The Club of the People: Feyenoord Rotterdam

Congratulations on the new contract, now to mark this new deal with a massive victory!

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07 May 2018

Invincibles: What Next For Feyenoord’s Unbeaten Stars?

Sebastien Haller bagged a hat trick for Feyenoord last night as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side secured a 3-1 victory against PSV to complete an unbeaten, dropping only 6 points across the season as Feyenoord completed a terrific campaign. Excelsior, PEC Zwolle and AZ Alkmaar were the only sides to take points off of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men during the 2017/18 season and when the 34 games of this season are added to the final 8 games from last season that Feyenoord avoided defeat in, Feyenoord are now unbeaten in 42 Eredivisie games and just 11 games away from breaking the record set by Ajax in 1996.

However, what lies ahead for Feyenoord is a huge summer. The Eredivisie has long been known as a production line for the top leagues in European football and Feyenoord’s stars will be no exception to the speculation surrounding the best players in Holland this summer. Elsewhere, the World Cup will give another chance for some of Feyenoord’s players to increase their profile on the world stage and alert any potential suitors, whilst the future of manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has recently been placed under question by the manager’s words themselves. Here, Sky Sports will take a look at what is next for Feyenoord going into the summer transfer window and next season.

Having won the Eredivisie title in back to back seasons, Feyenoord will no doubt be the favourites ahead of the 2018/2019 season. Having broken the record for most amount of points accrued in a season with 96 this season, Feyenoord will have a lot of expectation on them next season. It was Sir Alex Ferguson who said that retaining a title is harder than winning the first one and that will be even harder for Feyenoord next season as their rivals for the title, Ajax, PSV and maybe even AZ and FC Utrecht will all spend on their squads in order to try and seal the title next season.

Many pundits and experts are predicting Feyenoord to have a summer this year that they were predicted to have last year. An unbeaten season has only increased the profile of their star players, players that Feyenoord were able to convince to stay last season. Tonny Vilhena played his final game for the club against PSV and will now leave for Hertha Berlin on July 1st, whilst Rick Karsdorp and Jens Toornstra are being targeted by the likes of Man City and Juventus for the former, and Celta Vigo for the latter. van Bronckhorst may find it difficult to keep hold of his star players this season, with those players having had a taste of the Champions League with Feyenoord this season. Replacing any players that leave will be vital for van Bronckhorst this summer, whether that be through bringing players in for money or looking at the clubs youth academy for any exciting prospects.

Feyenoord will not only need to replace players though. They will also need to improve their squad to ensure that the players are hungry enough going into next season. Vitesse Arnhem’s Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who has scored 24 goals for his side this season is being linked with a move to De Kuip and former fan favourite Robin van Persie is being linked with a return to De Kuip as a final swansong in his career. Elsewhere, Juninho Bacuna and Marten Thorsby are also being linked with big money (for the Eredivisie) moves to De Kuip.

Whilst the majority of Feyenoord’s squad is made up of players from the Netherlands, who haven’t qualified for the finals in Russia, players like Nicolai Jorgensen and Bilal Basacikoglu represent nations who will compete in Russia ahead of the Finals. Denmark and Turkey will both look to get out of their groups at the finals, and this will give their players the chance to show themselves off and give their chances of a move elsewhere a big boost and the Feyenoord players that will travel to Russia this summer will be no different.

Whilst Giovanni van Bronckhorst signed a contract extension before yesterday’s game against PSV, the former left back did also put his future in doubt by confirming that he would be interested in leaving Feyenoord if two of his former sides came calling. Barcelona, may well be looking for a new manager this summer, having failed to win the La Liga title for the second season running and an appointment from the Eredivisie isn’t completely far fetched when you consider how Giovanni van Bronckhorst likes his side to play.

Meanwhile Rangers would most likely consider van Bronckhorst an upgrade on their current manager, and an attempt to try and lead the Glasgow giants back to the top of Scottish football may represent a challenge that van Bronckhorst would consider should the opportunity arise.

Comments

Justice: Thanks man, but we did it! Unbeatable!

Haller proving his worth at the end of the season! Hopefully none of the big boys come knocking for him

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17 May 2018

Matt Miazga Makes Loan Move Permanent

Feyenoord have today confirmed their first summer signing as American defender Matt Miazga has made his loan deal at Feyenoord permanent for a fee believed to be worth around £1.5 million once the player and his club have met various additional clauses in the deal. The defender arrives from Premier League side Chelsea, having never established himself at Stamford Bridge and after his move to Chelsea from New York Red Bulls has spent time on loan at Vitesse Arnhem as well as Feyenoord. It is of course a World Cup year and Miazga will be hoping that he has done enough in helping Feyenoord go a whole season unbeaten to earn his place on the plane to Russia in a few weeks time.

Speaking to Feyenoord.nl, Miazga said ”I am delighted to have made my move here permanent. I have really enjoyed my time here and feel I have developed a lot as a person and a player and the chance to continue to play for this fantastic club will be fantastic. Obviously I have to thank Chelsea for bringing me to European football and although it hasn’t really worked out for me at Chelsea, I am still grateful for the opportunity they have given me. Hopefully we will meet soon in the Champions League and I can try and impress and show them what I am capable of in Feyenoord colours.”

His manager at Feyenoord, Giovanni van Bronckhorst negotiated both the deal with the club and the deal with the player and claimed ”I am delighted to have got this deal over the line. Matt is a fine defender and has done really well for us since he joined us on loan. Securing his signature on a permanent basis is great news for this team and a really big boost to our defensive numbers and we are very happy to have Matt here for the long term now.”

Comments

Justice: Sebastien Haller <3

Great singing, for cheap as well!

BAR-GAIN

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17 May 2018

Five Feyenoord Players To Represent Their Countries In Russia

The deadline for the announcement of preliminary squads for the 2018 FIFA World Cup was today, with five Feyenoord players being selected in their nations 30 man squads ahead of the tournament in Russia which kicks off in less than a month time. Despite the lack of interest from Danny Blind and his players after the Dutch national team failed to qualify, five countries have included Feyenoord players in their squads.

The first of the five players is Karim El Ahmadi, who will hope to add to his 41 appearances for Morocco as they take on Senegal and Albania in two friendlies before the tournament before meeting Australia, Ukraine and Uruguay at the tournament. Matt Miazga who has earnt 3 caps for the United States will be desperate to add to that total after an impressive season for Feyenoord as the club went unbeaten in the Eredivisie campaign, with the USMNT taking on France and the Faroe Islands pre tournament before meeting England, Denmark and Senegal at the finals.

Should Miazga make the final 23 man squad for the finals in Russia, Miazga may well come face to face with team mate Nicolai Jorgensen who has been chosen by Age Hareide to represent Denmark at the finals, although through injury he is likely to miss the Danes’ warm up matches against Algeria and Mexico, meaning his chances of coming up against Miazga’s US side could hinder on whether Hareide decides to include Jorgensen, capped 33 times, in his final squad. Turkey have also made the decision to include Bilal Basacikoglu in their squad, despite the winger only winning his first cap against Belgium at the end of March. Turkey will meet South Korea and Qater in their two warm ups before competing in a difficult group which contains the likes of Italy, Columbia and Japan.

Perhaps the biggest shock though sees Sebastien Haller included in Didier Deschamps’ France squad. Despite Haller having scored 40 goals in all competitions for Feyenoord this season, many are surprised to see Haller included in Les Bleus’ side over the likes of Valere Germain, Kevin Gameiro and Nabil Fekir who all play in Ligue 1 or in La Liga. Haller will hope he can prove he is of international class against the USA and the Ivory Coast in the two warm up friendlies France will play, before meeting Nigeria, Mexico and the hosts Russia in the finals, should Haller make the final 23 man squad.

Comments

De Magere: Absolute steal!

Justice: He was a rock for us this season so to get him permanently is a great move!

Nice to see Haller getting a surprise call-up, it shows that perhaps the reputation of the Dutch League is growing once again in modern football.

Haller > Messi

Comments

ScottT: Yeah it was very cool to see him get a call up, just hope he can impress if he does get the final call

Justice: Haller >>>>> Everyone

Great way to wrap up the season, unbeaten!

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01 June 2018

Feyenoord Sweep Up At End Of Season Awards

At the End of Season Awards dinner for the Eredivisie, Feyenoord, as they were in the football were the big winners and their players swept up three of the big awards on offer. It was a historic year for Feyenoord as they broke various records, including the highest points tally in a season, after picking up 96 points in the Eredivisie and the highest number of wins in a season at 31. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were also close to breaking the record for the highest amount of consecutive victories and will have the longest unbeaten record in Eredivisie history in their sights when the Eredivisie returns next season.

At the actual end of season awards though, young defender Mats Knoester, who burst into the first team during the course of this season and especially after Sven van Beek’s departure for Atletico Madrid, picked up the Young Player of the Year award beating Ajax’s David Neres and Heerenveen’s Marten Thorsby to the award by two voting points. Knoester in his acceptance speech said ”I am overwhelmed to have won this award. It is a fantastic achievement for myself and it goes to show how well the team has played this year that I have been able to come in and contribute. Thank you to everyone who voted for me, hopefully I can continue to live up to this title next season.”

Meanwhile the biggest winner of the night in the Feyenoord squad was Sebastien Haller who became the first player to retain the Golden Boot award since Danny Blind achieved this feat in 1996. Haller was at the top of a Feyenoord 1,2,3 in the award as Eljero Elia and Nicolai Jorgensen rounded off the top three in terms of votes from their fellow players showcasing the remarkable season achieved by Feyenoord and their players. Sebastien Haller was also the winner of the Top Goalscorer award in the Eredivisie, as he scored 35 goals in league competition to rival the record set by Luis Suarez in 2010.

Meanwhile having guided Feyenoord to an unbeaten league season and a 42 match unbeaten record, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was named as Eredivisie Manager of the Year. van Bronckhorst said ”Thank you very much for this award, but really this belongs to the players. They are the ones who have worked incredibly hard to achieve what we have achieved this year and listened to what me and my coaching staff have said. We will be back next year bigger and better hopefully and hopefully we can have another successful season next year, thank you!”

Comments

ScottT: An unreal season, can’t believe we only dropped 6 points!

With that kind of record from the team, didn't expect anything else than to grab some individual trophies along the way!

Don't mind Feyenoord, just finishing 30 points clear at the top of the table. Nothing out of the ordinary there