Football Season Guide

FC Twente returned to the Eredivisie at the first time of asking thanks to a triumphal Erste Divisie campaign that saw them taking the lead in week 22 and building a substantial gap from their followers. It was far from an easy season, though, as coach Pusic was first sacked in October and then re-instated ad interim following Verbeek's sacking due to poor results. The Bosnian was subsequently not confirmed at the helm and he was replaced by 35-year-old Uruguayan Gonzalo Garcia Garcia. The youngest coach of the Eredivisie served as an assistant at Twente in the past campaign and was eventually promoted, which might be a very risky move considering his excessively-limited experience. The squad lost several protagonists over the summer as their temporary loans came to an end. This was certainly the case of Cristian Gonzalez and Monsalve, who often acted together in the heart of the defence, and right-back Ricardinho. Defensive midfielder Smith also returned to England, Citizens side, after a positive campaign. In order to overcome those departures, especially at the back, they signed a bunch of youngsters and more experienced players. Verhaegh in particular is a seasoned right-back coming to prove that he still has some football in his legs while Matos and Pleguezuelo have still to show all their skills. While most of the new arrivals are still unknown entities for the Dutch football, Twente must be happy for keeping Aitor and Boere, whose goals was fundamental for their immediate return to the Eredivisie after just 1 year in the second tier.