Home » End of an era: Bart Vriends leaves Sparta June 29, 2024 – 10:00 AM
After eight seasons, 215 official matches, a promotion and three Play-Offs for European Football, Bart Vriends is leaving Sparta Rotterdam. The 33-year-old defender is embarking on a foreign adventure.
In the summer of 2016, Vriends switched from Go Ahead Eagles to Sparta, the then champion of the Jupiler League. After two seasons he became a regular starter and an important part of the team that started its upward trajectory under the leadership of Henk Fraser. This started in 2019 with promotion to the Eredivisie, an eleventh place in the season of the return to the highest level and an eighth place in the 2020/2021 season. This was, at that time, the club’s best season in 25 years. Over the past two seasons, Sparta and Vriends managed to achieve an even higher number of points, which resulted in a sixth and eighth place in the final ranking. In the last season, Vriends was also captain of Jeroen Rijsdijk’s team.
With 215 official matches, Vriends has become part of the club’s history, and even somewhat part of the stadium; Earlier this month he laid his own stone in the Wall of Legends and Fans. It was the first time in twenty years that a player passed the 200-match mark, current goalkeeping coach Frank Kooiman was the last to do so. Vriends received a shirt with 215 from Gerard Nijkamp, Manfred Laros presented a Delft blue plate for special services to the club.
Vriends responds to his departure: ‘I have had a great time at Sparta in recent seasons. I was in talks with the club to stay longer and was open to that, but I have always wanted to embark on an adventure abroad. Now a great opportunity arose, which I had to seize. My time at Sparta was unforgettable, saying goodbye is hard and I will definitely miss it. That is because of all the people involved with the club, from the players, staff, organization and supporters, who speak to me everywhere in the city. I think it is great that I notice that it is granted to me and I will definitely continue to follow Sparta.’
Gerard Nijkamp: ‘Bart has become a figurehead for the club in recent years. As an experienced player, he has been of great value to Sparta, both on and off the pitch, and has left his mark on the performances. We would have liked to keep him longer, but understand that he wants to take this step, so we would like to wish him all the luck and success on this wonderful adventure.’
