2013/14 Season Review
The January transfer window provided few developments but nothing more important than the sale of winger Karim Ait Fana to LOSC Lille (5m) and the purchase of French DM Francis Coquelin from Arensal (3.5m).
Vittese would continue on in their season, but nothing more important than defeating Leverkusen 3-2 on aggregate to set yet another first for the club by reaching the Champions League quarterfinals. The next test would be Italian giants Juventus in the final 8. We went all the way to a Penalty shootout losing 3-1 after two 1-1 draws at both home then away.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/528/juventusvvitessepostmat.png/
We found ourselves so close and hungry for more. Next year we aim to match what we did this last season, a trip to the quarterfinals of Champions League! The financial boost was also felt, as the club would receive some 5m in extra winnings after leaving the group stages with 8m in Champions League TV revenue also added to the coffers.
The season would wrap in a rather workman like and uneventful fashion. We found ourseleves matched with Almere City (who?) in the Dutch Cup final after they surprised to get there. We dominated the match and would go on to win 2-1, receiving 2.6m for our victory.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/adonispimpnewsinbox149.png/
At around the same time, we clinched our 3rd straight Eredivise title. The supporters and board were proud to do the double, another first for Vittese. We would finish 14 pts clear of Ajax with an amazing +57 goal differential conceding only 21 goals all season long in league.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/821/eredivisieoverviewstageb.png/
This season was an odd one. With yet more injuries to Benitez, Coquelin, Wilfried, Zabyad and others, we relyed upon depth (especially youth) to get through the remainder of the season and during our champions league run. Here is a look at our 1st team stats and the Eredivise top performers.
1st Team Stats (sorted by ratings) Take a look at how deep we were!
Obvious top performers were Wilfried, Xulu, Bressan but contributions from youngsters Podstawski (18yrs), Stastny (15yrs), Zwarthoed (18yrs), Demirci (19yrs) and Gutierrez were invaluable
Eredivise Top Performers
In the end, I was awarded the Eredvisie Manager of the year, Giorgi Chanturia won the league Young Player of the Year and defender Ognjen Vranjes would claim the Vitesse Player of the Year as voted by the fans.
Recent Dutch rankings of reputation would see us actually fall back to 6th in Holland and with a few key players being pursued along with the injuries of the last season; many felt the offseason could bring changes. How could a team who had won 3 league titles and progressed to the final 8 in Europe’s highest competition be a team in flux?
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/689/hollandclubslist3.png/
Here is a rundown of other club areas:
Players out on loan (look how our guys at Rostock fared):
Board Overview (unused 8m transfer budget):
Confidence (check out that Squad Harmony)
Finances: (a profit/loss of 7.7m as opposed to the negative 600k last season):
The players have now left, 2014 World Cup is starting up soon and the transfer window is now open. Bob Dylan once said “The times they are a changin”…
1
