PSV Eindhoven – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

FEYENOORD and PSV Eindhoven meet this weekend in the Eredivisie, a game that could strengthen the home side’s position at the top of the table or revive PSV’s title bid. At the same time, Ajax, who are one point behind PSV, could still have a say in the race for the top, although the reigning champions are in a state of flux at the moment.

Ajax sacked manager Alfred Schreuder a week ago after a run of seven games without a win, handing the job until the end of the season to John Heitinga, who moved across from Jong Ajax to take charge. His first game, away at Excelsior, ended in a 4-1 victory.

It was always going to be difficult for Schreuder to take over from Erik ten Hag, especially as Ajax lost Antony (€95m) and Lisandro Martinez (€57.4m) to Manchester United, Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich (€ 18.5m) and Sébastien Haller to Borussia Dortmund (€31m). Ajax’s chief executive, Edwin van der Sar, said the sacking was “painful but necessary”.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Feyenoord	19	12	6	1	43	16	42
2	AZ Alkmaar	19	12	4	3	40	24	40
3	PSV Eindhoven	19	12	2	5	47	23	38
4	Ajax	19	10	7	2	51	21	37

It’s still too early to concede the title, but Ajax cannot afford any more slip-ups. They have drawn far too many games and also lost to PSV and AZ Alkmaar. Their Champions League campaign also ended in the group stage after they lost four of their six games in a group with Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers. They will resume their interest in Europe in the Europa League.

Feyenoord, meanwhile, have lost just once (against PSV) and are two points ahead of AZ. They have been boosted by the goals of Danilo Pereira da Silva, a 23 year-old Brazilian striker signed from Ajax, and their young Turkish skipper, Orkun Köksü, both of whom have eight goals in the Eredivisie. In defence, goalkeeper Justin Bijlow has kept nine clean sheets in his 19 league appearances. Feyenoord’s last Eredivisie success was in 2017 when they pushed Ajax into second place by one point.

Feyenoord’s president has spoken out about the gap between the Eredivisie and the Premier League, who regularly raid the Dutch league for reasonably-priced talent. Three of their stars, Tyrell Malacia, Luis Sinisterra and Marcos Senesi joined Manchester United, Leeds United and Bournemouth for fees totalling € 55 million. While losing top players creates problems, the money is hard to resist for Dutch clubs. It has almost become a way of life and a crucial part of the Dutch football business model. Feyenoord are not as proficient as the other big two clubs in the Netherlands in making profits from player trading.

Interestingly, Dennis te Kloese’s comment in the media came as leading French journalist Julian Lauren was talking about the massive imbalance in European football, created by the Premier’s wealth, the inability of other leagues to keep pace and the threat of the Premier’s counterparts becoming feeder leagues.

Feyenoord, with an average gate of 47,500 at their iconic De Kuip stadium, generated € 87.2 million in the 2021-22 season, of which only € 8 million was attributable to domestic broadcasting. The Eredivisie made the mistake of agreeing a 12-year deal back in 2013, which really puts Dutch clubs at a disadvantage. Feyenoord’s income is over € 100 million less than Ajax’s combined revenues and just slightly less than PSV’s earnings of € 93 million. Although Feyenoord have a lot of ground to make up, they are currently in a much better places than they were a decade ago when their financial situation almost tipped them into oblivion.

PSV, currently in third place, lost a few players in the transfer window, notably World Cup stand-out Cody Gakpo, who moved to Liverpool for €42 million and Noni Madueke to Chelsea for € 35m. Gakpo will be very difficult to replace, but PSV have secured three loan signings to reinforce their squad: Fabio Silva (Wolves), Patrick van Aanholt (Galatasaray) and Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund).

AZ Alkmaar are currently in second place but nobody really expects them to win the title. They are coached by London-born Pascal Jansen, the son of a pop singing duo from the early 1970s. Their recent 5-5 draw with Utrecht showed they know how to score – and concede – goals and they have one of the Eredivisie’s top scorers at the moment in 24 year-old Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis.

Games to come
Feb 5 2023: Feyenoord v PSV
Feb 19 2023: Feyenoord v AZ
Mar 19 2023: Ajax v Feyenoord
Apr 16 2023: PSV v Ajax
Apr 23 2023: Ajax v AZ
May 28 2023: AZ v PSV

THERE ARE some big names still in the Conference League, probably bigger than UEFA expected, and three of the clubs are past winners of the European Cup/Champions League: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Marseille. Furthermore, Leicester City and Roma are also still involved, making it a reasonable last eight.

While Leicester will fancy their chances, they face PSV, but the Foxes are less consistent this season and are currently 10^th in the Premier. They probably expected better after winning the FA Cup in 2021. PSV are not the force of old, but they are second in the Eredivisie and just two points behind Ajax. Their line-up is likely to include the sought-after winger, Cody Gakpo. The 22 year-old has netted 16 goals this season and is being eyed by Premier League clubs, including Arsenal. This is a tie that could go either way.

PSV’s stablemate, Feyenoord, face Slavia Prague for the second time after meeting them twice in the group stage. Slavia, who have had reputational problems due to accusations of racism on the pitch, are are just one point behind Viktoria Plzen in the Czech First League and are capable of surprising a few people.

One team that could emerge as favourites for the inaugural Conference League is Marseille (OM), no strangers to European success in recent years and now second in Ligue 1 but 12 points worse off than leaders Paris Saint-Germain. OM face PAOK and should be too strong for the Greek side. Marseille have an Arsenal player on loan in the form of William Saliba, who has been in excellent form this year.

The other quarter final is between Bodo/Glimt of Norway and Roma. These two sides met earlier this season and José Mourinho’s Roma were beaten 6-1, the worst defeat in the managerial career of the “special one”. One would assume that Roma won’t get fooled again and Mourinho may just see the Conference League as an ideal way to end what has been a patchy first season in the Italian capital. Roma are considered to be favourites to win the competition.

Mourinho always sees the value of winning silverware and no matter how unimportant some people think the competition is, he will be keen to add to his haul of major prizes. Roma have spurned the chance of challenging for a Champions League place in a campaign in which Juventus have been transitioning, but they have been in good form recently and are unbeaten in nine Serie A games, including a 3-0 win against Lazio in the Rome derby. What’s more, their € 40 million signing, Tammy Abraham, who joined from Chelsea, has proved to be an excellent acquisition, scoring 23 goals.

The final is scheduled to be hosted in Tirana, but UEFA are considering a switch due to possible political interference in football. Greece has been mentioned as a possible new venue.

The quality of the Conference last eight must be something of a relief for UEFA, but three of the quarter-finalists have arrived via the Europa League. Nevertheless, a decent winner will add to the credibility of the competition.