Excelsior represents Rotterdam’s Kralingen district with a professional football tradition dating to 1902. The black-and-red club is closely associated with Stadion Woudestein, an intimate ground beside Erasmus University known for its compact, community-minded atmosphere. Its identity combines neighborhood roots with a place in Dutch professional football, where youth development, technical ambition and financial prudence have long shaped the club’s profile. The current team page brings that identity together with its latest sporting context as of August 2026.
Excelsior Upcoming matches by league
Eredivisie
-
- Regular Season - 7
Ajax
Excelsior
Johan Cruijff Arena -
- Regular Season - 8
ExcelsiorNo H2HGroningen
-
- Regular Season - 9
HeerenveenNo H2HExcelsior
Abe Lenstra Stadion -
- Regular Season - 10
Fortuna SittardNo H2HExcelsior
Fortuna Sittard Stadion
Excelsior Last matches by league
Eredivisie
Friendlies Clubs
KNVB Beker
Eerste Divisie
Excelsior Team Roster
Excelsior’s recorded 33-player squad comprises nine attackers, eight defenders, three goalkeepers and 13 midfielders. The attacking options include A. Jahanbakhsh, G. De Regt, I. Silva Timas and Mario Domínguez, while C. Widell, J. Plug, R. Meissen and S. Janssen feature among the defenders. Celton Biai, S. Van Gassel and Tijmen Holla form the goalkeeper group. The midfield unit includes D. Van Vianen, Giulliano Cairo, L. Hartjes, M. Tielemans and N. Naujoks, alongside further depth. Shirt numbers are recorded for most players, while several entries have no number listed.
position Goalkeeper
Stijn van Gassel
Celton Ansumane Biai
Tijmen Holla
position Defender
Eric Emanuel da Silva Moreira
Rick Meissen
Casper Ludvig Widell
Jan Plug
Osman Mohamed Turay
position Midfielder
J. Fortes Rocha
Q. Kraaijvanger
Fedde Raats
Daniël van Vianen
Irakli Yegoian
Noah Naujoks
Simon Janssen
Valentin Sulzbacher
Mika Luijendijk
Lennard Hartjes
Yaqub Hassan Muse Finey
Giuliano Cairo
position Attacker
Niels Kuppen
Aymen Sliti
Mario Domínguez Franco
Alireza Jahanbakhsh Jirandeh
Kasey Bos
D. Garden
Ilano Silva Timas
Nesto Groen
Ágúst Orri Þorsteinsson
Last Excelsior Coachs
Ruben den Uil is Excelsior’s current coach, having begun the latest recorded spell on 1 June 2024. Born in 1991, the Dutch coach leads a timeline that also includes Marinus Dijkhuizen, whose tenure ran from January 2020 to June 2024. Earlier entries record Ricardo Moniz from January 2019 to January 2020 and brief appointments involving André Hoekstra in April 2019, alongside Adrie Poldervaart’s spell from July 2018 to April 2019. The sequence reflects a period of coaching change before den Uil’s ongoing tenure.
Ruben den Uil
History
| Coach | Coach country | Coach since | Coach until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruben den Uil | Netherlands | 1 June 2024 | |
| Marinus Dijkhuizen | Netherlands | 1 January 2020 | 1 June 2024 |
| André Hoekstra | Netherlands | 4 April 2019 | 8 April 2019 |
| Ricardo Moniz | Netherlands | 1 April 2019 | 1 January 2020 |
| Adrie Poldervaart | Netherlands | 1 July 2018 | 1 April 2019 |
| Mitchell van der Gaag | Netherlands | 1 August 2016 | 1 May 2018 |
| Alfons Groenendijk | Netherlands | 1 June 2015 | 1 May 2016 |
| Marinus Dijkhuizen | Netherlands | 1 January 2014 | 1 June 2015 |
| Jon Dahl Tomasson | Denmark | 1 June 2013 | 1 December 2013 |
| John Lammers | Netherlands | 1 July 2011 | 1 June 2012 |
| Alex Pastoor | Netherlands | 1 July 2009 | 1 June 2011 |
| Hans van der Pluijm | Netherlands | 1 July 1995 | 1 December 1996 |
Excelsior Transfers
The latest recorded arrivals include free-agent additions A. Jahanbakhsh from Dender, V. Sulzbacher from Red Bull Salzburg, Celton Biai from Dordrecht and M. Van de Wetering from FC Eindhoven. Loans brought Mario Domínguez from Valencia, A. Sliti and J. Plug from Feyenoord, and K. Bos from FSV Mainz 05. Permanent transfers included O. Turay, I. Silva Timas, D. Garden, D. Van Vianen and Y. Finey. N. Martens returned from De Graafschap, while S. Janssen arrived from VVV Venlo on a free transfer. These entries describe movement recorded through 9 August 2026, not a complete season total.
Latest player transfers from
| Player | Team from | Transfer type | Transfer date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Emanuel da Silva Moreira |
Nottingham Forest
|
Loan | 25 August 2026 |
| Á. Þorsteinsson |
Breidablik
|
Transfer | 23 August 2026 |
| A. Jahanbakhsh |
Dender
|
Free agent | 9 August 2026 |
| Mario Domínguez |
Valencia
|
Loan | 7 August 2026 |
| A. Sliti |
Feyenoord
|
Loan | 3 August 2026 |
| O. Turay |
Bayer Leverkusen U19
|
Transfer | 28 July 2026 |
| V. Sulzbacher |
Red Bull Salzburg
|
Free agent | 27 July 2026 |
| V. Sulzbacher |
Red Bull Salzburg
|
Free agent | 26 July 2026 |
| Celton Biai |
Dordrecht
|
Free agent | 17 July 2026 |
| I. Silva Timas |
MVV
|
Transfer | 14 July 2026 |
| J. Plug |
Feyenoord
|
Loan | 12 July 2026 |
| D. Garden |
Quick Boys
|
Transfer | 7 July 2026 |
| K. Bos |
FSV Mainz 05
|
Loan | 30 June 2026 |
| Y. Finey |
GIF Sundsvall
|
Transfer | 30 June 2026 |
| M. van de Wetering |
FC Eindhoven
|
Free agent | 30 June 2026 |
The latest recorded departures include transfers of D. Sanches Fernandes to Huddersfield, A. Carlén to Artis, and E. Danquah to ADO ’20, while R. Rosario moved to PAS Giannina. Free-agent exits included C. Raatsie to Dordrecht, A. Zagré to Utrecht, E. Hansson to Zaragoza, I. Bronkhorst to Huddersfield and Stijn Middendorp to Anorthosis. Loan movements sent Jerolldino Armantrading to Jong AZ and Chadwick Zachary Booth to Real Salt Lake. Several players returned to parent clubs after loans, including L. Schouten, M. Jonathans and S. Włodarczyk. The movement snapshot runs through 20 July 2026.
Latest player transfers to
| Player | Team to | Transfer type | Transfer date |
|---|---|---|---|
| M. Tielemans |
Aalborg
|
Transfer | 30 August 2026 |
| M. Tielemans |
Aalborg
|
Transfer | 29 August 2026 |
| M. van Duinen |
Katwijk
|
Free agent | 21 August 2026 |
| G. de Regt |
Holstein Kiel
|
Transfer | 18 August 2026 |
| N. El Hamdaoui |
MVV
|
Loan | 11 August 2026 |
| D. Sanches Fernandes |
Huddersfield
|
Transfer | 20 July 2026 |
| A. Carlén |
Artis
|
Transfer | 17 July 2026 |
| C. Raatsie |
Dordrecht
|
Free agent | 16 July 2026 |
| A. Carlén |
Artis
|
Transfer | 16 July 2026 |
| C. Raatsie |
Dordrecht
|
Free agent | 15 July 2026 |
| A. Zagré |
Utrecht
|
Free agent | 10 July 2026 |
| E. Hansson |
Zaragoza
|
Free agent | 8 July 2026 |
| Jerolldino Armantrading |
Jong AZ
|
Loan | 7 July 2026 |
| I. Bronkhorst |
Huddersfield
|
Free agent | 2 July 2026 |
| M. van Duinen |
Katwijk
|
End of career | 29 June 2026 |
Transfers Synthesis
Excelsior’s recorded movement pattern shows a mixed recruitment and retention cycle rather than a single transfer model. The incoming activity combines free agents, loans and permanent transfers. Loans connect the squad with Valencia, Feyenoord and FSV Mainz 05, while free-agent arrivals came from Dender, Red Bull Salzburg, Dordrecht, FC Eindhoven and VVV Venlo. Permanent additions were recorded from Bayer Leverkusen U19, MVV, Quick Boys, Dordrecht and GIF Sundsvall, with N. Martens returning from De Graafschap. Outgoing activity likewise spans permanent moves, free-agent departures, temporary loans and returns to parent clubs. The listed exits include destinations in England, Spain, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands and Cyprus, plus the United States, indicating a broad geographic spread in the recorded movement. The arrival and departure summaries are limited snapshots, so they describe patterns in available activity rather than a definitive full window.
Leagues Excelsior has participated in
Excelsior has a recent recorded presence in the Eredivisie, with participation listed from 2010 through 2025 and marked as active in the latest period. The KNVB Beker is likewise recorded from 2016 through 2025, while club friendlies appear from 2020 through 2025 as a recent active competition category. Eerste Divisie participation is historical in this record, spanning 2019 to 2024, and the sole Coupe de France entry dates to 2014. The competition profile therefore combines current-era Dutch league and cup involvement with earlier second-tier and cross-border cup records.
More about Excelsior
Excelsior is a Dutch football club from Rotterdam, founded in 1902 and rooted in the Kralingen-Crooswijk area. Commonly known as Excelsior Rotterdam, it carries a black-and-red identity and represents a distinctive strand of the country’s professional game: compact, community-focused and closely connected to its neighborhood. The club’s history began as a local working-class association at a time when football in the Netherlands was still associated with more elite institutions. That origin remains central to its culture, with accessibility, local pride and a strong sense of belonging shaping the club’s public character.
The team plays at Stadion Woudestein in eastern Kralingen, beside the Erasmus University campus. The ground is known for its intimate scale and close relationship between the stands and the pitch. Rather than presenting the atmosphere of a vast modern arena, Woudestein offers a tight-knit matchday setting that reinforces Excelsior’s community identity. Its location and scale have become part of the club’s visual and cultural signature.
Excelsior operates as the professional football branch of Stichting Betaald Voetbal Excelsior. Its professional operation is framed around community integration, youth development and sustainable financial prudence rather than reliance on external billionaire backing. This approach supports a pathway in which development and opportunity are valued alongside first-team performance, without separating the professional side from its grassroots foundation.
Within the Dutch football ecosystem, Excelsior has built a reputation as a resilient smaller club capable of competing with better-resourced opponents. Its recorded competition history includes Eredivisie and KNVB Beker participation, alongside earlier periods in the Eerste Divisie. The combination of Rotterdam roots, an unmistakable black-and-red presentation, a distinctive home ground and a development-minded operating culture gives Excelsior a clear identity within Dutch football.
Last matches statistics for Excelsior
| match | shots | Poss. | Pass % | Fouls | Cards | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dordrecht
0 - 2
Excelsior
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
NAC Breda
1 - 3
Excelsior
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
Heracles
3 - 5
Excelsior
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
De Graafschap
1 - 5
Excelsior
|
0 / 0 |
|
0% | 0 | - | 0 |
|
Cambuur
0 - 4
Excelsior
|
9 / 18 |
|
82 | 11 | - | 1 |
|
Excelsior
1 - 2
PSV Eindhoven
|
2 / 5 |
|
79 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
|
Excelsior
2 - 1
Sparta Rotterdam
|
4 / 14 |
|
79 | 13 | 2 | 1 |
|
Willem II
0 - 3
Excelsior
|
6 / 14 |
|
0% | 14 | 1 | 2 |
|
NEC Nijmegen
2 - 2
Excelsior
|
5 / 14 |
|
0% | 16 | 3 | 1 |
|
Excelsior
1 - 2
Utrecht
|
4 / 10 |
|
0% | 9 | 2 | 4 |
Detailed statistics Excelsior
Xtra rating history
Last rating points (most recent matches).
shots Excelsior
Warnings Excelsior
Passes Excelsior
Goalkeeper saves Excelsior
Latest start lineups Excelsior (XI)
Excelsior vs Utrecht
Eredivisie 2026 - 1552167
NEC Nijmegen vs Excelsior
Eredivisie 2026 - 1552136
Willem II vs Excelsior
Eredivisie 2026 - 1552157
Excelsior vs Sparta Rotterdam
Eredivisie 2026 - 1552145
Excelsior vs PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie 2026 - 1552129
Cambuur vs Excelsior
Eredivisie 2026 - 1552117
2025-2026
1st shirt
2022-2023
1st shirt