please log in to view this image Je maintiendrai, it's on the crest of the Dutch monarchy. And in English it means I will remain, or better: I will stand my ground. It is in French because Napoleon put it there. When the Kingdom of Holland was founded in 1806 they designed this crest and for some reason it stayed that way for over two centuries now. please log in to view this image Why the history lesson? It's because this creed ironically applies to the Eredivisie. Every year, at the end of the season, football fans in The Netherlands always fear the transfer period in the summer. For who will remain in their squad at the end of August? It is seldom that a team can stay intact over the three months when hunting season is open in the Dutch football. And for most of the clubs, it's a battlefield. When clubs from the big leagues come they usually leave a mess behind. And this year is no exception. Last week I wrote about the situation at PSV and how their team of last season was gone, completely vanished. But they weren't the only team that lies in tatters and have lost key players. Now today is the start of the Eredivisie. And as usual it starts with a game for the Dutch Supercup, the Johan Cruyff Shield. This year AZ Alkmaar will face Ajax Amsterdam. The winners of the league cup against the winners of the championship. Now today's game is more than winning a cup. These two clubs have undergone the transfer period in opposite ways. AZ Alkmaar lost key players Jozy Altidore to Sunderland, and Adam Maher to PSV Eindhoven. But they attracted new players such as defenders Gouweleeuw(SC Heerenveen) and Wuytens(NAC Breda) and midfielder Gudelj, also from NAC. The defenders were bought with the departure of talented defender Viergever in mind and because Reijnen was inept and not good enough for the Eredivisie. AZ have basically a new team, which hasn't been tested but today they will have to perform to win against Ajax. Not just for the prize, but to show the fans that they can look forward to the new season, to show the supporters what they can expect the coming season. That they will remain, even when the key players are gone. please log in to view this image At Ajax, it's quite the opposite. Ajax have sold none of their first eleven player... none. Eriksen, still at the club, same goes for De Jong, Vermeer and Alderweireld. All have turned down clubs from abroad to stay with Ajax. Eriksen snubbed Bayer Leverkusen, Alderweireld Norwich. Vermeer attracted a lot of attention but stayed put. And De Jong said that he doesn't feel like leaving the club any time soon. Even more Eriksen and Alderweireld both claimed they were willing to sing an extension to stay at Ajax. So Ajax has managed to hang on to their key players for the first time in decades. Today they will start the game with almost exactly the same squad as they finished the season with in May. A rarity in the Eredivisie. To give an example, last week was the kick off for Dutch teams in Europa. FC Utrecht entered the second qualification round for the Europa League and were drawn against Luxembourg side Differdange. A semi-pro team with a stadium that couldn't hold more than a thousand fans, so they had to reallocate the match to the capitol. FC Utrecht is in a similar position as PSV, but with less funds and lesser quality players. They lost defender Van der Hoorn to Ajax, Kali to Roda JC, Assare to AA Gent and Wuytens to AZ Alkmaar. All key players in the last season when they secured a fifth place in the Eredivisie. FC Utrecht was balancing on the brink of bankruptcy for the past couple of years but they managed. In Luxembourg they started with a new team with a lot of youth players. And it went horribly wrong. They lost 2-1 in Luxembourg and last Thursday they drew 3-3 to be knocked out by a bunch of semi-pros from a dwarf nation in football. The papers called them an embarrassment for Dutch football. The fans were extremely disappointed and can probably expect a poor season to come. please log in to view this image Now today will be a game of showing what you can do this season. Ajax can show if they can improve on last season. AZ has to show their fans that they will remain in the sub top of the Eredivisie. But there is a third party that has to show their abilities this evening: Fox. Last year Rupert Murdoch bought sports channel Eredivisie Live and tonight will be their first game that they broadcast in The Netherlands. Many sports channels failed in The Netherlands in the past. And Eredivisie Live was in the red figures as well. Fox signed a billion euro contract with the clubs for the broadcast rights till 2023. So instead of losing money, the Eredivisie clubs will now receive 60 to 80 million every season, giving it the boost that it desperately needs. please log in to view this image So in tonight's game everybody has something to win, but more so, something to prove. Can AZ stand their ground? Can Ajax show that they remain the best team in the Eredivisie? Tonight at 7, the game will kick off this season and hopefully answers these questions.
Have you considered submitting these to the BBC or sky? They have a Spanish focus correspondent on Sky.
To be honest I never really gave dutch football much time, watched Ajax in the CL and when they played at Carrow road last pre-season, but thats about it. However since I've been reading your pieces Cove I've become more interested and might look to watch some games this year they tend to be very interesting, informative and well written. Thanks.
That's like music to my ears, I'm writing these pieces to make people curious and interested in the Eredivisie. Seems like it's working
I think you need to persevere. It's like publishing - keep sending them in to show you're not just a one off. You put in the hard work anyway, so it wouldn't be much trouble and eventually they might notice and give you a little bit for your efforts.
Game starts at 20:00 CET, 19:00 GMT, in 30 minutes. Game is for the Dutch (Super)Cup. Here are the livestreams: http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=212327&part=sports http://webfirstrow.eu/watch/197679/1/watch-az-vs-ajax.html http://www.sportcategory.com/c-1.html http://www.rojadirecta.me/ http://livetv.ru/en/eventinfo/180019_az_alkmaar_ajax/
Saw your title for this thread, Cove, thought "I will remain" meant you were staying with us for the season. We always welcome honorary Canaries.
Yup. Read it all. I'd echo some of the previous comments and urge you to continue trying to get mainstream media outlets to pivk you up. Thoughtful, incisive writing is something that's sorely needed in modern e-journalism. Good luck to you.
I've started to follow the eredivise alot closer in recent years because of the exact reasons you are talking about kn this thread cove. There are a lot of talented players plying their trade in the league and then being picked up by "bigger" clubs. Seems like a bit of a harvesting ground at the moment but I have a lot of time for some of the players in that league, there are several I would love to see at Norwich. What are your views on sigthorsson, de Jong, tadic, maher?
Sigþhorsson is too injury prone and inconsistent to play for the big leagues in my opinion. His physique is what's letting him down. He has yet to play a full season because in the past three years he either got injured or he is just too fatigued to continue after 25/30 games in a season. Both at AZ and Ajax he never played more than 35 games a season, including European and cup games. He is a real talent though, I've seen him score some goals that seemed impossible to make. He scores ugly though, not one to set up a goal nicely or in a Messi fashion. That's mostly because he ain't that fast for a striker. He has pace and a bit of agility/flexibility but not much. De Jong is ready for the big leagues, has been for a year now. His creativity and presence on the pitch are game changers, just like last night. He is a leader and he demands the ball in midfield. A bit like Sneijder but he hasn't got the free kick technique though. His heading and passing are phenomenal. I can't count the goals he scored with the head but there are dozens you van probably find on Youtube. Tadic is still in development but it's looking very good for the guy. He was already great at Groningen but he is excelling at Twente as RM and AM. His free kick and long range shooting are brilliant. Possibly the best in the Eredivisie. His consistency and mentality needs some work though. He is not exactly the guy that can move a team forward when they're down. And his level fluctuates a lot from game to game. One or two more seasons and he is ready for the big leagues. Check my blogs and previous posts on Maher, already wrote quite a lot on the guy. Right top corner you got advanced search, use single content search, keyword: Maher, user name: cove. Glad you enjoyed my blog and always nice to see fellow Eredivisie followers on the board
I see that Ajax won the Super Cup. Can you see anyone stopping them getting the Eredivisie title? With such a settled side I think they look a quality above anyone else. I'm also quite amazed that no big clubs came in with serious bids for Erikssen (I know you said that Leverkusen were after him but for me that would only have been a sideways step for him), I think he's top quality.
They were down 2-0 last night and very much struggling, PSV are looking good, they beat Fenerbaçe last week 2-0 away. Stadium was filled for 75% with Turks and their full A-team was playing, including Mereiles and Kuyt. Also, Feyenoord managed to keep their squad intact. It's not going to be as simple as it looks for Ajax.
