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HISTORY Together with the Rotterdam Trojans and Alphen Eagles , Amsterdam Crusaders are the oldest American Football team in the Netherlands . The Crusaders were founded on 6th September 1984, when several players of the former Amsterdam Rams decided it was time to have another team in Amsterdam. In the years that followed they have grown into a team capable of playing at a national and international level. The 1980s saw frequent battles with fierce rivals Amsterdam Rams , The Hague Raiders and Utrecht Vikings for places in the Tulip Bowl and Eurobowl . The Crusaders joined the European elite by reaching the Eurobowl final in 1988, only to lose against the Helsinki Roosters who ran a power wishbone attack. The following year, Amsterdam again reach 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 Adler 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 . 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, youth and senior teams. Since the emergence of the NFL Europe , the Amsterdam Crusaders have 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 co-ordinator Reyhan Agoaglu is a former Admirals player. Amsterdam Crusader coaches have always been involved in the coaching staff of the Dutch Lions - the Netherlands' national team. In recent years Amsterdam Crusaders have dominated the American Football Bond Nederland competition, having won the last 5 national titles. In 2006 they posted their first undefeated season in many years, but were made to fight for the ultimate crown by the Delft Dragons , who were only defeated in overtime - the first time this has occurred in the Tulip Bowl's history. In 2006 Amsterdam returned to European competition by entering the EFAF Cup . The Crusaders were given a tough draw and lost their group games 23-0 to 2005 finalists Templiers D'Elancourt and 38-14 to eventual semi-finalists Zurich Renegades . In 2007 the Crusaders were handed a tough EFAF Cup draw, with an away trip to Oslo Vikings followed by a home matchup vs the German Football League 's Berlin Adler . Amsterdam provided a surprise result in the opening game, defeating the Vikings 27-21 only two weeks after Oslo had defeated Berlin in Germany, but a 34-6 to the Adler in Amsterdam meant they failed to reach the semi-final. Remarkably, the Amsterdam Crusaders have failed to reach the Tulip Bowl only three times (1986, 1992 and 2001) in the 20 seasons they have competed in the Dutch domestic league (did not compete in 1994 and 1995 due to participation in Football League Of Europe ). In 2007 they are attempting to become the first team in Dutch American Football History to win 6 national titles in a row. The Amsterdam Crusaders are the only Dutch team that have produced an NFL player. Romeo Bandison played for the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins and coached at Boise State University before taking his current role at Colorado University. NOTABLE FORMER PLAYERS SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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