Football Season Review

№5: NAC Breda

NAC Breda was one of the title contenders again at the start of the season as the Breda outfit desperately needed the promotion to prevent financial problems, but this put the pressure on the club as well. The lack of consistency however wasted the regular season to say the least as Marinus Dijkhuizen failed to bag the necessary results with his team during the first half of the campaign, which eventually resulted in his departure before the Winter break. Stijn Vreven took over and NAC Breda performed better near the end, which was enough to enter the play-offs as NAC Breda finished fifth after 38 matches. The play-offs were a tough test to say the least, but Vreven's men eventually sealed the promotion back to the Eredivisie, which was a bit of a surprise, but great for the club. NAC Breda had title ambitions again at the start of the campaign as they were the club with the biggest stadium and they had the budget as well to add some quality players to the squad. The best player by far this season was Cyriel Dessers. The Belgian striker bagged 22 goals in the Jupiler League and his hattrick in the final match of the season eventually resulted in the promotion. The play-offs were tough to say the least as NAC Breda had to produce four class matches to bounce back to the Eredivisie. The semi-final against FC Volendam was already a difficult one as Dessers's late goal in the away game only just prevented the defeat: 2-2. NAC Breda recorded a 2-0 win at home, though, to seal the deal, but they had to improve as they faced Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen in the final. The Breda side clearly had saved the best for last however as they recorded two wins (1-0 at home, 1-4 in Nijmegen) in the space of four days, which was more than enough to enter the Eredivisie again.


Player of the Season: Cyriel Dessers