Football Season Guide

After their first two seasons ever in Eredivisie, last year they were relegated, but had the strength to return to the topflight immediately. They did it brilliantly, winning Eerste Divisie with 83 points, 8 more than the runner-ups. Their strength was certainly not the attack (just 64 goals scored, 7th in the league), but the defensive organization that allowed them to concede only 24 goals. Goalkeeper Michael Brouwer made 17 clean sheets! Another strength of the team was coach Dick Lukkien, on Emmen's bench since 2016. He knows well the environment and his players, and he will also lead the squad this season. During the summer transfer market there have been some departures, but they were mostly substitutes, while they managed to keep most of the starters. As for the arrivals, goalkeeper Eric Oelschlägel from Utrecht came to replace Brouwer, back at Heracles, then they added experience with defender Michaël Heylen from Sparta Rotterdam and midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld. There is a lot of curiosity around the two Peruvians who arrived in the summer, forward Fernando Pacheco and striker Gonzalo Sánchez. The pre-season was not the best possible, no victory in three games, a draw against PEC Zwolle and two defeats, 2-1 against Groningen and 3-2 against De Graafschap.