The club was formed in 1970 as a merger between local clubs VV DOS, USV Elinkwijk and Velox. They are the only team outside the big three (Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord) to have never been relegated. The club has won three national cup tournaments in 1985, 2003 and 2004, also winning the Johan Cruyff Shield in 2004. When FC Utrecht was founded in 1970, the city coat of arms of the city of Utrecht, consisting of two diagonal red and white surfaces, was chosen as the emblem of the new club. In 1983 – after the introduction of shirt sponsorship in professional football – black was replaced by blue, as that was the house color of main and shirt sponsor Nissan Motors. Since then, the logo has remained unchanged. Because there are no major clubs within the region, Utrecht lacks a real classic rival. For Utrecht supporters, however, Ajax is the most important opponent, and matches between both teams are always very loaded.
