the Swedish striker Marcus Berg—having scored 44 goals in 69 matches—to Hamburger SV for a then-club record fee of 10.5 million euros. The following year, Jans left the club and went to local rivals Heerenveen; his successor was former Groningen player Pieter Huistra. First major honour (2010–present) Under Huistra, the team finished 5th in 2010–11 and reached the European competition play-off final; Groningen turned around a 5–1 deficit against ADO Den Haag but lost after a penalty shootout. In 2013–14, Groningen won the European competition play-off final under coach Erwin van de Looi and qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, but lost against Aberdeen in the second qualifying round. Groningen claimed their first major honour during the season, however, defeating PEC Zwolle 2–0 in the 2015 KNVB Cup Final. The side became the third Groningen-based team to win a major honour, after Be Quick won the 1919–20 Dutch League Championship and Velocitas claimed the 1933–34 KNVB Cup. By winning the cup, Groningen qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage, but gained only two points from six matches and finished the group in bottom place. In 2019, —Groningen's CEO since 1996 and the longest-serving director in Dutch professional football—stepped down and was replaced by Excelsior's Wouter Gudde. In 2020, Arjen Robben came out of retirement and returned to Groningen as a player; Robben made seven appearances for the club before retiring again in 2021. Crest and colours Shortly after Groningen were founded in June 1971, Nieuwsblad van het Noorden organised a competition to design a crest for the club. The draft of 21-year-old Reint Rozema, a designer at a local printing house, was chosen: an abstract letter "G", referring to "Groningen". In 1993, board member Jos Smulders proposed the addition of a Pegasus to the badge in order to give the Groningen team "more dynamism and aggression"; in 1996, the Pegasus was removed and the original crest was restored. Groningen's colours have been green and white since the club's foundation, derived from the city's coat of arms. During their first seasons, the team also played several matches in a purple kit. Groningen's jerseys were manufactured by local companies until 1975, when Adidas became the first to have its logo on the club's shirt. The team's first kit sponsor was AGO in 1982. Since then, the club has had a variety of kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors. Until the