PSV Eindhoven

On December 12, 1910, Philips employees, with the full cooperation of the company’s management, formed the so-called Philips Elftal (Philips eleven), laying the foundation for PSV. In early 1911 the team played its first match, against Hollandia from neighboring Woensel, on Frederiklaan in Eindhoven, where the Philips Stadion now stands; the kickoff was taken by Frits PhilipsFrits PhilipsFrits Philips (1905–2005) was a Dutch engineer and entrepreneur, the only son of Anton Philips, who served as president of Philips from 1961 to 1971; he stayed in Eindhoven to run the company during the German occupation in World War II and was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations in 1996.Open the full entry, then five years old.⁠[1]

On August 31, 1913, PSV was officially founded as a sports association of and for employees of N.V. Philips’ GloeilampenfabriekenPhilipsPhilips (Koninklijke Philips N.V.) is a health technology company founded in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father, Frederik Philips, and now headquartered in Amsterdam; it was long known for lighting and consumer electronics such as the compact cassette and the CD, and was one of TSMC’s founding shareholders.Open the full entry, with its home in Eindhoven. On October 22, 1913, Philips’ football side joined the umbrella Philips Sport Vereniging.⁠[1][2]

PSV reached the Dutch top level for the first time in 1921/22, was relegated three years later in 1924/25, and returned to the top level in 1926.⁠[1]

Until 1928 PSV was purely a company football club for Philips employees; only afterwards were people from outside the company allowed to play for it. PSV then immediately won the national championship competition in 1928/29, becoming champion of the Netherlands for the first time.⁠[1]

As winner of the 1955/56 professional competition, PSV became the first Dutch representative in the European Cup, played in 1956/57.⁠[1]

Under coach Kees Rijvers, PSV reached the 1977/78 UEFA Cup final. After a goalless first leg against SC Bastia in Corsica on April 26, 1978, PSV won the home second leg 3–0 on May 9, with goals from Willy van de Kerkhof, Gerrie Deijkers and Willy van der Kuijlen, becoming the third Dutch side to win a European cup. The squad included the Van de Kerkhof twins, Willy and René, signed from Enschede, and captain Willy van der Kuijlen.⁠[3][4][5]

In 1987/88 Guus Hiddink’s PSV, already domestic double winners, drew 0–0 with SL Benfica after extra time in the European Cup final at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart and won 6–5 on penalties, with goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen saving from Veloso. PSV thus joined Celtic FC and AFC Ajax as clubs to have achieved the treble. Key players included Hans van Breukelen, Ronald Koeman, Søren Lerby, Gerald Vanenburg and Wim Kieft.⁠[6]

After 1988 PSV signed Romário; in the early 1990s the team was managed by Bobby Robson and later again by Guus Hiddink. Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luiz Nazário de Lima) followed Romário to PSV.⁠[7]

In 1999 PSV’s commercial activities were placed in a public limited company (naamloze vennootschap); all but one of its shares are held by the Stichting PSV Voetbal foundation, with the remaining share held by the football club PSV Eindhoven.⁠[2]

In 2002/03 PSV secured its 17th national league title after a 0–0 draw with FC Groningen. Its home ground, the Philips Stadion, then held about 35,000, and the squad included Mark van Bommel, Mateja Kežman, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Dennis Rommedahl.⁠[7]

Amid financial difficulties, including a €17.5 million loss in 2009/10, the municipality of Eindhoven agreed in May 2011 to buy the land under the Philips Stadion and the De Herdgang training complex for €48,385,000, with the proceeds to be used only to repay debt and restructure capital; PSV leased the land back for 40 years at about €2.46 million a year. That year Philips, along with banks, also provided new loans or adjusted existing loans to PSV.⁠[8][2]

It was announced in April 2016 that Philips’ 33-year run as PSV’s shirt sponsor would end that summer, with Energiedirect, part of Essent, taking over in a three-year deal worth €18 million. Philips said it was stepping back not for financial reasons but because the move fitted the organizational changes it was undergoing.⁠[9]

On July 4, 2016, the European Commission decided that Eindhoven’s 2011 land transaction did not constitute state aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, because the municipality had acted as a hypothetical private investor would in a comparable situation.⁠[2]

In the summer of 2023 Peter Bosz became PSV’s head coach.⁠[10]

On May 5, 2024, needing only a point, PSV beat Sparta 4–2 at home to become Dutch champions for the 25th time, the club’s first title in six years.⁠[11]

In 2024/25, after Ajax squandered a nine-point lead late in the season, PSV won 3–1 away at Sparta Rotterdam to clinch its 26th Eredivisie title.⁠[12]

On February 1, 2026, Peter Bosz announced that he would extend his expiring contract by two seasons, to mid-2028. Since arriving in the summer of 2023 he had led the club to two league titles and two Johan Cruijff Schalen (Dutch Super Cups).⁠[10]

PSV beat Utrecht 4–3 on April 4, 2026, and the next day second-placed Feyenoord was held 0–0 at Volendam, giving PSV an unassailable 17-point lead with five rounds left and its third straight and 27th overall title. PSV had 71 points after 29 of 34 matchdays; no other Eredivisie team had won the title as early in the year.⁠[13][14]

PSV took part in the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League, with opponents including Shakhtar, Leipzig, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Viking and Stuttgart. On October 20, 2026, a lone goal by Guus Til gave PSV its first Champions League win of the season, away to FC Porto, leaving it 16th of 36 teams with one win, one draw and one defeat. The previous weekend PSV had suffered a surprise league defeat to ADO Den Haag, and at that point Feyenoord led Bosz’s side by four points in the Eredivisie.⁠[15][16]

PSV Eindhoven: Official website: https://www.psv.nl/ (opens in a new window)⁠[1]