Football Season Guide

Feyenoord is one of the traditional 'top three' in The Netherlands, but the last championship was back in 1999. The confidence is always there at the start of a season, but closing the gap with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven just seemed like a mission impossible to be honest. The start however last season was more than impressive and the results gave the club and the fans a huge boost, but a surprising streak of defeats destroyed Feyenoord's title dream during the campaign. Feyenoord bounced back though near the end, but that wasn't enough to put the pressure on the top two spots in the Dutch Eredivisie. Feyenoord did seal the third spot though, which was realistically speaking the maximum result for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men. The Feyenoord side did save the best for last as well though when the Rotterdam side claimed the KNVB Cup in the final against FC Utrecht, which was their first cup win since 2008. Taking that last step towards success is the main dream and mission in Rotterdam, but it remains to be seen if Feyenoord has the potential to do so. The transfers so far did strengthen the team though and the fanatic fans will be dreaming again at the start of the campaign. Possibly the best news for Feyenoord was Dirk Kuyt's decision to stay in De Kuip Stadium. The club icon and former Dutch international is 35 years old, but his leadership and overall qualities pushed the performances to a higher level to say the least. Kuyt was the natural leader on the pitch and in the dressing room and his decision to stay gave the club a welcome boost. Kuyt even produced 19 goals and 3 assists last season and his presence up front will result in a positive atmosphere. The club also managed to add a promising signing to the attack. Nicolai Jorgensen came over from FC Kopenhagen and he will battle for the striker position from now on. Players like Eljero Elia and Jens Toornstra are more experienced now and Tonny Vilhena, who decided to stay as well despite transfer rumours, could become the new leader on the pitch. The defence contained quality last season, which will be the case as well at the start of the upcoming campaign. Homegrown players like Sven van Beek, Rick Karsdorp and Terence Kongolo are still relatively young, but more experienced at this point and they will show their qualities again without a shadow of a doubt. The goalkeeper position resulted in a bit of a problem recently when Kenneth Vermeer picked up a heavy injury, but the staff already responded when they added Brad Jones to the squad. Jones, a former Liverpool keeper, showed his class last season at NEC Nijmegen and he could become the new first goalie during the first half of the season.