What Has Gone Wrong At Vitesse?

Dutch team Vitesse has been key to developing a lot of Chelsea’s young talent in the past, as they were a good step down from the pressures of Premier League football while still being a competitive side in the Eredivisie. The likes of Dominic Solanke, Martin Odegaard and Mason Mount have all pulled on the yellow and black shirt of Vitesse in the past, but now it seems those days are behind them. They currently sit at the bottom of the Dutch second tier on one point after 26 matches, after being deducted 27 points. They have been doomed to relegation this season and maybe even extinction entirely.

2010 Financial Trouble

In 2010, Vitesse were in some serious financial trouble and not for the first time in their history. The club’s majority shareholder agreed to sell the club to Merab Jordania, a Georgian businessman and former footballer, making the club the first one in the Netherlands to be foreign owned. There was some controversy surrounding the takeover, with some reports suggesting that it was masterminded by Roman Abramovic, Chelsea’s owner at the time. Most Dutch clubs are either owned by the fans or by local businesses, so Vitesse having outside investment was a big change in Dutch football.

The takeover was completed in August 2010 and in his first press conference, Jordania promised that Vitesse would win the Eredivisie title within the next three years. That wasn’t the only controversial thing about his takeover however, as he had been arrested in the past for embezzling money out of Dinamo Tbilisi while president of the Georgian Football Federation.

Chelsea’s B Team

After the takeover, which Jordania said had nothing to do with Abramovic, Vitesse started to take Chelsea players on loan. Jordania sold the club in 2013 to another Abramovic associate, and the numbers of Chelsea loanees increased. In the 2013/14 season, they had five players from the Blues on their books and despite this still finished in sixth.

Mason Mount has been voted as Vitesse player of the season by the fans. The young English midfielder received 37% of the votes! pic.twitter.com/6D80EDO7mc

— Lars (@VitesseChels) April 29, 2018

At this time there was growing discontent among the Vitesse fanbase that their historic club, the second oldest in the Netherlands after Sparta Rotterdam, was being turned into a feeder team for one of the richest clubs in the world. Even though results had improved for Vitesse after the takeover in 2010, a large portion of Vitesse fans wanted to return to local ownership and distance themselves from Abramovic’s dodgy dealings.

Vitesse’s First Trophy

Despite fan discontent, the ownership of the club stayed in foreign hands and in the 2016/17 season, it finally paid off for them. They had appointed a new coach, Henk Fraser, in the summer and he led them to instant success, winning the KNVB Cup. This was the first trophy in their long history that dates back to 1892.

They beat AZ Alkmaar 2-0 in the final thanks to a brace from Ricky Van Wolfswinkel after he joined the club for a second time in the summer, from Norwich City. They had the chance to win another piece of silverware, the Johan Cruyff Shield, at the beginning of the following season, but were defeated on penalties by Feyenoord.

Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

In February 2022, Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, many clubs showed their support for Ukraine in statements and gestures, and Vitesse was not an exception, despite being owned by a Russian oligarch. A club statement read: “Everyone at Vitesse is deeply shocked by the horrifying situation in Ukraine.” before adding that it hoped a peaceful solution could be agreed.

The owner of the club, Valery Oyf, wasn’t one of the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the EU following the invasion, but he quickly put the club up for sale despite having invested millions into it. In the 2021/22 season, they had finished sixth and made it to the Round of 16 in the UEFA Europa Conference League, but after Oyf withdrew his funding, they fell to 10th the following year.

A Dramatic Decline

In September 2022, the club was bought by The Common Group, an American investment firm that had already had ownership of Leyton Orient and Belgian second division side Patro Eisden Maasmechelen. In February 2024, the KNVB rejected the takeover over concerns about the origins of their wealth.

What on earth did Vitesse do to get such a huge points deduction?!?! pic.twitter.com/lHgOzCfLyq

— The Football Crew (@theftblcrew) April 21, 2024

In 2023, an investigation by the TBIJ (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) revealed once and for all Abramovic’s involvement in the club by tracing money backwards to its origin with the Russian oligarch. This led the KNVB to do their own investigation into the club, which in turn led to an 18 point deduction towards the end of last season. Vitesse were relegated on six points, but would have met the same fate anyway, without their points deduction. The KNVB said that Vitesse had provided inadequate financial reports to them for an extended period of time, only mentioning Abramovic’s involvements as a lesser crime.

This season has been just as bad for the club, as they currently sit bottom of the Dutch second tier having been deducted a further 27 points at the start of the campaign. They are all but relegated this season, which could lead to further financial trouble and even liquidation.