1970-1999
As the 1969 Dutch champions Feijenoord participated in the European Cup 1969-70. After thrashing Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur 16-2 on aggregate in the first round the team faced AC Milan. Feijenoord lost the first leg 1-0 in Italy, but overcame the deficit in their own stadium following a 2-0 win, securing a place in the quarter finals where they faced Vorwärts Berlin.
The tie followed the same pattern as the previous round, Feijenoord losing the first match 1-0 away, then winning 2-0 at home. In the semi-finals Legia Warszawa were beaten 2-0 on aggregate, earning Feijenoord their first European final. Ajax had reached the same final in 1969 but were not able to win. Feijenoord faced Celtic in the final, held in the San Siro stadium in Milan. Goals by Tommy Gemmell and Rinus Israël resulted in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. Three minutes before the end of the extra time Ove Kindvall scored Feijenoord's winning goal to make them the first Dutch team to claim a major European trophy.
As the cup holders Feijenoord participated in the European Cup 1970-71 despite relinquishing the Dutch title, which was won by Ajax. Feijenoord were eliminated in the first round following a surprise defeat by Romanian team UT Arad. However, as reigning European champions Feijenoord faced Estudiantes La Plata in the Intercontinental Cup. The first match in Buenos Aires' La Bombonera finished in a 2-2 draw. Back in Rotterdam Feijenoord managed a 1-0 victory (winning goal by Joop van Daele) to win the world club crown, the first Dutch team to do so. Estudiantes player Oscar Malbernat got frustrated and grabbed Van Daele's glasses and trampled on it. "You are not allowed to play with glasses." was his excuse, "At least not in South America." In 1971 Feijenoord won their 10th Dutch Championship.
In 1973 the club decided to change their name to Feyenoord, as people from outside the Netherlands found it difficult to pronounce the "ij" in Feijenoord. Under their new name they played in the UEFA Cup 1973-74, reaching the final following a 4-3 aggregate win over VfB Stuttgart in the semi finals. The opponent in the final was Tottenham Hotspur. In the first leg at White Hart Lane Spurs took a 2-1 lead, but Theo de Jong equalised after 85 minutes and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Feyenoord then won their match in Rotterdam 2-0 thanks to goals by Wim Rijsbergen and Peter Ressel, and became the first Dutch team to win the UEFA Cup. As a result, Spurs fans started to riot, introducing Dutch football to the spectre of hooliganism in the process. In the remainder of the decade Feyenoord won only one more honour, the Dutch Championship in 1974. In 1978 the club divided their professional and amateur sides to form two separate teams, Feyenoord for professionals and Sportclub Feyenoord for amateurs.
Feyenoord won their fifth Dutch Cup in 1980 by beating Ajax 3-1 in the final.
In 1984 Feyenoord had another bright season, winning the double for the third time in their history. Key players in the squad from this period included Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit and Peter Houtman (who later became the Feyenoord stadium announcer). Cruyff reacted to Ajax's decision not to offer him a new contract at the start of the season and signed for arch rivals Feyenoord instead. Cruyff's move to Rotterdam was criticised and increased Ajax's motivation to beat Feyenoord. In the Olympic Stadium of Amsterdam Feyenoord suffered their heaviest ever defeat: 8-2. However, Feyenoord later defeated Ajax in Rotterdam 4-1 and Ajax were subsequently beaten a second time in the Dutch Cup. Feyenoord proceeded to win a league and cup double by beating Fortuna Sittard in the cup final.
After the successful season Feyenoord experienced a lean period and were unable to finish the season in a higher position than third. In 1989/1990 the club struggled to remain in the Eredivisie, but eventually managed to avoid relegation. The club had financial problems, the staff was unable to recover and their main sponsor HCS went bankrupt.
When Wim Jansen was appointed as the interim manager to replace Günder Bengtsson and Pim Verbeek after a 6-0 defeat against PSV, the outlook began to improve for the club. PSV, the strongest Dutch club of the period, were knocked out of the KNVB Cup by a Henk Fräser goal in Eindhoven. Feyenoord, progressed to the 1991 final, where they beat BVV Den Bosch 1-0 to win the competition. As the cup holders they faced champions PSV again, this time in the 1991 Dutch Supercup, the first Supercup held since 1949. PSV were beaten 1-0 by a Marian Damaschin goal to add another honour to the club's achievements. They went on to win another Dutch Cup in 1992, beating Roda JC 3-0 in the final. The same year Feyenoord reached the semi finals in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1991-92 beating Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter final before being knocked out by AS Monaco on away goals after two draws.
In 1993 Feyenoord secured another Dutch Championship by beating FC Groningen 5-0 in the last league match of the season. The match was played at the Oosterpark Stadion in Groningen, so 40.000 Feyenoord fans watched the game on giant screens in De Kuip. The title was followed by another two Dutch Cups in 1994 (beating NEC Nijmegen (2-1)) and 1995 (beating FC Volendam (2-1)). During the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1994-95 Feyenoord reached the quarter finals after beating SV Werder Bremen in the second round. They eventually lost to Real Zaragoza. In the quarter final in the 1995 KNVB Cup Feyenoord visited Ajax, the team that would win the UEFA Champions League 1994-95 later that season. Ajax was leading 1-0 when Ruud Heus equalised with a penalty just before time. In the extra time Feyenoord became the only team to beat Ajax the season they won the Eredivisie and the Champions League unbeaten. The goal scored by Mike Obiku was the decider as the new golden goal rule became in use. During the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1995-96 Everton FC and Borussia Mönchengladbach were beaten. A total of 14,000 Feyenoord fans travelled to Germany to support the team against Mönchengladbach. Feyenoord were knocked out in the semi finals by a Carsten Jancker inspired SK Rapid Wien.
Feyenoord made their UEFA Champions League debut during the UEFA Champions League 1997-98, finishing third in their group behind Manchester United and Juventus, however Juventus were beaten 2-0 in Rotterdam, both goals scored by Julio Ricardo Cruz. In 1998 the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) visited Feyenoord because of suspected fraud. Mainly based on the signings of Aurelio Vidmar, Christian Gyan and Patrick Allotey. This became an ongoing scandal in the years to come with chairman Jorien van den Herik as the main suspect. On 25 April 1999 Feyenoord secured their 14th Dutch Championship. 250,000 fans celebrated with the team in the center of Rotterdam. However, later in the evening heavy rioting started. Before the start of the new 1999/2000 season Ajax were beaten in their own stadium when Feyenoord won their second Dutch Supercup after a free kick by Patrick Paauwe who secured a 3-2 win.
Read more about this topic: History Of Feyenoord Rotterdam