the Philips Sport Vereniging (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfilɪps ˌspɔrt fəˈreːnəɣɪŋ];[nb 1] English: Philips

Sports Union), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven [ˌpeːjɛsˈfeː
ˈɛintɦoːvə(n)],[nb 2] is a sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands, that plays in the Eredivisie, the
top tier in Dutch football. It is best known for its professional football department, which plays in
the Eredivisie since its inception in 1956. Along with Ajax and Feyenoord, PSV is one of the
country's "big three" clubs that have dominated the Eredivisie.

The club was founded in 1913 as a team for Philips employees. PSV's history contains two
golden eras revolving around the UEFA Cup victory in 1978 and the 1987–88 European Cup
victory as part of the seasonal treble in 1988. The team has won the Eredivisie 24 times, the
KNVB Cup nine times and the Johan Cruyff Shield ten times. Currently (as of Nov 2018), PSV
is 39th on the UEFA club coefficients ranking.[2] Throughout the years, PSV established itself as
a stepping stone for future world class players like Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Romário,
Ronaldo, Phillip Cocu, Jaap Stam, Park Ji-Sung, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Arjen Robben.

Since its foundation, it has played in the Philips Stadion and has upheld its club colours (red and
white). Its elaborate connection with Philips can be witnessed in its sponsoring, shared
technology and board member ties. Fans have named themselves 'boeren' (Dutch pronunciation:
[ˈbuːrə(n)], Dutch for either peasants or farmers), taking pride in Eindhoven's status of being a
provincial city and their Brabantian heritage.
To serve the need for activities with Philips employees, the company founded its own football
team in 1910: the Philips Elftal. Its ground was the Philips Sportpark, located on the same
location as the present day stadium. Financial turmoil and worker strikes led to a quick demise of
the team and in 1913, its successor emerged, Philips Sport Vereniging, founded on 31 August.[3]
It was the day that Philips organized celebrations and sports competitions in light of the
centennial defeat of the French in the Napoleonic Wars. It was not until 1916, however, that the
football department switched its name from Philips Elftal to PSV.[4] Because of World War I, the
first possibility to enter a league was in the 1915–16 season. The club's first ever match was a 3–
2 defeat against Willem II Reserves on 19 September 1915. The team did achieve promotion that
season to a newly created Third Division of the Brabantian FA. Under the guidance of coach
Wout Buitenweg, PSV were promoted in 1918 and 1921 as well, eventually reaching the Eerste
Klasse. The team was relegated in 1925, but its stint in the Second Division only lasted one year
when PSV were promoted again. Since 1926, PSV has always played in the highest possible
domestic league.[5][6][7]

That year, defender Sjef van Run was brought in and a year later Jan van den Broek joined PSV,
two players that would shape the squad in the coming years.[8] Behind the scenes, Frans Otten
became chairman of the entire PSV sports union. He was responsible for bringing the club to a
new level with new accommodations and stadium expansions. After winning the district league
in 1929, PSV entered the championship play-offs. In that competition, it won six out of eight
matches. A 5–1 win against Velocitas from the city of Groningen meant that PSV was crowned
league champions for the first time.[9] In the following three years, PSV won the district league
every year, but it could not win the play-offs until 1935. In that year, the team secured the second
championship ever in a 2–1 victory against DWS.[8]

Due to World War II, attendances decreased significantly and in 1940, PSV player Johan
Brusselers died in combat.[10] After the war, PSV signed two new strikers: Piet Fransen in 1948
and Coen Dillen in 1949.[11] In 1950, PSV got its first post-war success when the team defeated
HFC Haarlem in the KNVB Cup final; the match ended in 4–3 after extra-time.[12] A year later,
PSV won the district title after EVV failed to win their final match. Even though coach Sam
Wadsworth resigned during the championship play-offs, the title was won after a 2–1 win over
Willem II. The 1950–51 season was Dillen's breakthrough, scoring 21 times and earning the
nickname "The Canon".[13] Besides Dillen and Fransen, a memorable player of the early 1950s
success was goalkeeper Lieuwe Steiger, who ended up playing 383 matches for PSV.[14]

In 1955, PSV became the first Dutch club to enter the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The two
matches against Rapid Wien ended in 1–6 and 1–0.[11] Other success in the 1950s remained
absent but in the 1956–57 season, Dillen scored 43 times, a Dutch record that still stands today.
[15]
The approaching 1960s marked a shift in player's heritage: the team went from mostly
Brabantian men to players nationwide. Representative for this policy were defender Roel
Wiersma, who arrived in 1954 and captained the team for a decade, and Piet van der Kuil, who
came from Ajax for the equivalent of €59,000 (PSV's then-highest transfer fee).[16][17] Dillen left
the club in 1961 after being club top scorer every year from 1953 to 1961. In 1962, Otten also
decided to quit as chairman of the sports union. By then, board member Ben van Gelder had
gradually started to mold the club in his way. Throughout the next two decades, he became
responsible for turning PSV into a full-fledged professional organization.

PSV's first crest consisted of a light bulb and the words "Philips Sport" in a circular shape. Its
next incarnation was a shield-shaped logo with red-and-white vertical lines, topped off with the
letters "PSV". The third design of the crest proved to be a durable one; its oval shape, red-and-
white horizontal lines and a flag with the PSV letters incorporated remains used until today. Only
minor changes have occurred: the border color and addition of horseshoe-shaped figures, a circle
around the three letters and the addition of two stars to commemorate winning twenty league
titles. Early incarnations of the oval version also included dots for the abbreviation "P.S.V.". For
the centennial celebrations in 2013, a laurel wreath and the number "100" in gold were
temporarily added to the crest.[69]

The colors red and white were chosen at the founding meeting in 1913 by Jan Willem Hofkes,
the first chairman of the club. He apparently appreciated the contrast between his red raspberry
drink and his white notepad.[4] Inspired by the club colors, the first kit consisted of a red-and-
white vertically striped shirt, black shorts and red-and-white horizontally striped socks. This
combination was worn until the 1970s, when the club switched to a completely red shirt, which
was worn with either white or black shorts. The red kit was changed back to a striped version in
1989. The red-and-white stripes have remained ever since, albeit in very varied adaptations. The
shorts would also often change between black and white. During Ruud Gullit's tenure at PSV, he
personally changed the shorts from black to white, in an attempt to improve the stature of the kit.
[70]
For the centennial celebrations in 2013, PSV have temporarily switched to an all-red jersey
with white shorts and socks. Its design choices were meant to reminisce the kits worn during the
1987–88 season.[71][72]

Because of the close ties with Philips, PSV have had the same jersey sponsor without exception
since 1982, the year jersey sponsorships were introduced in the Eredivisie. This is a record in
Dutch football. Starting in the 2016–17 season, however, Philips will no longer be the main shirt
sponsor. PSV's first clothing sponsor was Le Coq Sportif, from 1970 to 1974, when it switched
to Adidas. They remained sponsor until 1995, when they were replaced by Nike, until Umbro
became the shirt sponsor in 2015, ending a 20-year relationship between PSV and Nike.