Just three years after being promoted to the top echelon of Dutch football, Feyenoord achieved their first honour by capturing the 1924 national league championship. What followed was a string of successes in the latter half of the 1920’s. Feyenoord claimed divisional titles in 1926,1927,1928 and 1929, along with a second national championship in 1928. They then won their first Dutch Cup by toppling Excelsior in a Rotterdam derby match in 1930. Feyenoord continued to dominate their division with three consecutive titles, however they remained winless in subsequent championship finals. It wasn’t until 5 years after their first domestic cup win that Feyenoord lifted the Dutch Cup again, with victory over Helmond Sport.

 

By that point in time, Feyenoord had attracted more and more fans to their ground at Kromme Zandweg, plus attendees would often find their view of the game obstructed by large posts that held the roof up, so it was decided that a new facility should be built. It was officially named Feijenoord Stadion, but became colloquially known as “Der Kuip”, meaning “The Tub”, and unlike any other stadium in Europe at the time, it featured two free hanging tiers with no obstructions blocking the view. Feyenoord played their first match there on 27th March, 1937 against Beerschot, a 5-2 win with Leen Vente scoring the first goal at the new ground. With another three divisional titles in a row from 1936 to 1938 and their third and forth national championships coming in these years, they were some of the best times for the club.

 

Unfortunately, these were followed by some of the most difficult times, when De Kuip was occupied by the Nazis, who had plans to tear the entire stadium down for scrap. During this time when the Netherlands was occupied by Germany, the Dutch football leagues continued and Feyenoord kept playing, however their home games were moved to Sparta Rotterdam’s Kasteel, and occasionally at their former ground Kromme Zandweg when Kasteel was unavailable. Feyenoord again won a divisional title with a national championship in 1940, their fifth national title. This was in the same year that the Battle for Rotterdam occurred, with Germany invading the Netherlands and being held at bay in Rotterdam by the Dutch Army until the entire city was decimated by German aerial bombing. 97 tonnes of bombs were dropped by 80 German aircraft, right into the heart of Feyenoord’s city and a square mile of the city was immediately levelled or burnt to the ground by uncontrollable fires that followed, and 1,000 people were killed. Play was eventually halted in 1945 as World War II came to its conclusion. Apart from a divisional championship in 1943, Feyenoord did not play anywhere near as well as they had in previous decades, and they didn’t put up a challenge for any further divisional titles, missing the national playoff rounds as a result.

Achievements: Eredivisie – Champions x5
                         KNVB Cup – Winners x2