Football Season Guide

An overall negative season for Twente who were unable to repeat last year's feat when they finished 3rd, but finished with a good 6th place. It could have been much better if they hadn't collapsed right at the end, thus losing the chance to play in Europe again: in the last 10 matchdays they only earned 8 points, thus losing 5th place, and were defeated by Go Ahead Eagles in the playoff final. In the Europa League they had a good run and managed to qualify for the playoffs, where however they were defeated by Bodø/Glimt. During the summer transfer window, they lost two key midfielders: Czech Michal Sadílek, who returned to his homeland, and, above all, Sem Steijn, who had a sensational season in which he topped the Eredivisie's top scorer charts with 24 goals. In their place came two excellent players, Kristian Hlynsson from Ajax, Ramiz Zerrouki and Thomas van den Belt from Feyenoord, who are certainly functional to coach Oosting's game, but equally certainly not capable of guaranteeing Steijn's goals. The defense appears to have strengthened with the arrival of the experienced Robin Pröpper and the youngsters Stav Lemkin and Guilherme Peixoto. It's hard to say whether the Tukkers will be able to stay again in the top positions. They've lost their best player and top scorer, but have a skilled coach who knows the team well, and a balanced team.