PSV Eindhoven - The Philips Stadium - Capacity: 36,500 All Seater
The Stadium – The Philips Stadium Frederiklaan 10a, 5616 NH Eindhoven Whilst the ground is now one of the finest venues in Europe, it is hard to imagine what it looked like when the Philips organisation chose the area as the location of their Sports ground in 1919. During the next few years basic facilities were added, and just after the Second World War, the basic ground had seating for around 15,000 people. The stadium was upgraded throughout the successful periods of the 1970’s and 1980’s, although the funding of Philips was certainly as important in the ability of the club to build the facilities.
The stadium today is a complete bowl, similar in design to the newer stands at Anfield. There are corporate facilities galore, with over 1300 corporate seats and a restaurant that can hold a further 250 people in quite luxurious surroundings. Large heaters inside the roof also ensure that the crowd is kept quite toasty on those cold Dutch nights. The playing surface looks excellent, and with lots of space in the concourse areas it is no surprise that UEFA chose the stadium to host the 2006 UEFA Cup Final when Seville destroyed Middlesbrough 4-0.
Who Plays There? - PSV Eindhoven - http://www.psv.nl The Eindhoven Football Club was founded on 31st August 1913, at the end of a large Philips sports feast marking the 100th anniversary of Dutch independence. Originally PSV Football was one of 19 members of the Philips Sports Club (in Dutch abbreviated to PSV). The present Philips Stadium is still on the same location as when it was first built. The team played in the local leagues, as a “Works” team until they reached the top division of the national championships in the mid 1920’s. They won their first championship in 1929, and followed it up with a second title in 1935.
The club’s first real golden era started in 1974 when they won the KNVB Cup. The team including the Van de Kerkhof brothers captured back to back Championships in 1975 and 1976, and again in 1978 when they capped off a fantastic period in the club’s history by beating Bastia 3-0 on aggregate to win the UEFA Cup.
The next phase in the club’s success came during the late 1980’s when a team including such international stars as Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Soren Lerby and Frank Arnesen won the Championship in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Included in this period was the first ever back-to-back double of 1988 and 1989. The crowning moment of this period though was in May 1988 when PSV beat Benfica on penalties to capture the European Cup.
The club continued to win trophies on a regular basis during the 1990’s with such stars as Romario, Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy scoring regularly for the team. As the club entered the new millennium they had overtaken Ajax as the most successful club in Dutch football history.
They won the championship again in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and again in 2006 at a canter under the leadership of Guus Hiddink. They also surprised many people by reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, narrowly losing to AC Milan in a close fought two-legged match. This season has started much the same under new coach Ronald Koeman with PSV hitting top spot in early November after beating Ajax in the Amsterdam ArenA. In Europe they continued their fine form and finished 2nd in a group featuring Liverpool, Bordeaux and Galatasarary, although they lost to Arsenal in the next stage of the competition. Koeman was soon poached by Valencia (only to last four months there) and was replaced by Jan Wouters and then Sef Vergoossen who managed to steer the clubto another league title. Sef is now out of a job as former Hamburg boss Huub Stevens is poised to take over to end a chaotic year off the pitch for PSV.
How to get to the Philips Stadium The stadium is located very close to the city centre, and is best reached by foot. From the Central Station plaza, turn right and simply follow Mathildelaan until you reach the stadium – this should take around 10 minutes. If you have had a few too many Heineken’s then you can get either a line 16 or 17 bus in the direction of Veldhoven.
For a more detailed view of football in the city, go to Footiemap.com to access their Eindhoven city map.
How to get a ticket for the Philips Stadium A few years ago the Club Card system was introduced in the Netherlands. A Club Card is basically a way in which the Dutch authorities could keep tabs on who was buying tickets for the games as well as to improve the safety within stadiums. The Club Card system also allowed supporters to buy tickets at more than 1,100 box offices around the country.
Since it is complicated for us foreigners to apply for Club Card, PSV offer the possibility to buy tickets without going through this application process. The club reserve a limited number of tickets for overseas visitors for each match in the Dutch League, except for the games versus Ajax and Feyenoord, and those played in the Champions League. Tickets can be reserved by emailing the Ticket office at ticketoffice@psv.nl or by calling them on +31 40 2 505 505. Please take into account that there is only a limited number of tickets available and that the best seats are sold to PSV Season Club Card holders.
Still the case that at PSV as with Ajax and Feyenoord, locals can only watch matches with ID cards. Unless you borrow someone’s ID card to get voucher/ticket, you can take advantage of a scheme operated by the clubs where tourists can purchase tickets. PSV operate a Gold and Silver Package for tourists. Being from Yorkshire I opted for cheaper Silver Package. For this you pay 50 euro and you get:
- 21 euro for ticket in West Tribune. Better for atmosphere. Not so good if you want to see the choreography they undertook before match. - 20 euro voucher for fanshop if you want to surprise the Missus with a PSV duvet/lampshade, - 10 euro for food/munchie vouchers
Prices rise to 70 euro for matches against Ajax , Feyenoord and AZ. Possible to pay euros on day of the match, but expect to pay an extra 15 euros for privilige. Packages can be paid and collected on day of the match at our ticket office, entrance 27 of the stadium. Ticket office open 2.5 hours before kick off until 15 minutes after kick off. Bring a copy of email and ID. For more details contact
Thanks to Paul Whitaker from the Maracana Manor in Yorkshire for the above update.
Getting around Eindhoven is a compact city and most places can be reached on foot. There is a small tram and bus network, and travel cards can be bought from newsagents, the central station and on board the trams. Alternatively, you can hire a bike from the central station and act like a local.
Eindhoven’s modest airport is located around 5 miles to the west of the city centre. The airport is served by three airlines from the UK. Ryanair currently offer two flights daily to Eindhoven. KLM offer a twice-daily flight to Eindhoven from London Heathrow on Monday’s to Friday’s only. Euromanx offer a twice-weekly flight on a Tuesday and a Thursday from Southampton.Hermes operates an airport shuttle bus that runs every 15 minutes between the Central Station and the airport. Look for bus line 41. The journey takes around 20 minutes. There is also a shuttle bus that runs a twice a day, approximately 45 minutes after the Ryanair flights land, that runs to Amsterdam central station. The bus costs €30 return.
The Stadium – The Philips Stadium
Who Plays There? - PSV Eindhoven - 
Still the case that at PSV as with Ajax and Feyenoord, locals can only watch matches with ID cards. Unless you borrow someone’s ID card to get voucher/ticket, you can take advantage of a scheme operated by the clubs where tourists can purchase tickets. PSV operate a Gold and Silver Package for tourists. Being from Yorkshire I opted for cheaper Silver Package. For this you pay 50 euro and you get: