Editor’s note: this is very late, but the author was under the weather the past couple days. As they say in Dutch: lastig! (annoying!)
I’ve made a few changes to this blog, hence the 2.0 subtitle. I’m including more structure and a few statistics, allowing you to get a better picture of each game from this blog alone, instead of this merely supplementing your own review of the scores and stats. This started out as a fun hobby, but I’m increasingly feeling like I can make this into something real—a vision prompted by your continued readership and support. Thank you, my friends.
PS: If you don’t read the full thing, I at least recommend scrolling down to the bottom to see this post’s Moment of Nature. It’s the beauty of Dutch soccer, epitomized.
A Look At Each Game
Possession: 52% — 48%
Shots (on goal): 14 shots (7 on goal) — 5 shots (1 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 2.7 — 0.7
Game Highlights (2 min) (hyperlinked goal shortcuts unavailable; no YouTube highlights were posted by either team…)
11’ Heerenveen’s 1-0, a penalty. Scored by striker Dylan Vente 🇸🇷.
54’ Heerenveen’s 2-0. Scored by right defender Oliver Braude 🇳🇴, assisted by winger Jacob Trenskow 🇩🇰.
84’ Heerenveen’s 3-0. Scored by attacker Luca Oyen 🇧🇪, assisted by midfielder Ringo Meerveld 🇳🇱.
88’ Heerenveen’s 4-0. Scored by winger Jacob Trenskow 🇩🇰.
REACTION: Well, it looks like Excelsior’s magical run is over. Their successful start to the season had us wondering if they were going to be the surprise team of the season. Alas; Heerenveen dominated this game. If you watch those short highlights, you’ll see that they’re all of the Frisians. Oyen’s goal is especially sweet, but the highlight on this wet night in Fryslân was the fact that Vente scored his first goal of the season. Yes, it was a penalty, but he’s accumulated 2.8 xG through these nine games, and so it’ll be a huge relief for him and coach Robin Veldman to see the ball go into the net. In the highlights you can see a smile of relief. Heerenveen are unpredictable, but you could make a case that outside of the top four teams, they’re currently the scariest team to face.
The big question: what happened to Excelsior during the international break? Coach Ruben den Uil is good at his job; you would’ve thought that the extra practice time would only mean improvement. But in their two games back they’ve been outscored nine-to-one. I did posit that the break could mess with the momentum a team had built up... Unsure. Hard to say what’s going on—especially since their streamable games in America are few and far between—but with their next league games being against Fortuna, Twente, and Go Ahead, Den Uil needs to figure it out before they sink further down the standings.
Possession: 53% — 47%
Shots (on goal): 14 shots (2 on goal) — 15 shots (4 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 0.6 — 1.1
Game Highlights (8 min)
21’ PSV’s 1-0. Scored by attacker Sven Mijnans 🇳🇱, assisted by attacker Guus Til 🇳🇱.
43’ PSV red card; a second yellow card for Sven Mijnans 🇳🇱.
55’ ADO’s 1-1. Scored by midfielder Juho Kilo 🇫🇮, assisted by striker Yannick Eduardo 🇨🇿.
90+3’ ADO’s 2-1. Scored by midfielder Matěj Sín 🇨🇿, assisted by midfielder Evan Rottier 🇳🇱.
REACTION: Mijnans’ sending off was the story of the game. We talk about a red card meaning that a team is “down to 10 men,” which is true, but goalkeepers are glued to one area of the field. It’s really nine against 10, and that framing more accurately captures the advantage.
ADO are far less individually talented than PSV, but given how well-coached they are by Robin Peter, I thought PSV being down a player turned this into a fair fight. For context, ADO’s entire squad is worth $23.5 million; PSV’s American right-back Sergiño Dest is worth $24.7 million alone.
It would be true to say that PSV gave this game away—they were up 1-0 when the card happened—but that would discount the incredible efforts of ADO. The team from The Hague looked so good after the red card. I mean, just take a peek at this momentum map from the game. The closest PSV got was young substitute Amir Bouhamdi hitting the crossbar from distance on a short-lived attack that pretty much came out of nowhere. Otherwise? Just disappointing. It’s not like a defender was the one sent off, which would cause a little reshuffling of the team. PSV’s dominance of Dutch soccer may be coming to an end.
Possession: 52% — 48%
Shots (on goal): 23 shots (9 on goal) — 21 shots (11 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 1.4 — 3.8
Game Highlights (2 min)
1’ Feyenoord’s 0-1. Scored by winger Gaoussou Diarra 🇲🇱.
21’ Feyenoord’s 0-2. Scored by striker Nacho Ferri 🇪🇸.
30’ Telstar’s 1-2. Scored by midfielder Tyrone Owusu 🇳🇱, assisted by midfielder Noach Shenkman 🇳🇱.
32’ Feyenoord’s 1-3. Scored by attacker Sem Steijn 🇳🇱, assisted by right-back Givairo Read 🇳🇱.
37’ Telstar’s 2-3. Scored by winger Patrick Brouwer 🇳🇱.
57’ Feyenoord’s 2-4, a penalty. Scored by Sem Steijn 🇳🇱.
69’ Telstar’s 3-4. Scored by Noach Shenkman 🇳🇱, assisted by defender Sem Valk 🇳🇱.
REACTION: It’s borderline criminal that Telstar got zero points from this. They absolutely deserved to tie this game. Remember when I said that it was likely that Telstar would pretend they’re just as talented as Feyenoord, and play forward-thinking, attacking soccer? Well, that’s exactly what happened. The first half of this game was one of the most exciting 45 minutes of soccer you’ll ever see.
I cannot tell you how impressed I am with Telstar. That Shenkman guy, who got a goal and an assist against the could-be champions? He was playing semi-professional soccer until Telstar picked him up this past summer. Henk Brugge’s team look just as daring, just as confident, and just as mission-oriented as they did last season under Anthony Correia. Whoever is hiring coaches at the club from Velsen-Zuid deserves a raise. Telstar have no business being this good, and I’m slowly becoming a huge fan of De Witte Leeuwen (The White Lions).
Feyenoord, despite conceding three goals to Telstar, looked incredible. They slowed down in the second half, but they once again showed the chemistry and aplomb that you’d expect from a team that is on top of the standings. They got pretty lucky with that penalty, though—without it, this game may have ended in a tie. But if this week proved anything, it’s that parity in the Eredivisie is at a high point.
Possession: 49% — 51%
Shots (on goal): 22 shots (8 on goal) — 13 shots (4 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 3.6 — 1.6
Game Highlights (9 min)
17’ Willem II’s 0-1. Scored by midfielder Tonny Vilhena 🇳🇱.
39’ Sparta’s 1-1. Scored by midfielder Jens Toornstra 🇳🇱.
50’ Sparta’s 2-1. Scored by right-wingback Lushendry Martes 🇳🇱.
57’ Sparta’s 3-1. Scored by striker Milan Zonneveld 🇳🇱, assisted by Jens Toornstra 🇳🇱.
68’ Willem II’s 3-2. Scored by attacker Uriël van Aalst 🇳🇱, assisted by winger Vito van Crooij 🇳🇱.
REACTION: This game may not have ended 4-0, but this was still the confidence-boosting three points that Sparta needed. There must not be a lot of luck going around Rotterdam these days, because whatever momentum Excelsior lost over the international break has been picked up by Sparta, who are finally looking like the sneaky-good team that we thought they’d be prior to the season.
The purchase of 6’6” striker (I always feel the need to mention his height… there aren’t many players in soccer who are that tall) Milan Zonneveld in February looks like a work of genius; I saw Sparta fans saying that he deserved a statue built. I also have a feeling that Sparta are going to exercise the “buy” option on their loan of PSV’s Isaac Babadi, who clearly benefitted from the three-week break and has looked stellar in these past two games.
As for Willem II… fans were calling for coach John Stegeman’s head, even though I’m not really sure what more he could have done. Yes, if you’re sensing the past tense: Stegeman has lost his job. Willem II are the only team in the league who haven’t won a game, but it’s not like this started with Stegeman. Willem II were in the Eredivisie in the 2024-2025 season before getting relegated, and failed to win a single game after Christmas that season. I guess it’s just hard for Willem II’s GM, former player Freek Heerkens, to look in the eyes of the fans while being dead-last in the standings. Here’s what Heerkens had to say about the firing:
“After our promotion to the Eredivisie, it was our ambition to continue building Willem II’s sporting development with John. That makes this a difficult decision. After a careful evaluation and conversations with each other, we currently see insufficient prospects for continuing to work together. We thank John for his hard work, the enjoyable working relationship, and his commitment to the club.”
Do I think they’ll find someone who will do better, though? I don’t. Who would dare take on this monumental task? I really thought Stegeman was doing a fine job with what he’s got. He deserves credit for the continued development of soon-to-be star Uriël van Aalst, too. Maybe they’ll bring in a young coach with fresh ideas and prove me wrong—with two of their next three games against Cambuur and PEC, they’d better find someone quick so they can take advantage of those opportunities to pick up points.
Possession: 40% — 60%
Shots (on goal): 19 shots (9 on goal) — 18 shots (6 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 1.9 — 2.5
Game Highlights (9 min)
22’ Go Ahead’s 0-1. Scored by striker Stefán Sigurðarson 🇮🇸.
47’ PEC’s 1-1. Scored by striker Sydney van Hooijdonk 🇳🇱, assisted by winger Dylan Mbayo 🇧🇪.
WHAT A GOAL. The son of the legendary Pierre has it in his genes.
58’ PEC’s 2-1. Scored by attacking midfielder Thijs Oosting 🇳🇱.
70’ PEC’s 3-1. Scored by Thijs Oosting 🇳🇱, assisted by left-back Damian van der Haar 🇳🇱.
Imagine scoring two beautiful goals against your dad’s team. Pfff.
89’ PEC’s 4-1. Scored by striker Koen Kostons 🇳🇱, assisted by winger Ibrahim Cissoko 🇬🇳.
REACTION: This was already an interesting game before a ball was kicked. PEC against Go Ahead is known as the “IJsselderby;” the cities that both clubs are from, Zwolle and Deventer, both sit along the river IJssel. It’s been described as the fiercest derby in the Netherlands, on par with the more-famous De Klassieker (The Classic), the rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord. If you’re wondering what the deal is with the “IJ” in the word IJssel—“ij” (pronounced “ai”) is actually classified as a singular letter in Dutch; it gets its own piece in Dutch Scrabble. Since it’s a singular letter, both letters are capitalized. ← I know that sentence totally makes sense.
I’ll be honest: I had literally zero expectation for PEC to win this. They hadn’t scored a goal since September 4th, their coach had been fired with no replacement inbound, and Go Ahead have looked ten times better so far this season. I would’ve bet the farm on Go Ahead after seeing that they were up 1-0 at halftime.
Good thing I’m not a betting man. Can you explain this? I mean, maybe PEC’s current head coaching duo—that’s right, duo—are doing things differently now. Maybe Dennis van der Ree and Maikel van der Werff are benefitting from the “new manager’s(s’?) bounce.” But we’ll see how long this continues for. Maybe they’ll both get to finish the season if they continue snatching points. Regardless, after the season PEC have had, the fans deserved to enjoy a win like this.
What a tough result for Go Ahead, though. Aside from losing the IJsselderby, they’ve had more xG than their opponent in three of their last four games. I’m sure it’ll balance out for them (I hope, for their sake), but they’re going to feel the pressure to get maximum points from their next three games against Telstar, Cambuur, and Excelsior.
If the name Oosting looks familiar to you, that’s because PEC’s man-of-the-match, Thijs Oosting, is the son of Go Ahead coach Joseph Oosting. That’ll make for an awkward dinner table; but this is actually the second time that he’s scored two goals against a team coached by his father. A little extra motivation perhaps!
Possession: 36% — 64%
Shots (on goal): 11 shots (6 on goal) — 7 shots (4 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 1.6 — 1.6
Game Highlights (8 min)
7’ Cambuur’s 1-0. Scored by striker Nicolas Binder 🇦🇹, assisted by winger Jason Çeka 🇩🇪.
The kind of goal you expect to see from Barcelona, not Cambuur. Beautifully done.
26’ AZ’s 1-1. Scored by winger Ro-Zangelo Daal 🇳🇱, assisted by midfielder Peer Koopmeiners 🇳🇱.
STUNNING move by Daal. He had the defender literally spinning.
39’ Cambuur’s 2-1. Scored by winger Ilyès Hamache 🇫🇷, assisted by defender Billy van Duijl 🇳🇱.
53’ Cambuur red card; a second yellow for Devid Eugene Bouah 🇮🇹.
83’ AZ’s 2-2, a penalty. Scored by Mexx Meerdink 🇳🇱.
REACTION: First off: this is a game in which xG can be deceiving, and it’s more useful to look at “non-penalty xG.” Obviously, a penalty kick becomes a goal about three-quarters of the time; take away the xG earned from the penalty, and the non-penalty xG was 1.6 for Cambuur and a measly 0.8 for AZ.
Despite only having the ball a third of the time, Cambuur arguably deserved to win this game. The tie was made more impressive by how Cambuur went down a player after the red card. Yes, the game’s result was reduced from three points to one, but that may have happened regardless, since AZ have that kind of quality anyway. Cambuur will feel extra good about the fact that it took a penalty for AZ to equalize, too. It was definitely deserved—AZ walking out of this game with nothing would’ve been a tad unfair—but my opinion this season has gone from “Cambuur are lucky to have any points at all” to “they look like a tough middle-of-the-standings team.” Not what you’d expect from a newly promoted club!
Poor AZ; this will sting. Similar to Excelsior, the momentum from their high-flying start to the season is gone. They had a chance to put themselves firmly in the title race with Feyenoord and be just one point behind the Rotterdammers. Instead, they’re three points behind. Their next three league games being against Twente, Ajax, and Groningen means that this could unfortunately be the stretch of games that removes them from championship contention.
Possession: 50% — 50%
Shots (on goal): 16 shots (5 on goal) — 15 shots (11 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 2.4 — 3.1
Game Highlights (8 min)
27’ Ajax’s 0-1. Scored by attacker Julian Brandt 🇩🇪.
37’ Ajax’s 0-2. Scored by defender Aaron Bouwman 🇳🇱.
49’ Groningen’s 1-2. Scored by striker Brynjólfur Willumsson 🇮🇸.
60’ Ajax’s 1-3. Scored by Julian Brandt 🇩🇪, assisted by left-back Owen Wijndal 🇳🇱.
69’ Ajax’s 1-4. Scored by midfielder Jorthy Mokio 🇨🇩.
75’ Ajax’s 1-5. Scored by Jorthy Mokio 🇨🇩.
83’ Groningen’s 2-5. Scored by striker Thom van Bergen 🇳🇱.
REACTION: This game was defined by a difference in talent. Which is slightly frustrating, because it’s what allows Ajax to get away with subpar performances in the league. The stats all look good: 11 shots on goal, 3.1 Expected Goals. But are Ajax playing at the level of Feyenoord, where the team chemistry is tip-top? No.
Granted, we shouldn’t judge too harshly. It’s true that Ajax coach Míchel Sánchez has had to put together a puzzle of brand new pieces. I always think about ADO coach Robin Peter saying in an interview that he’d want six months to implement his ideas. Which would mean truly judging Sánchez in January… you have to imagine that Ajax GM Jordi Cruijff is going to give the Spaniard the time; despite these early-season struggles, they are still only five points off league leaders Feyenoord and two points off of the Champions League spot (2nd place), which is likely the bare minimum expectation for a squad of this caliber.
Groningen fans shouldn’t feel too upset about this one… although the disappointment will be immeasurable. This was widely anticipated after their blowout of Excelsior last week, and to be down 5-1 at one point… It’s humbling. They’re still in a European playoff spot, albeit barely, but the next few weeks will be make-or-break. They face N.E.C., Sparta, and AZ—teams that don’t have the talent Ajax do, but a tough run of games that will show whether this Groningen team are for real. Although I have a feeling that results for the “Pride of the North” will continue to be unpredictable and inconsistent.
Possession: 74% — 26%
Shots (on goal): 24 shots (7 on goal) — 5 shots (3 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 2.9 — 0.4
Game Highlights (8 min)
18’ Fortuna’s 0-1. Scored by striker Anthony Descotte 🇧🇪, assisted by defender Rodrigo Guth 🇧🇷.
28’ N.E.C.’s 1-1. Scored by right-wingback Kevin Kers 🇳🇱, assisted by attacker Dennis Geiger 🇩🇪.
Straight from the practice field.
48’ Fortuna’s 1-2. Scored by Anthony Descotte 🇧🇪, assisted by midfielder Shiloh Zand 🇳🇱.
90+3’ N.E.C.’s 2-2. Scored by striker Willum Willumsson 🇮🇸, assisted by defender Perr Schuurs 🇳🇱.
The ideal corner.
If you’re wondering, “hey, another Willumsson” from the above Groningen-Ajax game, that’s because these two are brothers!
REACTION: They can’t keep getting away with this! They just can’t! I joked in my preview of this week’s games that Fortuna coach Danny Buijs has made a deal with the devil… but I’m barely even joking anymore! And then the fact that they were seconds away from escaping with a win? My goodness. I can’t help but shake my head. I had predicted a 2-2 tie in this one—well done me—but I should’ve known it would happen despite Fortuna having about a fourth of the ball, three shots on goal, and seven touches in the opposition’s penalty box. Seven! Never before have I wanted to use like 20 exclamation points. Just look at this momentum map from the game! Outrageous!
N.E.C. salvaged a point in the penultimate minute of the game, but boy, there will be plenty of frustration regardless. Newcomer Mitchel Bakker—a defender, albeit an attack-minded one—had a penalty saved in the 91st minute, and so the point-saving goal will have been a great relief… but you have to wonder when things will start clicking for N.E.C. again. Coach Dick Schreuder dropped two-thirds of maybe the oldest attacking front-three ever (leaving 37-year-old Dušan Tadić and 38-year-old Tjaronn Chery on the bench, starting only with 36-year-old youngster Bryan Linssen), but his team still struggled to put the ball into the net, missing two huge chances.
But maybe this game is an anomaly, just like every Fortuna game apparently is… we’ll see how well Fortuna fare on Halloween when they face league-leading Feyenoord. Surely their “luck” won’t matter then?
Possession: 63% — 37%
Shots (on goal): 24 shots (5 on goal) — 16 shots (5 on goal)
Expected Goals (xG): 1.5 — 1.2
Game Highlights (8 min)
28’ Twente’s 1-0. Scored by midfielder Daouda Weidmann 🇫🇷, assisted by left-back Aske Adelgaard 🇩🇰.
What a fantastic shot, wow.
47’ Utrecht’s 1-1. Scored by winger Ángel Alarcon 🇪🇸, assisted by defensive midfielder Arthur Zagré 🇧🇫.
Literally the perfectly aimed shot.
63’ Utrecht’s 1-2. Déjà vu: Scored by Ángel Alarcon 🇪🇸, assisted by Arthur Zagré 🇧🇫.
Déjà vu: another perfect shot, VERY similar to the first! Incredibly done! I bet we haven’t seen the last of this talent from Alarcon!
REACTION: Wow—what a win for Utrecht. I literally said this in my preview:
“Watch [Utrecht] prove me wrong and beat Twente! I almost want to say “I know that won’t happen; if Utrecht win this game I’ll eat my shoe.” But I’d be worried about having to taste leather.”
Hah. Good thing you aren’t getting a video in your inbox of me chowing down on footwear. But I genuinely am shocked; this was arguably the most surprising result of the week (if you forget about PEC). We couldn’t watch this game in America, so it’s hard to know with certainty what went wrong, but from what I can gauge: Twente just couldn’t find the final pass. They created zero “big” chances despite 29 touches in the opposition penalty box (which is a decent amount), and only having five shots on goal from 24 total is a sign of a team that could bake the cake but couldn’t find the icing. If you watch the highlights, they were certainly unfortunate to not have at least another goal.
My question: have Utrecht finally found their magic? If so, then the upcoming games could be fruitful: they face PEC and Telstar next, the latter being a homecoming for former Telstar coach Anthony Correia. Suddenly, Utrecht find themselves in 11th place, three points away from a European playoff spot. A friend of mine who attends every Utrecht home game thinks they’ll finish in one of those playoff spots; if they get at least four points from the next two games (a win against PEC and a tie against Telstar), I’ll start believing too.
Two interesting notes: firstly, this was the first Utrecht start for goalie Sergio Padt, who longtime Dutch soccer fans will recognize from when he spent seven years ‘keeping for Groningen. And he played quite well, making four saves. Secondly, newly acquired Nordin Amrabat became the oldest non-goalkeeper to ever play for Utrecht in the Eredivisie—and he too did well, bringing some defensive solidity to the team. I’m looking forward to seeing Utrecht on our TVs again, and seeing if the older Amrabat is better than his younger brother Sofyan, who I have been very unimpressed with at Ajax.
The Standings After Week 9
All teams have played nine games. See the key for the colors if you’re unfamiliar.
Feyenoord — 23 points — 7-2-0
AZ — 20 points — 6-2-1
PSV — 19 points — 6-1-2
Ajax — 18 points — 5-3-1
Twente — 17 points — 5-2-2
Fortuna — 15 points — 4-3-2
Groningen — 14 points — 4-2-3
Heerenveen — 12 points — 3-3-3
Go Ahead — 11 points — 2-5-2
Excelsior — 11 points — 3-2-4
Utrecht — 11 points — 3-2-4
N.E.C. — 10 points — 2-4-3
Sparta — 9 points — 2-3-4
Cambuur — 9 points — 2-3-4
PEC — 7 points — 2-1-6
Telstar — 6 points — 1-3-5
ADO — 6 points — 1-3-5
Willem II — 2 points — 0-2-7
Maybe it’s the fact that I’m following each team somewhat closely for this blog, and that it then humanizes them to me, but I don’t want any of these teams to relegate! The only two teams I wouldn’t be very sad to see go down are PEC and Willem II. But seeing Telstar and ADO in those places has me sad. Telstar especially deserve to stay up for being one of the most entertaining teams in the league.
I just want all teams to win and be happy!
I am proud of the fact that, if you only read this blog, you’d have no idea who my favorite team in the league is.
Twente will be mad at themselves for a blown opportunity to be tied for 2nd place. Losing at home to this Utrecht team? That’s an ouchy.
Heerenveen continue their slow climb up the standings. It won’t be televised, but ADO-Heerenveen next week will be a good game. Maybe they’ll lose to ADO right as I’m beginning to compliment them. They’ve long seemed like a cursed team: always finishing around 10th place, beating the teams they shouldn’t and losing to the teams they should. Maybe they’re starting to turn that around post-international break. Lots of maybes, though.
A Look At Each European Game
PRE-GAME THOUGHTS: Hello, Porto coach Francesco Farioli. Remember PSV coach Peter Bosz? He’s the guy who you blew the league title to in spectacular fashion.
Farioli always seemed to get the better of Bosz when they played in the Eredivisie, despite the Italian having a worse team on paper. Now, with a much more stacked Porto squad, will the positive results continue for him? Frankly, I think so. I hold Farioli in high regard, and I have a sinking feeling that he’ll figure out a way to beat the visiting PSV team… even though PSV absolutely must win this game.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Farioli’s Ajax team were praised for the victories—but criticized heavily for how he got them. His Ajax were the epitome of the inverse of the Johan Cruijff quote, “I’d rather win 5-4 than 1-0.” Farioli’s teams could put you to sleep: they would control, control, control the game and the ball, while taking minimal risk in their attacks and locking up defensively after scoring a goal. So, I’d say to watch for that comparison or contrast: what do Porto do when they have the ball? Do they push everyone forward, and try to machine-gun it, or do they pass the ball amongst their defenders and just try to fire the occasional singular sniper-rifle shot?
PRE-GAME THOUGHTS: Expectations for Feyenoord are mighty high—maybe a little too high. I’m always so cautious to jump on the bandwagon for Dutch teams in Europe, because expectations usually end in heartbreak when dominance of the game does not lead to the win. Real Betis are not one of Spain’s marquee teams, but they’re currently 4th in La Liga, and will be a tough team to beat in their temporary home of Estadio de La Cartuja. If Feyenoord can win here, then I’ll start believing that they can make a deep Champions League run, assuming they can avoid a team like Barcelona in the early knockout rounds. Lose this, though, and talk of the knockout rounds may be premature. If they tie, then meh, onto the next. But this is one of the games that Feyenoord really should be winning.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: It’ll be fun to see former Ajax player Antony again, who was a favorite of mine when he played for Ajax. He had such quick feet and incredible bravery, and when he “failed” at Manchester United after a $100 million+ transfer, I knew it was only a matter of time before he found his feet again at a different club. Watch and see if he’s as dazzling in this game. Also look to see if Feyenoord play the same way they did against Telstar: it made for an exciting game, but you never want to concede three goals as a defense, and Betis have the talent to take advantage of any chances Feyenoord present to them. Maybe Feyenoord will play a little more Farioli-like to try to secure this win away from home.
PRE-GAME THOUGHTS: There’s no beating around the bush here: AZ should win this game with ease. Anything less than a win would be a huge, huge, huge disappointment for AZ, and severely damage their chances of making it to the knockouts. Not much to say here, because it should be that straightforward.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Look for how often Ararat are able to control the ball and create chances. Yes, that sounds broad, but this should be a game in which AZ’s defense is rarely troubled. It’s not like Ararat are dominating the Armenian Premier League, either: they sit five points behind second-placed (and beautifully named, if I might add) FC Noah. I’ll also be curious to see how AZ line up for this one—will they go with a full-strength team? They played a supposedly full-strength team against Cambuur, and look where that got them. This might be a great game to give backup striker Jizz Hornkamp a chance instead of usual starter Mexx Meerdink.
PRE-GAME THOUGHTS: N.E.C. have been allergic to scoring. Can that change here? Dinamo Zagreb are historically a tough team to beat, and after Ajax got destroyed by fellow Croatian team Hajduk Split, I worry that Dinamo have the talent to beat the Eredivisie’s 12th-placed team. I don’t have much hope here—N.E.C. getting a win, finally, will feel like a minor miracle. After they should’ve won against Levski Sofia, they’ll definitely be hungry to finally have that winning feeling in European competition.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: How will N.E.C. coach Dick Schreuder line up? Will he start again with his offense led by three players in their late thirties? I’m curious to see how much N.E.C. will be able to have the ball here, and if Schreuder takes the same risk he normally does in games. When N.E.C. have the ball, ask yourself: does it look like every player is constantly trying to move it forward? Or does it feel like they’re more interested in keeping possession and trying to control the game?
PRE-GAME THOUGHTS: Something that’s clear about Ajax this season: their success depends fully on if the players show up. They’re not a team with a lot of chemistry, yet, and so it means that they’ll go as far as the 11 individuals in the lineup will take them. Atalanta’s coach Maurizio Sarri (who has coached pretty much every notable Italian team at this point) is tactically wise, and we’ll see how adept Ajax coach Míchel Sánchez is at making adjustments to face an unfamiliar opponent. Ajax are just so unpredictable; I have a feeling this game will be decided by whether or not Ajax take the few chances they’ll get. But I’m otherwise not feeling good about this. This could end 4-2 for Atalanta—but either way, it’ll probably be high-scoring.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: What will the possession stats look like? Sarri’s Atalanta are now a team that likes to keep the ball, and when two “we like to have the ball” teams face each other, it’s always interesting to see if one team relents or if they’re both constantly defending high up the field to try and quickly get the ball back. I’d also keep an eye on the wide areas of the field: Sarri likes to make use of those areas, and with Ajax left-back Caio Henrique out with an injury, we’ll see how Sánchez lines up to deal with that potential threat. Replacement left-back Owen Wijndal has looked fine for Ajax in Henrique’s absence, but being trusted to take on a team of Atalanta’s caliber is another story.
When Atalanta have the ball, look for how they’re trying to score—are they trying to get the ball out wide and then cross/run into the penalty box from the sides? Or are they using the wide players to create space in the middle of the field to try to make something happen there?
PRE-GAME THOUGHTS: Twente have 14 players in their squad who are worth more than Lincoln’s entire combined team. Even more so than AZ and their opponent, this is surely an easy win. Probably. Hopefully? You can sense my total lack of belief for Dutch teams in Europe, especially when Twente “only” beat Thun 1-0 in their last European outing, in a game that they should’ve won 3-0. Twente have looked to have a dip in their momentum lately, and hopefully, this is an opportunity for them to get back on track. If Twente aren’t up by at least two goals by minute 60, I’ll be sweating.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: This is, on paper, such a difference in quality and talent that there shouldn’t be that much to watch for. But, since we don’t get to see Twente in the Eredivisie every week, I’ll say: how much does their game revolve around striker Wout Weghorst (#9)? Is their star winger Sondre Ørjasæter (Norwegian guy, if you couldn’t tell; #27) cutting inside and creating shots for himself, or is he looking to find Weghorst?
After his stunning goal this weekend (see above), watch out for midfielder Daouda Weidmann (#8), too. You have to hope that Twente play some very watchable soccer in this game; if Ajax look hopeless against Atalanta, this will be a good game to turn the channel to.
Moment of Nature
The Cambuur-AZ game was stopped at the 41st minute to give a stadium-wide standing ovation to Cambuur stadium announcer Rein de Vries, who just retired after having been on the job for 41 years. “The voice of Leeuwarden” missed only two home games since 1985.
The English commentator remarked how he’d never, ever seen a game stopped for someone who wasn’t a former player or coach.
But that’s the kind of beauty that exists in Dutch soccer.
It’s what you’d expect from a club that has these words hanging outside of their stadium:
Not of the elite, but of the people.
Not spectators, but supporters.
Not each for their own, but together with each other.
No arrogance, just acting normal.
Not the most prizes, but for sure the most beautiful club.
This is our ideal.