Football Season Guide

Willem II avoided a nightmare at the end of the previous season by surviving the relegation play-offs to keep their place in the Eredivisie for the upcoming season. They had been seated at the safe 15th place on the ranking table for quite a while during the second half of the previous season, but towards the end they dropped to the 16th spot, which led to the fact that they had to participate in those relegation play-offs. The main goal for Willem II in the season 2016/2017 will be nothing more and nothing less than finishing at least at the 15th spot in the Eredivisie. A new coach has been signed to achieve this feat, after the announcement came, towards the end of the previous season, that Jurgen Streppel was going to leave Willem II during this summer to become the coach of Heerenveen. Streppel had been the Willem II coach for five successive seasons and he was ready for a new challenge in a different environment. Willem II have presented Erwin van de Looi, who was the coach of FC Groningen for the last three seasons, as his successor. Van de Looi was also ready for a new step, after having also been an assistant coach for three years in Groningen before becoming the head coach. Willem II saw several players leave Tilburg during the summer. Lucas Andersen and Lesly de Sa went back to Amsterdam, because they played for Willem II on loan from Ajax, but both have already made a transfer to a club outside the Netherlands. Guus Hupperts has returned to Alkmaar, after having played for Willem II on loan from AZ, but it looks likely that AZ will sell him to another club. Midfielders Nick van der Velden, Robbie Haemhouts and Robert Braber have also left Willem II. They will be playing for Dundee United, NAC Breda and Helmond Sport respectively in the upcoming season. There is some time left to add quality to the squad, but the Tilburg side has not been very active yet when it comes to adding new players to the squad, although three midfielders and a striker have signed at Willem II so far. Thom Haye, Elmo Lieftink and Andreas Calcan have come over from AZ Alkmaar, Vitesse and Universitatea Cluj respectively, while Fran Sol left Villarreal B to play for Willem II. However, to avoid having to participate in the relegation play-offs again in the season 2016/2017, Willem II will surely have to add a few more players to their squad, in order to give the new coach Van de Looi enough potential to build a decent team.