Football Season Guide

After 4 years spent in the second tier of the Dutch football, at last NEC Nijmegen managed to return to the Eredivisie and they made it in the most unpredictable of ways. In fact, they only achieved promotion thanks to 3 fantastic playoffs games, after finishing the regular season in 7th place, 26 points off the leaders SC Cambuur and 11 points off second-placed Go Ahead Eagles. 40-year-old manager Rogier Meijer, in his first season as head coach, was retained for the new campaign in the top flight. He started the Eerste Divisie season with a 4-4-2 formation only to eventually opt for a very offensive 3-5-2, which led them to promotion. With 68 goals scored and 45 conceded in 38 games, NEC did not excel in any department. Therefore, they have spent the summer trying to add quality and experience to an otherwise rather young squad, with an average age of 24.5. The return of Schone to Nijmegen after almost a decade certainly represents the peak of their transfer campaign, as the former Ajax and Heerenveen midfielder could become the anchor in the middle of the park, also considering that Barreto is now 37. Vukovic represents a good alternative to Branderhorst between the sticks, as they lost last season's starter Alblas. Another starter to have left is striker Jangla, who had contributed to the cause with 9 goals and 2 assists, and he has not been properly replaced yet. Right-back Bronkhorst and centre-backs Guth, on loan from Atalanta, and Ivan Marquez could all enjoy playing time, especially since Van Eijden is recovering from injury. On the other hand, the likes of Duelund, Mattsson and Akman, all promising youngsters, should bolster the attack.