All posts by Will Burns

Boerrigter wings his way into Celtic

July 30, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Scottish champions Celtic signed their second Dutchman of the summer tonight as Derk Boerrigter arrived from Eredivisie champions Ajax on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The left winger is available and may make his debut in tomorrow night’s Champions League qualifying match against Elfsborg of Sweden.

The 26-year-old spent his youth career at FC Twente, where he was spotted by Ajax and joined the Amsterdam giants for the first time as a teenager. Following a loan spell at the now-defunct HFC Haarlem, in which he made his competitive debut, he made the move to FC Zwolle on a free transfer when his contract had expired.

After benefiting from first-team football on a regular basis, Boerrigter flourished at Zwolle, attracting interest from several clubs in his homeland. The then-newly-promoted RKC Waalwijk won the race for his signature and he signed for them in the summer of 2009. His impressive displays for RKC persuaded Ajax to swoop for his services for a second time two years ago, and he quickly hit top form in Amsterdam to earn his first call-up to the Dutch national side in November 2011.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is delighted that he was signed the flying Dutchman and he stated that Boerrigter is exactly the type of player the Hoops have been searching for.

“He’s been the type of player we’ve been after for quite a while,” he said to Celtic’s official website “He’s a very pacy, left-footed player. He’s direct, an eliminator. He has goals in him as well, left-foot and right-foot. He’s very powerful and I think he fits the bill of the type of player we have been looking for in that position.

Lennon continued: “He has good experience and has played at a high level for the last two or three years, and has contributed with for a number of goals. He has been playing in a quality side in a quality environment.”

Here’s a feature video courtesy of Fox Sports NL with a few clips on what Celtic fans may expect from Boerrigter…

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JOHAN CRUIJFF SCHAAL

JOHAN CRUYFF SCHAAL: AZ 2-3 Ajax A.E.T.

July 27, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Ahead of next week’s Eredivisie season kick-off, champions Ajax faced KNVB Beker winners AZ Alkmaar at the Amsterdam ArenA for the coveted Johan Cruyff Schaal (Shield), in the usual season preview to the upcoming campaign. Ajax were looking to finally end an curse in this match which has seen the Amsterdammers which has seen them lose the match the last three seasons consecutively, although they went on to win the Eredivisie title on all three occasions. Not a bad consolation prize, but it was a case of third time lucky for Frank de Boer’s side this evening, coming back from two goals down to finally clinch the Shield.

AZ 2-3 AJAX

AFTER EXTRA TIME

The first 45 minutes were a cautious affair from both sides of the pitch but after a goal-less first-half, but in the second period, the game opened up and delivered four goals.

The first goal was produced against the run of play after Ajax defender Daley Blind was knocked down on the edge of AZ’s penalty area by Jeffrey Gouweleeuw. Gouweleeuw launched the ball forward as the AZ attack had a three on two advantage. The Icelandic attack linked up well as Aron Jóhannsson squared to an unmarked Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson who buries it past Kenneth Vermeer to put the underdogs ahead. Coach De Boer was furious that the foul had not been given up the pitch before the goal.

Moments after the restart, it was nearly 2-0. AZ surged forward again and when the ball was threaded through to always pressing Gouweleeuw, he poorly hit his shot straight at Vermeer, but Ajax were on the ropes.

Gertjan Verbeek’s men did get their second goal with some good work from their midfield exposing some defensive frailties from the Amsterdam side. Markus Henriksen and Roy Beerens linked up well to split the Ajax backline and left Jóhannsson to tap home to double the lead. De Boer acted by bringing on 18-year-old Danish attacker Lucas Andersen for the on-loan Bojan Krcic, who had largely been disappointing.

Ajax grabbed a goal back with an unlucky own goal. Up stepped Christian Eriksen with the free-kick which ricocheted off Gouweleeuw’s head and into the goal.

Toby Alderweireld hit a long-range effort straight at Esteban Alvarado but the Costa Rican goalkeeper could just parry the effort into the feet of yet another Icelandic, Kolbeinn Sigþórsson to level the game up with fifteen minutes of time remaining.

With chances for either side going begging, the game ended 2-2 on 90 minutes and headed into extra-time. Moments into the first-half, attacking AZ full-back Mattias Johansson found space inside the box but pulled his shot narrowly wide, a huge let-off for De Boer’s side.

Ajax finally took the lead in the match on 103 minutes, Eriksen whipping in a high cross for Siem de Jong to nod home from the back post. Ajax continued to look for goals hitting AZ on the counter while the Alkmaar side pressed to get themselves back into the game, but time ran out for them and Ajax were awarded the Shield.

By winning the trophy this evening, De Boer has wrote himself in the record books once again. He is only the second Ajax man to have lifted the trophy as both a player and a coach, the first being Ajax legend Danny Blind.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

Strootman excited by Roma challenge

July 21, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Kevin Strootman is relishing the chance to have a crack at Serie A after joining Roma from PSV Eindhoven. The Holland midfielder has signed a five-year-deal with the Giallorossi after the two clubs agreed a fee reported to be €20million.

Strootman wrote on his personal website: ”I am very excited to be able to play for this great club. ”It is the next stage in my career development after being at Sparta, FC Utrecht and PSV, a club at which I had a lot of fun.

The 23-year-old admitted that he had sought the advice of PSV teammate and former Milan midfielder, Mark Van Bommel before opting to move to Italy.

Strootman told De Telegraaf: ”He was the man with experience of Italy. ”Mark said how great the passion of the fans was, how special the atmoshpere in the stadiums was and and how there was a totally different football culture.

”What counts for me is the number if big games I am going to play here. ”I will train everyday with top players and get to play with the likes of Inter, Juventus and Napoli.”

EUROPA LEAGUE

EUROPA LEAGUE: Utrecht embarrassed by Differdange

July 18, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

THURSDAY 18TH JULY

EUROPA LEAGUE SECOND ROUND QUALIFYING – FIRST LEG

FC DIFFERDANGE 03

2-1

FC UTRECHT

El Rafik 26, 57

H.T

1-1

Mulenga 2

In front of 1,500 of their own travelling supporters, FC Utrecht stumbled at the first hurdle of Europa League qualifying tonight, as they suffered a shock defeat in Luxembourg to FC Differdange 03 losing by two goals to one.

Wantaway striker Jacob Mulenga gave the visitors a good start in the second minute, a cross from debutant Kenny Teijsse was met by the head of striker for the opening goal.

The Zambian then had a great chance to double the lead just after the restart, but he hit the post with his finish.

Utrecht became vulnerable at the back and Differdange were level on 26 minutes. Moroccan striker Omar El Rafik scoring the equaliser and after the break he found the net again on 57 minutes.

Head coach Jan Wouters stated after the game this was the worst defeat under his leadership at the club.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

PSV agree Strootman fee with Roma

July 16, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

The excepted transfer of Kevin Strootman to Serie A side AS Roma is close to completion. His current club, PSV confirmed on their official website this morning that they have reached a financial agreement with the Italian club for the Oranje international. The fee has reportedly been agreed at up to €19 million.

Tonight, the 23-year-old is in Rome to negotiate personal terms before undergoing a medical check tomorrow morning and join up with his new team-mates for pre-season training.

Strootman spent two seasons with the Eindhoven club since moving from FC Utrecht in June 2011. He collected some silverware within the two years, having won the KNVB Beker and the Super Cup in 2012, and also Oranje vice-captain.

PSV’s sporting director Marcel Brands stated that this was an offer the club could not refuse: “This was a transfer we could not refuse, the money is one of the biggest amounts in the club’s history but it’s a great loss to the squad.”

It is yet another case of a big star of the Eredivisie leaving to progress their career elsewhere, this is a player that should take the Serie A by storm with his tough-tackling and tempo controlling play.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

PSV announces double signing

July 13, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

PSV Eindhoven have presented the signing of Dutch central midfielder Stijn Schaars to the press today. He joins from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, in what could be the replacement for Kevin Strootman.

Schaars, 29, signs on a three-year contract, previously won the Eredivisie championship with AZ Alkmaar in 2009 and will look to bring that title back to the Phillips Stadion after a six-year wait for the Eindhoven side.

Schaars is new head coach Philip Cocu’s fifth signing of the summer in the major rebuild of the PSV side. With captain Kevin Strootman set to complete a €20million move to Serie A club Roma in Italy, Schaars will wear the number 8 shirt in his absence.

The Dutchman has made 18 appearances internationally for Oranje and has spent the last two season in Lisbon with Sporting and scored six goals in 66 games in all competitions.

The Cocu Revolution continued later tonight with the announcement of the sixth signing. 21-year-old Colombian right-back Santiago Arias also joins from Lisbon and signed a four-year contract.

Arias, can either operate as a right defender or right midfielder and is a product of Liga Postobon’s side La Equidad’s youth academy. Like Schaars, he spent two years in Lisbon. Both Schaars and the Colombian were transfered for a reported €1.6million. PSV are set to make great profit this year after the sales of half the first team squad that finished second in the Eredivisie last year.

The Eindhoven side also presented Jeffrey Bruma to the press today, signing a four-year contract after the doctors assessed a heart complaint from Bruma’s past, but cleared the player of all problems.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

Strootman to Roma can wait

July 12, 2013 Will Burns Leave a comment

Although it is far from complete, the transfer of PSV’s Kevin Strootman to AS Roma is still on but the Eindhoven club are still not financially satisfied by the deal as of yet.

It is reported that PSV wants at least €18 million for the tenacious midfielder but the Serie A club has yet to match an offer for near that amount. Technical director, Marcel Brands has stated that the player will stay with PSV unless the money is right: “The money for the transfer has not been decided yet, and it is important that we get the right amount for a player we think very highly of.”

According to Brands, it may be some time before the deal is complete: “We are in no rush to broker this deal and AS Roma understands that. When Dries Mertens left, Napoli took five or six days to arrange it. In the meantime, Strootman will train and play with us in Germany.”

One team that will be hoping the transfer is complete soon is Strootman’s former club, Sparta Rotterdam.

Strootman came through the youth ranks at Sparta and when the player transferred to FC Utrecht in 2011 for €750,000 they left a clause in the contract to receive some part of any transfer fee received in sales of the midfielder. When Strootman moved to PSV from Utrecht, Sparta reportedly received around €335,000 from the deal, as they are set to receive 4% of any transfer fee.

Sparta’s general manager Wiljan Vloet spoke to AD Sportwereld and stated that money could help the cash-strapped club: “We want to put the money in the day-to-day running of the club. We are dealing with deficits in the budget and, with this windfall, we can partly cover the amount.”

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

“Daddy Cool” leaves for Swansea

July 11, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Last season’s Eredivisie top scorer Wilfried Bony have joined English Premier League side Swansea City for a cliub record £12m, subject to a work permit.

The Ivorian striker, signs a four-year contract with the Welsh club and leaves Vitesse Arnhem after two seasons in Holland. He was the Eredivisie’s top goalscorer last season scoring 31 goals in 30 league appearances. In total at Vitesse, he has notched an impressive 46 goals in 65 games.

In an interview with Swansea’s official website, Bony stated: “The move has been talked about for quite some time, so I am delighted it is all completed. Now it is important that I focus my mind on the challenge ahead because I hope to make the Swansea fans very happy.

“I watched Swansea a lot last season on TV. They have some good players and I like the way they play. I appreciate the style, which is similar to the Dutch way, and I think being at Swansea will help me develop as a player.

“I believe it’s the right step for me; the perfect move. I had a lot of offers from all across the world, including England, France, Ukraine, Russia and the UAE.

“But I chose Swansea because it is a good club with a corresponding style, a great manager and, of course, playing in the Premier League. I considered everything and Swansea came out on top.’’

The pacy and powerful Bony was named Dutch Footballer of the Year for 2012-13 and had spells at Issia Wazi, in his homeland, and in the Czech league with Sparta Prague before arriving in Holland to join Vitesse in January 2011.

The transfer leaves Vitesse now wondering how they will replace their two major stars that fired them up to fourth place last year in the Eredivisie. Marco van Ginkel joined Chelsea last week and now with top scorer Bony joining him the Premier League, one wonders where the Arnhem club look to find replacements.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

Fer set to join Canaries

July 10, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Yet another Eredivisie star is set to move to the English Premier League. FC Twente are set to sell midfielder Leroy Fer to Norwich City. The box to box midfielder will sign a five-year contract, according to local Norwich newspaper, the Norfolk East Daily Express.

The player’s agent has confirmed that the player will be presented and will officially sign before Friday of this week.

The Oranje international is believed to have completed a medical today along with Swedish defender Martin Olsson, who is set to complete a £2.5m deal from English Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

A fee in the region of €8m has been agreed for the player and he should join up with Chris Hughton’s side before they fly out to America for their pre-season tour.

Nicknamed ‘The Bouncer’, Fer, joined Twente from Feyenoord for €5m last summer and his all action displays in midfield for FC Twente, Oranje and Jong Oranje has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months.

Last season, Fer netted eleven goals in all competitions and links up with compatriot Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, a recent signing from Sporting Lisbon.

Fer almost completed a move to Everton in January but the Toffees pulled out of a deal at the last minute over concerns of a knee injury the player had maintained over the years. However, the player has shown no signs of this worrying him and has compelted the medical.

One current Eredivisie player, not joining Fer at Norwich is PSV’s Swedish international striker Ola Toivonen, he has no interest in joining and is aiming his sights higher than a team that finished 11th in the Premier League last term.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

Altidore leaves AZ for Sunderland

July 9, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

The Eredivisie has lost yet another of it’s stars of last season, with American international striker Jozy Altidore leaving AZ Alkmaar to seal a move to the Premier League with Sunderland.

The 23-year-old has signed a four-year deal with the Black Cats, for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be around €8 million.

The striker completed a medical on Monday and put pen to paper on the contract on Tuesday and talking to the club’s official website he said: “I’m thrilled to be here. It’s a fantastic club, I’m really excited about this season and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Altidore began his career in the MLS with the New York Red Bulls, before heading to Spain with Villarreal, where he went on to enjoy loan spells at Xerez, Hull City and Bursaspor. He arrived in Holland in the summer of 2001, and joined AZ, scoring 38 goals in 67 appearances in the process. However, last season he made his mark, winning the KNVB Beker and scoring a career-high 23 goals.

It is a blow to fans of the Dutch league who has seen top performers from last term like Marco van Ginkel, Filip Djuridic, Dries Mertens, Virgil van Dijk, Sanharib Malki and soon to be top scorer Wilfried Bony all departing for pastures new. This maybe cements the fact even further that the Dutch top flight is the stepping-stone of Europe, but of course, this also means that the next season, others will have to step up and make their mark like Altidore did last year.

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EERSTE DIVISIE, FEATURE

EERSTE DIVISIE: An Introduction to the new boys

July 8, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

The upcoming Eerste Divisie season will have four new teams competing in the league, Markus Wenzel provides a few facts to introduce you to the new boys.

Achilles´29

R.K.S.V. (Rooms-Katholieke SportVerenigung) Achilles´29 are from Groesbeek, a town in the eastern Netherlands, and has a population from 18,929 and is a near the border to Germany. The nearby city is Nijmegen.

Achilles´29 are one of the most successful amateur clubs of the Netherlands, since they were founded on 1st June 1929. There recent success has been remarkable, just last season, the Whiteblacks won the Topklasse Zondag for the second time in a row. Besides that they have won the KNVB Amateur Beker in 2011 and the Supercup for Amateurs twice in 2011 and 2012. They have also won some titles in the lower leagues and in the Districts. With last season’s title win in the Topklasse Zondag, Achilles was asked to join the Eerste Divisie by the KNVB and the team accepted the invitation.

Their stadium, the Sportpark De Heikant has been used since their inception and has a capacity of 4,500 seats.

Last season, the club won 22 games, lost 6 and drew twice with the best goal difference in the league (+47) only conceding 23 goals. The highest win was a 6-0 thrashing of SWZ from Sneek.

After the promotion, their successful coach Jan van Deinen announced that he would not lead them into professional football and quit. So Achilles has hired François Gesthuizen, from hoofklasser (4th Division) Blaauw Geel´38 from Veghel, to guide them this upcoming campaign.

Their only well known player is Thijs Hendriks, who played 4 games in the Eredivisie for NEC. No other player in their squad, as time of writing, has ever played higher than in the Topklasse.

Achilles´29 have had several great players in the past on their books like Arno Arts, midfielder who played top flight football for FC Twente, FC Utrecht and NEC or Barry Ditewig former goalkeeper for the now defunct SC Veendam and ADO Den Haag.

Apart from the first team Achilles´29 has 11 other senior teams, 1 womens team and 13 youth teams. Their archrivals are De Treffers, also a team from Groesbeek.

Jong Ajax

Jong Ajax, the reserve side of Eredivisie champions Ajax Amsterdam, are also on the way to their first season in professional football. The eight-time winner of the Beloften Eredivisie (1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009) finished 4th last season in the league and was invited to take part as one of the four new teams in the newest implementation of the Eerste Divisie.

The team, likes the first team, plays 4-3-3, like every other team from the Ajax set-up. Just like a reserve side, they will consist of players who graduate from the Ajax youth academy or are unable to play in the first team due to injuries or players who cannot gain selection for the first team. Alfons Groenendijk, who played 22 times for Ajax himself, is in charge of the squad.

They will play their home games at Ajax’s sporting complex near to the Amsterdam Arena. De Toekomst, opened at the 14th August 1996, and will have a capacity to house 2,250 supporters. Only the home game against Jong PSV, will be played at the Amsterdam Arena due to the interest in that game.

Jong PSV

The Beloftenteam from PSV, Jong PSV, are four-time champions of the Beloften Eredivisie (1997, 2000, 2010, 2011) and they ended last season in 9th position.

Jong PSV will be the squad to introduce the talents from the youth to the senior football and give the talents from the first team some game practice. The team will be managed by former RKC Waalwijk player Darije Kalezic, whgo was last seen coaching De Graafschap.

The home games will be played at De Herdgang, the training complex of PSV. In an announcement before the new season, PSV announced that no fans from Willem II, FC Den Bosch, Jong Ajax, Jong FC Twente, MVV Maastricht, Fortuna Sittard, FC Dordrecht, FC Oss or De Graafschap will be welcome at De Herdgang for risks of crowd trouble.

Jong FC Twente

The two-time winners of the Beloften Eredivisie (2008, 2012) from Enschede were the last invited team to the Eerste Divisie for the upcoming season. Jong Twente, finished in the 8th last year in the competition for the Beloftenteams, and will try to help players to promote into the first team of FC Twente. Jan Zoutman has the task of leading the team, he managed Haarlem years ago in the Eerste Divisie.

Jong Twente will play their home games in the same stadium like the first team, De Grolsch Veste.

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NEWS, TRANSFERS

NEC signs SPL top scorer

July 8, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen have added striker Michael Higdon to their ranks today. Englishman Higdon arrives from Scottish Premier League club Motherwell on a free transfer after his contract expired with the Scottish club on July 1st.

The club needed an attacker after losing Melvin Platje to Isreali side Neftchi Baku and Rick ten Voorde to SC Paderborn in Germany, last month. NEC’s technical director Carlos Aalbers announced the deal this afternoon via the clubs official website: “We needed a forward in the squad and we wanted to sign a target man, who can score goals and Michael has done just that in Scotland.”

Higdon, signs a two-year contract with NEC and was the leading scorer in last season’s Scottish Premier League with 26 goals. The 29-year-old scored 43 goals in 82 appearances for Motherwell over the last two seasons he had with the club.

Previously with St Mirren, the striker netted 20 in 74 games, and at Falkirk he scored 17 times from 72 games.

NEC narrowly avoided a relegation play-off spot by four points last season, finishing fourth bottom and will look to their new number nine to fire them up the league next term.

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EERSTE DIVISIE, NEWS, TRANSFERS

Eerste Divisie transfer round-up

July 7, 2013 Will Burns 1 Comment

The new Eerste Divisie season begins on Friday 2nd August 2013, our new writer Markus Wenzel is here with a rundown of all the transfer dealings and managerial movement within the divisions clubs over the summer so far.

PLAYER TRANSFERS

Sparta Rotterdam have swapped their goalkeepers in the last few days. German keeper Nico Pellatz, who played 30 games for Sparta last season, after two years in Rotterdam has signed a contract with the Dynamo Dresden. Dresden plays in the 2.Bundesliga and Pellatz moves on a free. The new keeper will be Moroccan Khalid Sinouh, last season the 38-year-old was under contract in NEC Nijmegen and played six times.

Also joining Sparta is striker Johan Voskamp, 28, who arrives from Slask Wroclaw in Poland. He played before in 2010/11 for the club in the Eerste Divisie. Meanwhile, Jens van Son leaves Rotterdam for a contract with the FC Eindhoven.

New entry Jong Ajax has signed some talents in the past week for their first campaign in the Eerste Divisie. Marvin Höner, a German striker, comes from the youth team of Arminia Bielefeld where he played in the U19-Bundesliga. Midfielder Stanislav Lobotka arrives on a one-year loan from the Slovakian club AS Trencin. Also coming in is defender Derwin Martina and striker Vincent Vermeij are promoted from Ajax own academy.

Fortuna Sittard has loaned Franco Zennaro from Belgian club Standard Liege. The midfielder, with Belgian and Italian roots, will come on a one-year loan deal to Limburg.

Relegated from the Eredivisie, VVV Venlo has confirmed they are interested in Prince Rajcomar from rival Fortuna Sittard, talks are ongoing as the striker has still a contract at the Trendwork Arena. In other news, Fortuna Sittard has extended the contracts with midfielder Jordie Briels and keeper Mark Voss.

Daryl van Miegham is the newest striker from Telstar. The 24-year-old, was last season in Almelo under contract with Heracles but has now signed for a year in Telstar. Coach Marcel Keizer said “With his quickness, he is an absolute asset for our club.”

Jong Twente has signed Peruvian defender Renato Tapia, the 18-year-old arrives from Peruvian side (Esther Grande de Bentín) EBG Sports Club

De Graafschap has acquired Edwin Linssen from Greek side AEK Lanerca. The midfielder, 32, has previous played in Holland with VVV Venlo, Roda JC, Helmond Sport and Fortuna Sittard.

FC Emmen contracted the 22-year-old striker Quenten Martinus from Hungarian club Ferencvaros Budapest.

FC Volendam have suffered a blow losing last year’s division top-scorer of the Eerste Divisie, Jack Tuyp. The striker is now a free agent talking to some lower Eredivisie clubs. Fellow frontman Mieciel Kramer, has now signed for Helmond Sport. He should replace Emrullah Güvenc, who joins Antwerp in Belgium. Young promising goalkeeper Sonny Stevens has also left Volendam for the FC Twente. The 21-year-old player will be the number three goalkeeper in Enschede.

COACHING CHANGES

Nearly half the league’s clubs arrive into the new season with a new coach. Alfons Groenendijk is the new coach of Jong Ajax (from Ajax A1), John-Paul de Jong switches from Jong FC Utrecht to the FC Eindhoven, Jong PSV signed the Bosnian coach Darije Kalezic and Jong FC Twente signed the former Haarlem coach Jan Zoutman.

The new team entering the league is from Groesbeek, Achilles´29, and they have lost their successful coach Van Deinen and presented François Gesthuizen from Blaauw Geel 28 as their new coach.

After Henk ten Cate departs Sparta signed Adri Bogers, formerly assistant coach of NAC Breda. Den Bosch hopes to get success with Ruud Kaiser. The former coach of Dynamo Dresden in Germany was last the technical director of Lierse SK in Belgium.

VVV Venlo presented Rene Trost from MVV as their new boss so MVV signed Tini Ruys from local rival Roda, he was there responsible for the A1 side.

The biggest name in this summer so far was presented from Excelsior. The club from Rotterdam, who finished at the second last position in the finished season, signed the now retired Danish international striker Jon Dahl Tomasson as their new coach. Tomasson was two times the Danish player of the year and won the Champions League in 2003 with the AC Milan.

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