Football Season Guide

At the end of the past season, coach Rogier Meijer quit NEC Nijmegen after a 5-year tenure, leaving a feeling of under-achievement despite establishing the team among the top 10 of Dutch football. In fact, in the last 2 campaigns, his boys failed to make the European competitions, losing a KNVB Beker final to Feyenoord and disappointing twice in the European playoffs. Last season, NEC were too inconsistent, winning games only occasionally. Moreover, they hardly offered the football displayed in the previous campaigns, while the coach often found himself on the verge of being sacked. Nevertheless, they managed to win 4 out of the final 6 games, including a memorable away triumph at Ajax, thus climbing up from the 13th to the 8th place. But exited the playoffs in a close fight with Twente. 53-year-old Dick Schreuder is the new man at the helm and he arrives after obtaining positive results in the lower leagues with PEC Zwolle, in the Netherlands, and Castellon, in Spain, but he has no coaching experience at a top level. Since they will shift from a back 4 to a back 3, NEC are still on the hunt for a couple of centre-backs, especially considering that starting Marquez returned to his parent club, starting Sandler is too injury-prone and may as well be lured away while aging Nuytinck is still recovering from injury. They lost a back-up right-back in Lyratzis, who returned to Greece and might be replaced by youngster Sbai, set to earn more playing time, while 38-year-old midfielder Schone, a leader off-the-field, retired. Elsewhere, NEC signed a back-up left-back in Willems, considering that Verdonk could make a definitive move to centre-back and Ouwejan does better as a winger. The attack, that often under-performed last season, was strengthened by versatile Chery, outstanding at Antwerp despite his age, and wingers Misidjan, who left no mark at Ferencvaros, and Rober, back from loan, while striker El Kachati did wonders at Telstar and could provide a valid alternative to disappointing Ogawa and aging Linssen.