Football Season Guide

Vitesse were a great story last season as it initially looked like they might not compete at all and drop onto amateur football but instead won their right to feature on appeal to the courts and were then quite competitive and fun to follow during the year. Their squad, constructed on the fly in the space of a week, had enough to almost secure a play-off spot but eventually they fell short. Rudiger Rehm still deserves a ton of credit for the work he did and will look to build on that and make this Vitesse side a more sustainable and coherent force this season. Changes have been generally limited so far and the squad is not too different from the one that played last season. The main loss is that of midfielder orchestrator Adam Tahui, who joined local rivals NEC Nijmegen in what is a move that will sting for the fans but is understandable given how impressive NEC have been in recent years. The others who have left are not exactly irreplaceable and overall Rehm will hope to haver unearthed a few gems from the lower divisions in Germany with the signings made so far. None of them seems to have too much experience and pedigree but there are still the likes of Naoufal Banns and Joao Pinto up front. Marco Schikora in midfield, and the reliable Nathan Markelo and Marcus Steffen at the back. Apart from that, Omar Achouitar and Nino Zonneveld made strides last season when given chances and may well develop further. Therefore, the nucleus for a real push for the play-offs is there and with no points deductions and a lot more stability off the pitch this season, there is enough ground for optimism for the Arnhem fans.