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Dutch football : Holland Casino Eredivisie league 2008/2009 season preview

PSV clinch 4th straight championship

PSV Eindhoven clinched their fourth Dutch league title in a row with a 1-0 win at Vitesse Arnhem. PSV ended the 2007/08 campaign with 72 points, three ahead of rivals Ajax Amsterdam, who finished second in the standings despite beating Heracles 5-1. It was the second year running the title race had come down to a nerve-racking final day with PSV triumphant again to secure a place in the next season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

  • Champions: PSV Eindhoven (Champions League)
  • Dutch Cup winners: Twente (UEFA Cup)
  • Relegated: Venlo, Excelsior
  • Promoted: Den Haag, Volendam.

Champions PSV Eindhoven qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, while Feyenoord reached the UEFA Cup by winning the Dutch Cup. Regular season runners-up Ajax, along with Breda, Twente and Heerenveen, secured the playoffs for the Netherlands' remaining UEFA Champions League berth. Excelsior and Venlo were relegated, while De Graafschap remain in the Dutch top flight by completing a 3-1 aggregate win against Zwolle in a promotion/relegation play-off.

Dutch play-offs

Twente drew 0-0 with Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch playoff final, second leg, to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round 2-1 on aggregate. Twente will play in Europe's premier cup competition for the first time while Ajax, who finished the regular season as runners-up to PSV Eindhoven, have to settle for the UEFA Cup. Nijmegen will join the Amsterdam club in that competition as they won the other play-off match against Breda. Heerenveen also earned a UEFA Cup berth through the play-offs.

teamstitles2003/042004/052005/062006/072007/08
Ajax2912422
PSV Eindhoven2121111
Feyenoord1434376
Sparta6--141313
Willem II3710171515
Den Haag215141518-
Heracles2--131414
AZ Alkmaar1532311
NAC Breda191516113
Heerenveen-45755
Roda-68869
Twente-86944
Utrecht-10116910
NEC Nijmegen-141310108
Groningen-1312587
Vitesse-167111212
De Graafschap--17--16
Volendam-17----

The table shows the overall number of titles for each club in Dutch First Division (Holland Casino Eredivisie) since 1897, and their league standings in the last five seasons.

Marco Van Basten wants quick results at Ajax

Ajax have won two domestic titles in the last 10 years but PSV Eindhoven have won seven in the same period. The four-time European champions have not won the Dutch league since 2004 and have not won a European title since the 1995 Champions League. Last term, Ajax have reached the Dutch play-off final for a UEFA Champions League qualifying round place for the third year running, but lost to Twente. Ajax have also been knocked out of last season's UEFA Cup in October, their worst European campaign in 20 years. After a lack of success over the past years, Marco van Basten has been named as the new coach. He stepped down as Netherlands boss after the European Championship in June. Van Basten has agreed to a four-year contract with Ajax.

This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 Dutch First Division season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Netherlands page.

Van Basten had also been tipped as a possible coach for Barcelona, but he emerged as the favorite to take over Ajax after Johan Cruyff, a close friend of Van Basten, agreed to help overhaul the ailing club. Just several weeks later, Cruyff has withdrawn from his planned role as Ajax technical adviser. The Dutch legend has relinquished his slated position because of a difference of opinion over the future direction of the famous Ajax academy. Van Basten told Ajax's website: "What Johan wanted to do with the Ajax youth department is going too fast for me, it is too drastic. I am pretty satisfied with the way it is going now and I first want to look at it myself and experience it myself, and then I want to do it my own way at the right tempo."

#teampoints g.dif. win-draw-loss
1PSV724121-9-4 (34)
2Ajax694920-9-5 (34)
3Breda63819-6-9 (34)
4Twente622017-11-6 (34)
5Heerenven604018-6-10 (34)
6Feyenord602318-6-10 (34)
7Groningen51-115-6-13 (34)
8Nijmegen49-114-7-13 (34)
9Roda47012-11-11 (34)
10Utrecht46413-7-14 (34)
11Alkmaar43-511-10-13 (34)
12Vitese43-912-7-15 (34)
13Sparta34-249-7-18 (34)
14Heracles32-308-8-18 (34)
15Willem II31-98-7-19 (34)
16DeGraaf.30-317-9-18 (34)
17Venlo29-327-8-19 (34)
18Excelsior27-437-6-21 (34)

The 2007/2008 regular season standings.

More coaching changes

Twente have appointed former England manager Steve McClaren as the new coach. McClaren has agreed a two-year deal with the Eredivisie club, who were without a coach after Fred Rutten left for Schalke on July 1. McClaren was fired by England after the rain-soaked 3-2 home loss to Croatia in the final round of EURO 2008 qualifying, with McClaren attracting widespread ridicule for sheltering under an umbrella, and no Premier League club was willing to test their fans' resolve by appointing him.

Heerenveen have appointed Trond Sollied as coach on a two-year contract. At the conclusion of last campaign, the 48-year-old Norwegian ended his season-long second spell at Belgian top flight club Gent. Sollied claimed five league titles with Rosenborg, Brugge and Olympiacos. He replaces Gert Jan Verbeek, whose contract expired at the end of last season. Verbeek has enjoyed a successful spell after arriving in the summer of 2004, but Heerenveen's board have decided on a change of direction. Under Verbeek, Heerenveen have finished fifth three times and seventh once.

Meanwhile, Verbeek replaces Bert van Marwijk as coach of Feyenoord. With van Marwijk taking over from Marco van Basten as Netherlands coach on in July, the Rotterdam club have named Verbeek as their new boss on a three-year contract. Robert Maaskant has signed a two-year deal to take over at Breda after coach Ernie Brandts' contract expired in the summer. The 39-year-old Maaskant coached MVV in the Dutch second division. Louis van Gaal will stay on as coach of AZ Alkmaar this season after reversing an initial decision to step down.

teamoddsteamodds
Ajax Amsterdam2.25PSV Eindhoven2.25
Feyenoord Rotterdam6.5AZ Alkmaar26
Twente41Heerenveen51
Breda67Groningen67
Nijmegen80Vitesse Arnhem150
Utrecht150Roda150
Den Haag350Willem II Tilburg500
Volendam500Sparta Rotterdam500
De Graafschap500Heracles Almelo750
The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2009/09 Dutch football league

Dutch Cup finals in last five years

2004   Utrecht - Twente   1:0
2005   PSV Eindhoven - Willem II   4:0
2006   Ajax - PSV Eindhoven   2:1
2007   Ajax - AZ Alkmaar   1:1   (8:7 on penalties)
2008   Feyenoord - Roda   2:0

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key players

Ajax Amsterdam

Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (€6.5m); Defense: Bruno Ramon Silva (€4m), Thomas Vermaelen (€3.5m), Jan Vertonghen (€3.5m); Midfield: Gabri (€4.8m), Urby Emanuelson (€4m), Rasmus Lindgren (€3.5m); Forward: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (€18.5m), Luis Suarez (€10m), Miralem Sulejmani (€8.5m), Dario Cvitanich (€6m).

AZ Alkmaar

Goalkeeper Boy Waterman (€2m); Defense: Kew Jaliens (€4m), Sebastien Pocognoli (€4m), Ryan Donk (€3m); Midfield: Maarten Martens (€5.5m), Stijn Schaars (€4.5m), Demy de Zeeuw (€4.5m), David Mendes da Silva (€3.3m), Simon Cziommer (€3m); Forward: Moussa Dembele (€5.5m), Ari (€4m).

Breda

Goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar (€0.9m); Defense: Kurt Elshot (€1m), Patrick Zwaanswijk (€1m), Patrick Mtiliga (€0.9m); Midfield: Ron Stam (€1.5m), Edwin de Graaf (€1.2m), Csaba Feher (€0.7m); Forward: Matthew Amoah (€1.5m), Anthony Lurling (€1.3m), Fouad Idabdelhay (€1m), Joonas Kolkka (€1m).

De Graafschap

Goalkeeper Stefan Postma (€0.6m); Defense: Stephan Keller (€1m), Cerezo Fung a Wing (€0.9m), Resit Schuurman (€0.7m), Purrel Frankel (€0.7m); Midfield: Rogier Meijer (€0.5m), Peter Jungschlager (€0.4m), Leon Hese (€0.4m); Forward: Donny de Groot (€1.2m), Geert den Ouden (€0.9m), Jason Oost (€0.7m).

Den Haag

Goalkeeper Robert Zwinkels (€0.3m); Defense: Pascal Bosschaart (€0.8m), Ahmed Ammi (€0.7m), Virgilio Teixeira (€0.4m); Midfield: Yuri Cornelisse (€0.9m), Aleksandar Rankovic (€0.6m), Richard Knopper (€0.5m), Ekrem Kahya (€0.5m); Forward: Fabio Caracciolo (€0.8m), Rick Hoogendorp (€0.7m), Wesley Verhoek (€0.7m).

Feyenoord Rotterdam

Goalkeeper Henk Timmer (€2m); Defense: Tim de Cler (€5m), Kevin Hofland (€4m), Andre Bahia (€3.8m), Ron Vlaar (€3.5m); Midfield: Jonathan Alexander de Guzman (€6.5m), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (€5.8m), Luigi Bruins (€4.5m), Karim El Ahmadi (€4m); Forward: Roy Makaay (€10m), Jon Dahl Tomasson (€3.5m).

Groningen

Goalkeeper Luciano (€1m); Defense: Matias Cahais (€2.7m), Gibril Sankoh (€2m), Andreas Granqvist (€2m), Sepp De Roover (€1.6m); Midfield: Goran Lovre (€2m), Femi (€1.5m), Evgeniy Levchenko (€1.3m), Martijn Meerdink (€1.1m); Forward: Marcus Berg (€6.5m), Berry Powel (€1.6m).

Heerenveen

Goalkeeper Brian Vandenbussche (€1.8m); Defense: Michael Dingsdag (€3m), Kristian Bak Nielsen (€2m), Michel Breuer (€1m); Midfield: Danijel Pranjic (€6.5m), Michael Bradley (€5.8m), Christian Grindheim (€2.3m), Geert Arend Roorda (€1.2m); Forward: Tarik Elyounoussi (€2.8m), Roy Beerens (€2m), Radoslaw Matusiak (€1.5m).

Heracles

Goalkeeper Martin Pieckenhagen (€0.9m); Defense: Ragnar Klavan (€1.2m), Birger Maertens (€1m), Ymmi Boakye (€0.9m); Midfield: Jan Wuytens (€0.8m), Ricky van den Bergh (€1.1m), Kwame Quansah (€1m), Mark Jan Fledderus (€0.7m), Karim Bridji (€0.5m); Forward: Everton (€1m), Sebastiaan Steur (€0.5m).

Nijmegen

Goalkeeper Gabor Babos (€2m); Defense: Jonas Olsson (€1.4m), Peter Wisgerhof (€1m), Youssef El Akchaoui (€1m), Dani Fernandez (€0.8m); Midfield: Lasse Schone (€1.5m), Arkadiusz Radomski (€1.3m), Lorenzo Davids (€0.9m), Bas Sibum (€0.8m); Forward: Jhonny van Beukering (€1.2m), Tim Janssen (€0.9m).

PSV Eindhoven

Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson (€3m); Defense: Carlos Salcido (€5m), Jeremie Brechet (€4m), Jan Kromkamp (€3m); Midfield: Ibrahim Afellay (€7m), Timmy Simons (€5.5m), Edison Mendez (€4m), Balazs Dzsudzsak (€3.5m), Otman Bakkal (€3.5m); Forward: Danko Lazovic (€6.5m), Danny Koevermans (€5.8m).

Roda Kerkrade

Goalkeeper Bram Castro (€1m); Defense: Mark De Man (€1.8m), Davy De Fauw (€1.5m), Pa-Modou Kah (€1.4m); Midfield: Marcel Meeuwis (€1.8m), Anouar Hadouir (€1.3m), Ruud Vormer (€0.9m), Boldizsar Bodor (€0.9m); Forward: Andres Oper (€2m), Sekou Cisse (€1.2m), Jeanvion Yulu-Matondo (€1.2m).

Sparta Rotterdam

Goalkeeper Harald Wapenaar (€0.5m); Defense: Dele Adeleye (€0.9m), Ruud Knol (€0.7m), Kim Jaggy (€0.5m); Midfield: Yuri Rose (€0.9m), Arne Slot (€0.9m), Sander van Gessel (€0.8m), Karim Touzani (€0.8m), Sani Aruna Kaita (€0.7m); Forward: Charles Dissels (€1m), Rydell Poepon (€0.9m).

Twente

Goalkeeper Sander Boschker (€0.8m); Defense: Rob Wielaert (€1.8m), Edson Braafheid (€1.8m), Slobodan Rajkovic (€1.6m), Douglas (€1m); Midfield: Theo Janssen (€3m), Ismael Cheikh Tiote (€2.3m), Youssouf Hersi (€1.5m); Forward: Blaise Nkufo (€4m), Romano Denneboom (€2.5m), Stijn Huysegems (€2m).

Utrecht

Goalkeeper Michel Vorm (€0.9m); Defense: Tim Cornelisse (€1.8m), Francis Dickoh (€1.1m), Alje Schut (€1m); Midfield: Gregoor van Dijk (€2m), Michael Silberbauer (€1.9m), Lucian Sanmartean (€1.3m), Tom Caluwe (€1m); Forward: Ali Boussaboun (€2m), Leroy George (€1.8m), Morten Skoubo (€1.2m).

Vitesse Arnheim

Goalkeeper Piet Velthuizen (€2.8m); Defense: Paul Verhaegh (€1.3m), Frank van der Struijk (€1.2m), Civard Sprockel (€0.9m), Jeroen Drost (€0.8m); Midfield: Santi Kolk (€2.3m), Abubakari Yakubu (€1.2m), Rogier Molhoek (€1m), Claudemir (€0.7m); Forward: Julian Jenner (€2.3m), Mads Junker (€1.4m).

Volendam

Goalkeeper Jeroen Verhoeven (€0.3m); Defense: Tim Bakens (€0.5m), Gerry Koning (€0.3m), Mathieu Boots (€0.3m); Midfield: Arvid Smit (€0.7m), Paul de Lange (€0.5m), Bernhard Hofstede (€0.5m), Vit Valenta (€0.4m); Forward: Jack Tuyp (€1m), Rowin van Zaanen (€0.4m), Cecilio Lopes (€0.4m).

Willem II Tilburg

Goalkeeper Maikel Aerts (€0.6m); Defense: Jens Janse (€0.8m), Arjan Swinkels (€0.7m); Midfield: Christophe Gregoire (€2.3m), Mohammed Messoudi (€1.8m), Said Boutahar (€1.1m), Ibrahim Kargbo (€1m), Danny Mathijssen (€0.8m); Forward: Darl Robert Douglas (€0.8m), George Mourad (€0.8m), Frank Demouge (€0.7m).

 
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