The Club of the People: Feyenoord Rotterdam

Also going strong for the triple. Would be a challenge against Monaco and PSV, but Feyenoord can do it. 'Home' game for the Dutch Cup!

Feyenoord fans who couldn’t make the game, crowded into Hofplein Square in Rotterdam to watch and celebrate as their side secured a second straight league title.
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04 March 2018

Point In Alkmaar Enough As Feyenoord Retain Title

A 1-1 draw with AZ at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar was enough to secure the Eredivisie title for the second season running for Feyenoord as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side became the first Feyenoord side to retain the Eredivisie title since 1962. Feyenoord knew that as long as they matched Ajax’s result against PEC Zwolle, they would be crowned Champions for the second season running but with Ajax losing 1-0 at the MAC3 Park Stadion, a point saw Feyenoord claim their 16th Eredivisie crown. It wasn’t a performance from Feyenoord that really matched the unprecedented high levels that they have set themselves this season but Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side enough to get the job done and now Feyenoord’s attentions can turn to preparing properly for their KNVB Beker Final against PSV and a potential run into the latter stages of the Champions League with the Rotterdam side leading 2-0 after their first leg in their Round of 16 tie against AS Monaco.

It looked like Feyenoord’s title party would have to wait another week when in the 23rd minute Dabney dos Santos Souza found his way into the penalty area before firing a clinical effort past Kenneth Vermeer to make it 1-0 but Feyenoord’s quality this season showed when in the 37th minute the leagues top goalscorer Sebastien Haller headed home his 25th league goal of the season from Bart Nieuwkoop’s cross. It was a goal that meant Feyenoord could plant their feet firmly in the ground and see the game out and secure the point that saw them crowned Champions after news had filtered through that Ajax were losing against PEC Zwolle. Speaking to the media after the game Giovanni van Bronckhorst said he was thrilled by his sides performances in the Eredivisie this season and that securing the league title so early was a astronomical achievement. ”We’ve played some really good football this season and we’ve never seemed to stop. We’ve pressed and pressed and not looked tired at all and its shown in the results we’ve got. We’ve scored a lot more goals this season and kept teams out too and we have blown this league away this season. I am so proud of my team because we’ve achieved something massive and I cannot stop smiling at the moment.”

With the Eredivisie title now secure, Feyenoord’s attentions will now turn to the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Monaco where they will look to ensure they progress to the Quarter Finals and become the first Eredivisie side to do so since PSV in 2007. Looking further ahead, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will look to complete a domestic double when they meet PSV Eindhoven in the KNVB Beker Final on April 29th. Come the summer though, attentions will turn to the transfer window with many expecting many of Feyenoord’s key players this season to be targeted by clubs in bigger leagues around Europe. Jens Toornstra was, very publicly, targeted by FC Porto during the January Transfer Window, and there will be many admirers who will want Sebastien Haller to join the long list of high scoring Eredivisie forwards who make the move to leagues such as the Premier League or La Liga.

Comments

Justice: It’s going to be one hell of a spectacle!

De Magere: We’re definitely capable of securing a double! A treble will be a lot harder but that first leg result has given us a great shot.

YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH CHAMPIONS!

Fantastic stuff to claim the title so early into the season, you've completely ran away with it. Hopefully we can continue a great season with a cup win and further progression in the Champions League!

Champions in March, really looking like Bayern here! Congratulations!

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14 March 2018

Monaco Thrill Fans In Emphatic Comeback

AS Monaco showcased the difference in quality between Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie tonight as they overcame a 2-0 aggregate deficit to thump Feyenoord 6-1 in the Second Leg of this Round of 16 tie to win 6-3 on aggregate. Monaco were the dominant side throughout and were cruising with just over half an hour to go but a Feyenoord away goal meant that the control of the tie switched back in favour of the Dutch side temporarily. Monaco soon rallied and put in a thrilling performance in the final half an hour to ensure that they were the side with their name in the hat for Fridays draw for the Quarter Finals and not their Dutch counterparts who still seemed to be dealing with the hangover caused by their Eredivisie title win at the beginning of the Month. For Feyenoord though, they were taught a lesson about how to play at the elite level of European football and presuming manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst can keep this side together over the summer, the game will have served as invaluable experience ahead of their return to the competition next season.

The writing on the wall for Feyenoord may well have already been written in the first twenty seconds of the tie as Lucas Vazquez burst down the right wing before being needlessly fouled by Calvin Verdonk, who was in the Feyenoord 11 because of a suspension for Lucas Woudenberg. Verdonk’s face encapsulated the horror of his decision and the resentment amongst his team mates although he was given a very temporary reprieve when Kenneth Vermeer saved Fabinho’s penalty, but the Brazilian was able to follow up the saved spot kick and give Monaco a very early lead. It gave the home side the impetus for the rest of the tie and 23 minutes in they had doubled their lead as Lucas Vazquez was able to drift into the area and tap home at the back post. The game drifted into half time with Monaco still 2-0 up but they had made it 3 in the 57th minute when Lucas Vazquez’s corner was headed home by Guido Carrillo, although Feyenoord manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst was furiously protesting on the touchline as he believed Kamil Glik had impeded Kenneth Vermeer by pushing the goalkeeper whilst Carrillo’s header was flying across goal. Temporarily though, the control of the tie had switched back in Feyenoord’s favour as Nicolai Jorgensen quickly pulled one back seconds later to give Feyenoord the away goal and the advantage with the scores level on aggregate at 3-3.

Jorgensen’s goal seemed to flick a switch for Monaco though as they turned the style back on as Lucas Vazquez once again provided the assist with a low cross which found its way all the way to Fabinho at the back post as Feyenoord continued to perform woefully at the back. There was further protest from van Bronckhorst in the 77th minute as Jens Toornstra was deemed to have fouled Falcao in the area from Fabinho’s corner, although video replays suggest that Toornstra was innocent of any foul. Nevertheless the resulting penalty was converted by Falcao to put the tie beyond all doubt, and when Falcao once again scored as a result of more awful defending from Feyenoord, the tie was over as Leonardo Jardim’s side completed a remarkable performance with a thumping 6-1 win over the reigning Dutch Champions.

Speaking to the media after the game, Giovanni van Bronckhorst said his sides performance had left him on the brink of tears whilst also blaming Italian referee Daniele Orsato for contributing to Feyenoord’s downfall. ”There is no hiding that we were awful tonight and we gave an absolutely appalling account of ourselves. Defensively we were abject and when your back line performs that poorly, your midfield and forwards don’t stand much chance of creating anything worthwhile at the other end. I don’t think the referee helped I really don’t and Carrillo’s goal definitely looked like a foul on Kenneth Vermeer from Kamil Glik and Jens Toornstra hasn’t fouled Falcao for their second penalty. His poor performance though doesn’t take away from how well Monaco played for the entire game and even if they had only scored the 4 legitimate goals they were still the superior side tonight and deserve a place in the Quarter Finals.”

Comments

Justice: Olay, olay, olay!!

ScottT: It has been rather straight forward to be honest, but that’s not meant to take anything away from the team! We’ve blown a lot of sides away and shown our real quality!

De Magere: If we can ever reach the levels of Bayern it will be amazing!

Tough defeat! There is allot of work to be done for Europa, but in Holland everything seems perfect to dominate the league for many years to come.

Ouch! That is certainly a tough result to take! Well, I guess you can now focus your attention on improving the squad for next season, with only the Dutch cup to play for now!

Absolutely gutted for you and the team. You can invest in the youth now I'd say and help develop some of the younger kids for the rest of the season, prepare for next season.

Comments

De Magere: Yeah it was a very tough one to take and there is a lot of work to do to close the gap between us and the bigger European leagues.

Justice: Yeah it wasn’t easy to take and when we scored the away goal it looked like we could do it but it wasn’t to be. Focus now turns to maintaining form in the league to make sure we’re going into the Cup Final in fine fettle!

ScottT: Dreams eventually come to an end unfortunately Yeah we’ve got a few youth prospects in and around the first team already and now it’s about finding a balance between bringing them through and keeping form and momentum going ahead of the cup final.

Some very very promising youth players coming through! Your squad will gain invaluable experience from a season in the Champions League, with all its mixed fortunes. Now, go beat the absolute sh*t out of PSV!

Last Eredivsie games seems a real good opportunity to play some promising youth players. Hopefully you will be ready to take on PSV, Dutch dominance is the first step you are taking.

Quite a few decent players in that youth intake! Nice to have you have been balancing the youth and first team, it's the perfect opportunity to give some of the younger players a chance to show what they're all about but also continue to grow and impress. I'm sure you'll get the win against PSV!

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03 April 2018

Ronald Koeman: “Feyenoord Must Maintain Intensity To Win Final”

Former Everton and Feyenoord manager Ronald Koeman has today spoken to Eurosport about his former sides chances in the KNVB Beker Final come the end of the month, where the Dutch Champions will meet PSV Eindhoven at the Amsterdam Arena. Having been sacked as Everton manager back in February, Koeman has been watching a lot of his former side, who are now managed by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and believes that if Feyenoord are going to complete a domestic double at the end of the month then they must continue winning their games in the Eredivisie despite having sealed the title nearly a month ago.

Following on from Sunday’s 4-0 thumping of Vitesse Arnhem, Koeman, who managed Feyenoord between 2011 and 2014, said he was mightily impressed by the conviction of his former side and said ”Giovanni has got them playing some brilliant football. Every time they went forward they poured bodies forward and looked like they could score and they probably should have scored more. They move the ball around well and the man on the ball has always got an option to pass the ball either out wide or inside and it is brilliant to watch.” Koeman also added that he thought it was unsurprising that Feyenoord were also very strong defensively with the Champions having only conceded 14 goals in their 30 league games so far this season. ”Giovanni was a brilliant defender and has an excellent knowledge on that subject so it’s no surprise that this team are extremely solid at the back. When you look at the Vitesse game, we had the two leading Goalscorers in the league going head to head and Feyenoord completely stifled Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Vitesse’s creative players whilst Sebastien Haller ran wild for Feyenoord.”

When asked about whether he thought his former side could win the KNVB Beker Final on April 29th against PSV Eindhoven, Koeman sent a message to van Bronckhorst. ”Feyenoord, are in such good form in the league. However they won the league nearly a month ago, and that will have an impact for me. After their defeat to Monaco they’ve not had any games with any real meaning behind them other than extending an unbeaten run in the league, and that could come back to bite them. If Feyenoord are going to win the KNVB Beker they need to keep their intensity up in their league games between now and then. Obviously they’ve beaten ADO den Haag, Roda and now Vitesse but if that intensity and tempo they set drops off between now and the Final then I fear they may struggle to raise their game again for the big one.”

Comments

Justice: The academy is buzzing with hot prospects and the future of this club is very bright if they stay at Feyenoord that is. Losing the Champions League tie was gut wrenching but we’ll be back next season, hopefully bigger and better! Anything but a cup win now is unacceptable!

De Magere: Need to find the balance between blooding some youngsters in and maintaining momentum for the cup final because a domestic double is an absolute must!

ScottT: Some very impressive youngsters in there but it’s an absolute must for the team to fend off interest from Europe’s vultures for these players! Every young player who has had a chance so far has been very impressive.

pffffffft easy win for Feyenoord