 | ||
| 1962-63 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Q | Lausanne Sports | 0-3, 4-2 |
| 1966-67 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Floriana FC | 1-1, 6-0 |
| 2R | Servette Genève | 0-2, 1-0 | ||
| 1970-71 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1R | ÍA Akranes | 6-0, 9-0 |
| 2R | Coleraine FC | 2-0, 2-1 | ||
| 3R | Bayern München | 1-2, 1-3 | ||
| 1971-72 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Levski-Spartak | 1-1, 2-0 |
| 2R | Red Star Belgrade | 1-1, 1-2 | ||
| 1983-84 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Coleraine FC | 4-0, 1-1 |
| 2R | Carl Zeiss Jena | 3-2, 1-1 | ||
| 3R | Spartak Moskva | 1-1, 0-2 | ||
| 1985-86 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Hamburger SV | 2-0, 0-2 (4-3 n.p.) |
| 2R | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1-1, 1-5 | ||
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