Eredivisie: The big clubs get in formation.
The new season may only be six fixtures old, but the 2009-10 Eredivisie is already taking shape and is promising to produce a highly competitive campaign. Judging by how the season has gone so far, last season's champions and runners-up (AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente) will face sterner opposition this time around, and not just from Ajax. Both Feyenoord and PSV have had flying starts and the early signs are that both clubs have the potential to reclaim past glories.
Feyenoord, although classed as one of the big three teams in the Netherlands, are now in their 11th season since they last claimed the title. Recent years have been blighted by financial worries and the selling-off of their star players, as well as being disciplined by Uefa over hooliganism.
Mario Been was officially installed as the new manager during the summer, coming full circle after having spent the majority of his playing career at the club. So far he has had a positive effect, especially when compared with last season when Feyenoord finished a lowly 7th in the table. Feyenoord are unbeaten after the first 6 games and veteran players are a strong characteristic of the squad.
The presence of the prolific Roy Makaay is crucial, but so far this campaign has all been about Jon Dahl Tomasson and Jonathan de Guzmán, both are scoring goals regularly. Today was no different as Feyenoord negotiated a 3-2 away win over Willem II, with Tomasson grabbing a brace and de Guzmán the winner. Meanwhile Willem II have 1 win and 5 defeats to show from the opening 6 league matches.
PSV Eindhoven are also unbeaten up to this point, since drawing their opening 2 Eredivisie fixtures they have gone on to win their next four in a row. Culminating in yesterday's comprehensive home defeat of Roda JC, 3-0. Just as with Feyenoord it seems that PSV have been galvanised by the presence of a new manager.
Fred Rutten is the new man at the helm and like PSV he too is looking to re-establish himself after a setback last season. Rutten was Steve McClaren's predecessor at FC Twente and his success there had led to him being appointed as FC Schalke 04's manager last term. Things did not turn out well for him though and he was eventually sacked before completing his first campaign.
Back in Eindhoven the magic is returning for Rutten, although they have been blessed with a fixture list that has lined up a selection of the league's weaker teams to start with. The biggest test they have faced so far was travelling away to FC Twente about a month ago, with Rutten taking a team back to face his former employers for the first time, a tight affair was reflected by the 1-1 outcome.
Which brings us to FC Twente and McClaren, his team are third in the Eredivisie and like Feyenoord and PSV they remain unbeaten. The start to his second season in the Netherlands has been very similar to his first, his team have played confidently and more importantly have a knack for securing results. Say it quietly, but FC Twente are fashionable favourites for the Eredivisie this time around.
The initial scepticism that greeted his appointment a little over a year ago has melted away and been replaced with the fans chanting his name and optimism at a new level. As mentioned they have already faced PSV and drawn, just before the international break they travelled to Feyenoord and were denied a victory by an equaliser from Roy Makaay deep into stoppage time.
Those results have helped to fuel the expectation that FC Twente are well matched to the traditional big clubs in the Netherlands. Yesterday they dispatched FC Utrecht 3-2, and not for the first time they snatched a result with time running out. The impressive summer signing Bryan Ruiz González secured the win in the 91st minute, smashing in a left-footed volley for his third goal in six games.
Ajax on the other hand are fourth in the Eredivisie; and have also taken the route to supposed success by appointing a new manager during the summer. Martin Jol may have found the ideal job, after he was hounded out of Tottenham he turned up at Hamburg last season and flirted with winning the Bundesliga. His consistent over-achievement at previous clubs clearly appealed to Ajax, who have been without a league title since the 2003-04 season.
The club from Amsterdam have started the season brightly, with the only difference being the fact that they have lost a game. The defeat came at the hands of PSV in mid-August, with the final result a 4-3 away loss. The game tossed and turned as Ajax led 1-0 and 2-1, but they were slowly worn down by their opponents and ended up with half their team on yellow cards.
Aside from that, Ajax supporters will still be enthused by their new beginning under Jol. It is clear that the team are playing with much more confidence and belief than they ever did during the tenure of Marco van Basten, where it was not unusual for Ajax to suffer heavy defeats. This season Ajax are scoring goals at will and have managed 18 in their opening 6 matches!
On Sunday afternoon they laid down a marker by romping to a 6-0 home victory over NAC Breda. All the more impressive when you consider that NAC have started the season quite well and are still eighth despite such a thrashing. It may be a little early to speculate but Ajax look ominously strong, though that will count for nothing if they lose the big games.
Further down the table and to last year’s dominant champions, AZ Alkmaar. Like everyone of the top five teams bar FC Twente, AZ have got a new manager in place in the guise of Ronald Koeman. The defence of their title has got off to a reasonable if not an excellent start, with 4 wins and 2 losses.
Of concern is that the 2 defeats AZ have fallen to, have been to unheralded opponents. Firstly Heracles shocked the title-holders on the opening weekend of the season (3-2), and yesterday they were outplayed by ADO Den Haag and lost 2-1.
Most worrying for Koeman would have been the shambles in defence that contributed to both of ADO Den Haag's goals, Simon Poulsen was particularly sluggish in reacting to the through ball that made it 1-0. Koeman has a lot to live up to following on from Louis van Gaal, and the legacy that peaked with their march to the Eredivisie title last season. On the evidence so far AZ will not be celebrating consecutive championships, but more likely will finish in the top five instead.
Looking at the wrong end of the table, RKC Waalwijk look hopelessly out of their depth having won promotion last season. They have begun with 6 defeats out of 6, although they have only been humiliated by Ajax and AZ. But they do seem to lack the necessary firepower to earn them enough wins over the season's duration.
The Eredivisie then has kicked-off in good style, and whilst it may lack some of the glamour and big name players from Europe's more popular leagues, it is certainly awash with goals and subplots. Also intriguing is the return to form of Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, along with Ajax and FC Twente they are the genuine title-challengers for 2009-10. We shall see if Steve McClaren can possibly emulate the late, great Sir Bobby Robson and win the Eredivisie- going Dutch looks like excellent rehab!
Feyenoord, although classed as one of the big three teams in the Netherlands, are now in their 11th season since they last claimed the title. Recent years have been blighted by financial worries and the selling-off of their star players, as well as being disciplined by Uefa over hooliganism.
Mario Been was officially installed as the new manager during the summer, coming full circle after having spent the majority of his playing career at the club. So far he has had a positive effect, especially when compared with last season when Feyenoord finished a lowly 7th in the table. Feyenoord are unbeaten after the first 6 games and veteran players are a strong characteristic of the squad.
The presence of the prolific Roy Makaay is crucial, but so far this campaign has all been about Jon Dahl Tomasson and Jonathan de Guzmán, both are scoring goals regularly. Today was no different as Feyenoord negotiated a 3-2 away win over Willem II, with Tomasson grabbing a brace and de Guzmán the winner. Meanwhile Willem II have 1 win and 5 defeats to show from the opening 6 league matches.
PSV Eindhoven are also unbeaten up to this point, since drawing their opening 2 Eredivisie fixtures they have gone on to win their next four in a row. Culminating in yesterday's comprehensive home defeat of Roda JC, 3-0. Just as with Feyenoord it seems that PSV have been galvanised by the presence of a new manager.
Fred Rutten is the new man at the helm and like PSV he too is looking to re-establish himself after a setback last season. Rutten was Steve McClaren's predecessor at FC Twente and his success there had led to him being appointed as FC Schalke 04's manager last term. Things did not turn out well for him though and he was eventually sacked before completing his first campaign.
Back in Eindhoven the magic is returning for Rutten, although they have been blessed with a fixture list that has lined up a selection of the league's weaker teams to start with. The biggest test they have faced so far was travelling away to FC Twente about a month ago, with Rutten taking a team back to face his former employers for the first time, a tight affair was reflected by the 1-1 outcome.
Which brings us to FC Twente and McClaren, his team are third in the Eredivisie and like Feyenoord and PSV they remain unbeaten. The start to his second season in the Netherlands has been very similar to his first, his team have played confidently and more importantly have a knack for securing results. Say it quietly, but FC Twente are fashionable favourites for the Eredivisie this time around.
The initial scepticism that greeted his appointment a little over a year ago has melted away and been replaced with the fans chanting his name and optimism at a new level. As mentioned they have already faced PSV and drawn, just before the international break they travelled to Feyenoord and were denied a victory by an equaliser from Roy Makaay deep into stoppage time.
Those results have helped to fuel the expectation that FC Twente are well matched to the traditional big clubs in the Netherlands. Yesterday they dispatched FC Utrecht 3-2, and not for the first time they snatched a result with time running out. The impressive summer signing Bryan Ruiz González secured the win in the 91st minute, smashing in a left-footed volley for his third goal in six games.
Ajax on the other hand are fourth in the Eredivisie; and have also taken the route to supposed success by appointing a new manager during the summer. Martin Jol may have found the ideal job, after he was hounded out of Tottenham he turned up at Hamburg last season and flirted with winning the Bundesliga. His consistent over-achievement at previous clubs clearly appealed to Ajax, who have been without a league title since the 2003-04 season.
The club from Amsterdam have started the season brightly, with the only difference being the fact that they have lost a game. The defeat came at the hands of PSV in mid-August, with the final result a 4-3 away loss. The game tossed and turned as Ajax led 1-0 and 2-1, but they were slowly worn down by their opponents and ended up with half their team on yellow cards.
Aside from that, Ajax supporters will still be enthused by their new beginning under Jol. It is clear that the team are playing with much more confidence and belief than they ever did during the tenure of Marco van Basten, where it was not unusual for Ajax to suffer heavy defeats. This season Ajax are scoring goals at will and have managed 18 in their opening 6 matches!
On Sunday afternoon they laid down a marker by romping to a 6-0 home victory over NAC Breda. All the more impressive when you consider that NAC have started the season quite well and are still eighth despite such a thrashing. It may be a little early to speculate but Ajax look ominously strong, though that will count for nothing if they lose the big games.
Further down the table and to last year’s dominant champions, AZ Alkmaar. Like everyone of the top five teams bar FC Twente, AZ have got a new manager in place in the guise of Ronald Koeman. The defence of their title has got off to a reasonable if not an excellent start, with 4 wins and 2 losses.
Of concern is that the 2 defeats AZ have fallen to, have been to unheralded opponents. Firstly Heracles shocked the title-holders on the opening weekend of the season (3-2), and yesterday they were outplayed by ADO Den Haag and lost 2-1.
Most worrying for Koeman would have been the shambles in defence that contributed to both of ADO Den Haag's goals, Simon Poulsen was particularly sluggish in reacting to the through ball that made it 1-0. Koeman has a lot to live up to following on from Louis van Gaal, and the legacy that peaked with their march to the Eredivisie title last season. On the evidence so far AZ will not be celebrating consecutive championships, but more likely will finish in the top five instead.
Looking at the wrong end of the table, RKC Waalwijk look hopelessly out of their depth having won promotion last season. They have begun with 6 defeats out of 6, although they have only been humiliated by Ajax and AZ. But they do seem to lack the necessary firepower to earn them enough wins over the season's duration.
The Eredivisie then has kicked-off in good style, and whilst it may lack some of the glamour and big name players from Europe's more popular leagues, it is certainly awash with goals and subplots. Also intriguing is the return to form of Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, along with Ajax and FC Twente they are the genuine title-challengers for 2009-10. We shall see if Steve McClaren can possibly emulate the late, great Sir Bobby Robson and win the Eredivisie- going Dutch looks like excellent rehab!
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