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| Full name | Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Essevee, De Boeren | ||
| Founded | 1 July 2001; 23 years ago (2001-07-01) | ||
| Ground | Regenboogstadion, Waregem | ||
| Capacity | 12,250 | ||
| Chairman | Willy Naessens | ||
| Head coach | Sven Vandenbroeck | ||
| League | Challenger Pro League | ||
| 2023–24 | Challenger Pro League, 4th of 16 | ||
| Website | essevee.be | ||
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 Current season | |||
Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈspɔrtfəˌreːnəɣɪŋ ˈzʏltə ˈʋaːrəɣɛm]), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (Dutch pronunciation: [ɛsəˈveː]), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Their highest finish at the highest level was second place in 2012–13. They have won two Belgian Cups. They qualified for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, losing in the round of 32 to Newcastle United. Also in the seasons 2013–14 and 2017–18 they managed to play in the Europa League group stages. On both occasions the club ended third in their group.
The club is a product of a partnership in 2001 between Zultse VV and KSV Waregem, a former first division regular. No merger was applied. Zulte Waregem first reached the highest level in Belgian football by winning the 2004–05 second division. The club uniforms are red and green. They play their home matches at the Regenboogstadion, the former stadium of KSV Waregem.
History
Zulte Sportief was founded in 1950 and directly became a member of the national association (matricule n° 5381). The club Zultse V.V. (with the same matricule) was started after the 1976 merger between Zulte Sportief and S.K. Zulte. In 2001, the team merged with K.S.V. Waregem, who had played in the first division for many years. No team from Zulte ever achieved promotion to the second division before S.V. Zulte Waregem in 2002. Zultse V.V., though, gained access to the third division in 1995. The club finished 14th out of 16 for two seasons and was relegated the second time after the playoff.
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In 1999, the season in which it came back, Zultse finished fourth in this division. Two years later, the new club became champion of the 3rd division A. The registered office of Zulte Waregem lies in Zulte, but the club is based in the stadium of K.S.V. Waregem in Waregem and the red and white colours of K.S.V. Waregem prevail.
The club got a chance to shine on the European stage during the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, reaching the round of 32, playing against English club Newcastle United, although they lost 4–1 on aggregate. Their second European appearance was in the 2013–14 season, as Zulte Waregem finished second in 2012–13 Belgian Pro League and qualified for the third qualifying stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, where they lost to PSV (5–0 on aggregate). Zulte Waregem dropped to the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off round, where they defeated APOEL, drawing 1–1 at home and winning 1–2 in Nicosia thanks to a late goal from Jens Naessens. At the group stage, they were drawn alongside Rubin Kazan, Wigan Athletic and Maribor. Zulte Waregem started with a draw against Wigan. After, they lost to Rubin (4–0) and Maribor (1–3), but later managed to defeat Maribor at Ljudski vrt (0–1) and Wigan at DW Stadium (1–2). Finally, a loss against Rubin at home and Maribor's win over Wigan eliminated Zulte Waregem from the European competition. In the 2016–17 season, Zulte Waregem drew an average home attendance of 9,578.
After a series of disappointing seasons in which the threat of relegation was narrowly avoided each time, things took a turn for the worse for head coach and club legend Francky Dury in the fall of 2021. The relationship between him and a portion of the supporters also became increasingly strained, ultimately leading to his dismissal in January 2022. The 2021–22 season was managed by assistants Timmy Simons and Davy De fauw, but they too failed to achieve results. As a result, the team narrowly avoided the relegation playoffs. In June 2022, former club top goalscorer Mbaye Leye was appointed as the new head coach.
In 2023, Zulte Waregem fell victim to the new league restructuring, which meant that there would be as many as three relegations that season. Zulte, being the club with the statistically worst defence, ended up suffering relegation after 18 successive seasons in the top tier.
Stadium
Zulte Waregem plays its home matches at the Regenboogstadion, meaning "Rainbow Stadium" in Dutch. The stadium used to be the home of K.S.V. Waregem until the withdrawal of the club. It has a capacity of 12.250 and has been renovated lately to host European games. The Regenboogstadion meets UEFA's requirements for hosting European games (Category 4 stadium), so Zulte Waregem's home matches can be played in their own stadium, which they did in de 2017-2018 Europa League competition. Zulte Waregem has an average attendance of 9.500 people at home games.
Honours
- Belgian Pro League:
- Runners-up: 2012–13
- Belgian Second Division:
- Winners: 2004–05
- Belgian Cup:
- Belgian Supercup:
European record
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | 1R |  Lokomotiv Moscow
|
2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| Grp F |  Austria Wien
|
— | 4–1 | 3rd | ||
 Sparta Prague
|
3–1 | — | ||||
 Espanyol
|
— | 2–6 | ||||
 Ajax
|
0–3 | — | ||||
| R32 |  Newcastle United
|
1–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | ||
| 2013–14 | UEFA Champions League | 3Q | PSV
|
0–3 | 0–2 | 0–5 |
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | PO |  APOEL
|
1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| Grp D |  Maribor
|
1–3 | 1–0 | 3rd | ||
| Rubin Kazan
|
0–2 | 0–4 | ||||
| Wigan Athletic
|
0–0 | 2–1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 2Q |  Zawisza Bydgoszcz
|
2–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 |
| 3Q |  Shakhtyor Soligorsk
|
2–5 | 2–2 | 4–7 | ||
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | Grp |  Nice
|
1–5 | 1–3 | 3rd |
 Lazio
|
3–2 | 0–2 | ||||
| Vitesse Arnhem
|
1–1 | 2–0 |
Players
- As of 4 September 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
Eddy van den Berge (1 July 1962 – 30 June 1963)- Francky Dury (1 July 2001 – 30 June 2010)
- Bart De Roover (1 July 2010 – 24 October 2010)
- Hugo Broos (27 October 2010 – 23 May 2011)
Darije Kalezić (1 July 2011 – 27 December 2011)- Francky Dury (30 December 2011 – 2021)
References
- "Regenboogstadion". The Stadium Guide. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- "Eerste klasse A 2016/2017 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
- "Triest einde van tijdperk: Francky Dury na 20 jaar ontslagen bij Zulte Waregem". Sporza (in Dutch). 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- "Mbaye Leye wordt nieuwe hoofdtrainer Essevee". SV Zulte Waregem (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- "Zulte Waregem in tranen na degradatie: "Deze club hoort niet in tweede klasse"". Sporza (in Dutch). 23 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- Het Regenboogstadion Archived 2017-10-20 at the Wayback Machine essevee.be (last check 30/03/2018)
- Player squad Archived 2023-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, essevee.be
External links
- Official website (in Dutch)
- Zulte Waregem at UEFA.com
- Zulte Waregem at EUFO.de
- Zulte Waregem at Weltfusball.de
- Zulte Waregem at Football Squads.co.uk
- Zulte Waregem at Football-Lineups.com
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