Eurobowls, FLE and NFLE
The Crusaders joined the European elite by reaching the Eurobowl final in 1988, with upset wins over the London Ravens and Berlin Adlers in the quarter and semi finals, only to lose against the Helsinki Roosters (35-14), who ran a power wishbone attack with Mike Kane, former All-American running back at CSUN. He Scored 4 TDs' and was elected the games MVP, In 1989 Amsterdam again reached the final, unfortunately losing a thriller 27-23 to the Legnano Frogs (Italy). In 1990, the "third Crusade" ended in Manchester (UK) when the Manchester Spartans defended three drives from the Crusaders in the 4th quarter to progress on their way to a European title.
Finally, the Crusaders managed to claim the big prize. In 1991 the Amsterdam Crusaders won Eurobowl V with a 21-20 win over Berlin Adler in Offenbach, with safety Najib Nakad blocking a Berlin PAT to secure a hard-fought win. Later that year the Amsterdam Crusaders played a regular season game against San Francisco State University. A year later, Eurobowl VI was added to the "Cru" trophy cabinet with a 42-21 win over Torino Giaguari(Italy) at Upsala, Sweden. Incredibly, 1993 saw the Crusaders reach their 5th Eurobowl final in six years, this time in the illustrious setting of the Heysel Stadium, Brussels. In a fantastic game, the London Olympians proved too strong for the Crusaders.
1994 saw the Amsterdam Crusaders leave the Dutch competition to join the Football League of Europe. Regular games against Finnish, English, German, Italian and Swedish teams made for a fascinating competition. However, this league lasted only two seasons before folding due to large costs.
The "Cru" returned to Dutch competition in 1996 and set about building up the club to include flag football, youth and senior teams.
During the lifetime of the NFL Europe, the Amsterdam Crusaders provided the Amsterdam Admirals with the bulk of national players coming out of the Netherlands. Current coaches Marcus Muler and Robert von Gerhardt were employed by the Amsterdam Admirals as national coaches, and defensive backs coach Reyhan Agaoglu and defensive line coach Arnold Galesloot are former Admirals players. Amsterdam Crusader coaches have often been involved in the coaching staff of the Dutch Lions - the Netherlands' national team.
The Amsterdam Crusaders are the only Dutch team that have produced an NFL player. Romeo Bandison played for the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins of the NFL and coached at Boise State University before taking his current role at Colorado University.
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