billsportsmaps.com

January 12, 2023

Netherlands: 2022-23 Eredivisie – Location-map, with 3 charts: Attendance [current]; Seasons-in-1st-Division (current clubs) & Dutch professional titles list.

Filed under: Netherlands — admin @ 9:43 pm

netherlands_2022-23-eredivisie_location-map_attendance_seasons-in-1st-div_dutch-titles-list_post_c_.gif
Netherlands: 2022-23 Eredivisie – Location-map, with 3 charts: Attendance [current]; Seasons-in-1st-Division (current clubs) & Dutch professional titles list

By Bill Turianski on 12 January 2023; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Summary – Eredivisie – Netherlands – results, fixtures, tables, stats, etc (soccerway.com).
-2022-23 Eredivisie (en.wikipedia.org).
-worldfootball.net/competition/[Eredivisie - Overview].

The map shows the 18 clubs in the 2022-23 Eredivisie, the top-flight of the Netherlands. The Eredivisie was founded in 1956, two years after the introduction of professionalism in the Netherlands. That makes this the 67th season of the competition. Currently [12 January 2023], after 15 of 36 rounds, Feyenoord leads, with Ajax and PSV 3 points back, and Twente and AZ 4 points back.

On the left-hand side of the map-page is an Attendance chart which features 3 things: current Average Attendance (to 9 January 2023, with 15 of 36 rounds played), Venue-capacity, and Percent-capacity.

Currently, the Dutch top flight is drawing very well. Eleven of the eighteen teams are drawing above 90%-capacity. Those 11 teams drawing above 90%-capacity are: Feyenoord Rotterdam, NEC [Nijmegen], Go Ahead Eagles [of Deventer], Ajax [Amsterdam], Twente [Enschede], Fortuna Sittard [of Limburg], just-promoted Excelsior [of Rotterdam], just-promoted Volendam [located just north of Amsterdam in Nord-Holland], Cambuur Leeuwarden [of Freisland], just-promoted Emmen [of Emmen in Drenthe], and Sparta Rotterdam. [Note: Feyenoord are currently playing to 100%-capacity at their stadium, De Kuip, but this is a limited capacity of 47,500, which is about 3,600 less than the total seated-capacity of the stadium.]

At the right-hand side of the map-page are two charts. The top chart shows the Seasons-in-1st-division for the current clubs. Also listed are the consecutive seasons each club has currently spent in the top-flight. Longest serving clubs are the big 3 of the Netherlands – Ajax (of Amsterdam), Feyenoord (of Rotterdam), and PSV (of Eindhoven). All 3 were founding members of the Eredivisie, and all 3 have never been relegated. The second chart is the all-time pro titles list for the Netherlands. As mentioned, the Eredivisie was established two years after Dutch clubs could turn pro. So I have included the winners of the final two 48-team Dutch National Championships, in 1954-55 (winner: Willem II [of Tilburg]) and 1955-56 (winner: Rapid JC [of Kerkrade]).

The map itself includes the 12 provinces, and the 14 largest cities of the Netherlands. At the foot of the map, the populations of those 14 largest Dutch cities are listed (with the provinces they are located in). Finally, I added all the major rivers and waterways of the Netherlands, including the main canals.
___
-Thanks to Lencer at en.wikipedia.org, for the blank map of Netherlands, File:Netherlands location map.svg.
-Thanks to Rob984 at File:EU-Netherlands_(orthographic projection).svg.
-Thanks to the contributors at Eredivisie (en.wikipedia.org).

March 4, 2021

Netherlands: 2020-21 Eredivisie – Location-map, with 2 charts: Seasons-in-1st-Division (current clubs) & Dutch professional titles list.

Filed under: Netherlands — admin @ 10:35 pm

netherlands_2020-21-eredivisie_location-map_seasons-in-1st-div_dutch-titles-list_post_f_.gif
Netherlands: 2020-21 Eredivisie – Location-map, with 2 charts: Seasons-in-1st-Division (current clubs) & All-time Dutch titles list



By Bill Turianski on the 4th of March 2021; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Summary – Eredivisie – Netherlands – results, fixtures, tables, stats, etc (soccerway.com).
-2020-21 Eredivisie (en.wikipedia.org).

The map shows the 18 clubs in the 2020-21 Eredivisie, the top-flight of the Netherlands. The Eredivisie was founded in 1956, two years after the introduction of professionalism in the Netherlands. That makes this the 65th season of the competition. There was no champion last season, because the competition was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2018-19 champions were Ajax of Amsterdam – the most successful Dutch club – and Ajax are on course to win the title again, with a 6-point lead as of the 5th of March (with 11 or 12 games to be played).

At the right-hand side of the map-page are two charts. The top chart shows the Seasons-in-1st-division for the current clubs. Also listed are the consecutive seasons each club has currently spent in the top-flight. Longest serving clubs are the big 3 of the Netherlands – Ajax (of Amsterdam) Feyenoord (of Rotterdam), and PSV (of Eindhoven). All 3 were founding members of the Eredivisie, and all 3 have never been relegated. The second chart is the all-time pro titles list for the Netherlands. As mentioned, the Eredivisie was established two years after Dutch clubs could turn pro. So I have included the winners of the final two 48-team Dutch National Championships, in 1954-55 (winner: Willem II) and 1955-56 (winner: Rapid JC).

The map itself includes the 12 provinces and 14 largest cities of the Netherlands. At the foot of the map, the populations of those 14 largest Dutch cities are listed (with the provinces they are located in). Finally, I added all the major rivers and waterways of the Netherlands, including the main canals.




___
Thanks to Lencer at en.wikipedia.org, for the blank map of Netherlands, File:Netherlands location map.svg.
Thanks to the contributors at Eredivisie (en.wikipedia.org).

December 7, 2014

Netherlands: 2014 football attendance map, all Dutch clubs (32 clubs) drawing over 2 K per game [from 2013-14 home league matches].

Filed under: European Leagues- -attendance maps,Netherlands — admin @ 10:37 pm

eredivisie_2014-attendance-map_all-clubs-drawing-above-2k_post_f_.gif
Netherlands: 2014 football attendance map, all Dutch clubs [32 clubs] drawing over 2 K per game




This continues my category of European leagues – attendance maps. Last season [2013-14], Netherlands had the 6th-highest average attendance for its first division in Europe (see chart below). The top five in Europe for 2013-14 I have done previously {here: Germany, England, Spain, Italy, France).

Below – Chart: the 20 highest drawing association football leagues in Europe

2013-14_europe_best-drawing_domestic-leagues_ger_eng_spa_ita_fra_etc_top20_.gif

Source of data, http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm.


Elements of the map page
The cut-off for clubs on this map is 2,000 per game average attendance, unlike the first five I did in this style, which had a cut-off of 4,000 avg. attendance. The reason I did it this way for Netherlands is basically because I could (could fit them all in the map, that is). There are 32 clubs on the map (all 18 Eredivisie clubs from last season; 13 of the 20 clubs from the Dutch 2nd division; and 1 of the 32 semi-pro teams in the Dutch 3rd division). Had I done the map in the 4-K-cut-off-style, there would have been 23 clubs (23 clubs in Netherlands drawing over for 4 K per game in 2013-14). That is not too shabby. Netherlands only has around 16.8 million inhabitants, yet it still is able to maintain a leagues system that has at its apex a league (the Eredivisie) which draws 19.5 K per game, which is only slightly lower than a nearby country with more than three-times the population – France. France, which has a population of around 66.6 million, has a top flight, Ligue Un, which averaged 20.6 K per game in 2013-14 (or only 1,125-more-per-game than the Netherlands’ top flight). In fact two seasons ago [2012-13], the Eredivisie was outdrawing Ligue Un (19,619 vs. 19,211).

Listed for each club, at the chart at the far-right-hand side of the map page, are: average attendances (from home league matches in 2013-14), stadium capacities, percent-capacities, Eredivisie titles, seasons spent in the Eredivisie by team, and KNVB Beker (Dutch Cup) titles.

On the map are shown are the 12 provinces of European Netherlands; they are listed in the Dutch. With only about 50% of its land exceeding one meter above sea level, the Dutch people have spent the last four centuries (successfully) keeping the Sea at bay. And so, because the Dutch are second-to-none at land-and-water management, I decided to include waterways on the map – so prominent bodies of water including rivers and canals (kanals) are shown and listed. I listed them also in the Dutch.

[{Here is a map of the Rhine River, Map of the Rhine basin (by WWasser at en.wikipeia.org).} In case you might be confused (and man, was I confused), the Rhine (Rijn, in the Dutch) flows from its source in the southeastern Swiss Alps near the Austria/Liechtenstein border, north to Lake Constance (depending on the lake's water level, the flow of the Rhine's water is clearly visible along the entire length of Lake Constance, which is a large Alpine lake which sits on the eastern part of the Swiss/German border including a portion that is in far-west Austria), and then as it emerges from the western edge of the lake, the Rhine continues to form the Swiss/German border all the way to the Swiss city of Basel, then at Basel the Rhine swings northerly and forms part of the French/German border, flowing past Strasbourg, then near the southwestern German city of Karlsruhe it continues to flow north but ceases to be part of the Franco/German border as it flows into southwest and west-central Germany (aka the Rhineland) as the Lower Rhine, then it swings west into the Netherlands...where, just west of Arnhem it is diverted into three distributaries: the Waal River, the Nederrijn ("Nether Rhine") and the IJssel; then the Nederrijn's name changes to the Lek as some of the Rhine's volume passes through Europe's largest shipping port at Rotterdam, then via the Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway"), into the North Sea. But the Rhine's course through the Netherlands is way more complicated than that...
{excerpt from Rhine/Delta at en.wikipedia.org}..."From here, the situation becomes more complicated, as the Dutch name Rijn no longer coincides with the main flow of water. Two thirds of the water flow volume of the Rhine flows farther west, through the Waal and then, via the Merwede and Nieuwe Merwede (De Biesbosch), merging with the Meuse, through the Hollands Diep and Haringvliet estuaries, into the North Sea. The Beneden Merwede branches off, near Hardinxveld-Giessendam and continues as the Noord, to join the Lek, near the village of Kinderdijk, to form the Nieuwe Maas; then flows past Rotterdam and continues via Het Scheur and the Nieuwe Waterweg, to the North Sea. The Oude Maas branches off, near Dordrecht, farther down rejoining the Nieuwe Maas to form Het Scheur. The other third of the water flows through the Pannerdens Kanaal and redistributes in the IJssel and Nederrijn."... {end of excerpt}.]
___

Thanks to Lencer at en.wikipedia.org, for the blank map of Netherlands, File:Netherlands location map.svg.

Thanks to Alphathon at commons.wikipedia.org, for provinces/waterways map of Netherlands, File:Map provinces Netherlands-nl.svg.

Thanks to worldcanals.com/english/netherlands.html.

Thanks to European-football-statistics.co.uk, for Dutch attendance figures, http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm.

Thanks to the contributors at ne. and en.wikipedia.org, at 2014–15 Eredivisie.

May 5, 2014

2014 FIFA World Cup teams: Netherlands (UEFA), prominent players in 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying (theoretical best XI for Netherlands, with 12 other player-options listed).

Filed under: Netherlands — admin @ 7:44 am




Netherlands national team. UEFA (Europe). Nickname: Oranje. Home jersey: orange with white trim.
-Netherlands is in Group B (with Australia, Chile, and Spain). ‘2014 FIFA World Cup/Group B‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification: 10th qualification out of 17 tries (1930, did not enter; 1954 & 1958, did not enter). Netherlands has qualified for the World Cup in: 1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014.

Previous WC finish: 2010, Runners-Up (6-0-1).
Highest WC finish:
1974, Runners-Up (5-1-1).
1978, Runners-Up (3-2-2).
2010, Runners-Up (6-0-1).

Population of Netherlands: 16.8 million {2013 estimate}. Capital and Largest city: Amsterdam, metro area pop. 1.5 million {2014 est.}.

-Netherlands coach, Louis van Gaal. Louis van Gaal.
-Netherlands squad captain, Robin van Persie. Robin van Persie.

[Note: Chart below updated to reflect caps /goals to Netherlands' Quarterfinals match of 5 July 2014. Apart from the two injured players shown below who were left off the Netherlands squad (Rafael van der Vaart & Kevin Strootman), all the players shown below comprise every Dutch player who has played for the Netherlands in the 2014 World Cup up to the Quarterfinals.]
Below: Theoretical Best XI for Netherlands (with 12 other player-options further below) -
netherlands_2014-fifa-world-up_squad_best-xi_alternate-options_z18_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Netherlands 2014 home jersey, photo from worldsoccershop.com.
Netherlands/EU map, by NuclearVacuum at ‘File:EU-Netherlands.svg‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
Netherlands blank map by Lencer at ‘File:Netherlands location map.svg‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
Coach,
Louis van Gaal, photo unattributed at skysports.com.
Goalkeeper,
Jasper Cillessen GK (Ajax), photo by Proshots via ad.nl/ad/nl.
Defenders,
Daryl Janmaat RB/LB (Feyenoord), photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Ron Vlaar CB (Aston Villa), photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Bruno Martins Indi LB/CB (Feyenoord), photo by Icon Sport via planetfootball360.com.
Daley Blind DM/LB/CB (Ajax), photo unattributed at voetbalzone.nl.
Midfielders,
Rafael van der Vaart AM/CM/RM (Hamburger SV), photo unattributed at sports.xin.msn.com.
Wesley Sneijder AM/CM/LW (Galatasaray), photo by Getty Images via prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com.
Kevin Strootman DM/CM/LW (AS Roma), photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Forwards (incl. Attacking MFs/Wingers),
Arjen Robben RW/LW (Bayern Munich), photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Robin van Persie FW (Manchester United), photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Jeremain Lens LW/RW/FW (Dynamo Kyiv), photo from fcdynamo.kiev.ua.
Other player-options,
Dirk Kuyt RW/FW (Fenerbahçe), photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images via gettyimages.co.uk.
Jonathan de Guzmán AM/CM/DM (Swansea City), photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Nigel de Jong CMF/DM (Milan), photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar FW (Schalke 04), photo unattributed at mtnfootball.com/europe/bundesliga/matches/report
Joël Veltman CB (Ajax), unattributed at fm-base.co.uk/forum.
Stefan de Vrij CB/RB (Feyenoord), photo unattributed at vavel.com/en/football/242927-van-gaal-s-world-cup-selection.
Memphis Depay LW/RW (PSV), photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Georginio Wijnaldum AM/W (PSV), photo unattributed at elsitioderuife.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/psv-eindhoven/10-georginio-wijnaldum.
Paul Verhaegh RB (Augsburg), photo unattributed at voetbalcentraal.nl.
Leroy Fer CM (Norwich City), photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
Terence Kongolo CB (Feyenoord), photo by Pro Shots via fr12.nl/nieuws.
Tim Krul GK (Newcastle United), photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.
___
Thanks to the contributors at ‘2014 FIFA World Cup qualification‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
Thanks to the contributors at ‘Netherlands national football team‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
Thanks to http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/, for player-position details.
Thanks to Soccerway.com, for recent squad line-ups (with positions-on-the-field graphics), at int.soccerway.com/international/europe/wc-qualifying-europe/2014-brazil/1st-round/r15653/.

August 26, 2011

Netherlands: 2011-12 Eredivisie, attendance map (with 2010-11 attendance data).

Filed under: Netherlands — admin @ 8:20 pm

eredivisie_2011-12clubs_w-2010-11attendances_post_.gif
Dutch top flight – 2011-12 season, with 2010-11 attendance data


Eredivise – Results, Fixtures, Table (Soccerway.com).

The Dutch first division is called the Eredivisie. On the map page, you can see the locations of the 18 clubs in the 2011-12 Eredivisie. Attendance data from last season (home league matches) can be found to the right of the map.

This season, the 56th season of the competition, began on the weekend of 6th August. Reigning champions are the Dutch giants Ajax, of Amsterdam, who have now won 30 national titles in the Netherlands including 8 titles which preceded the formation of Eredivisie, and the first Eredivisie title in 1956-57. But before last season, Ajax had not won a title in 7 years. And midway through the 2010-11 Eredivisie season, it looked like that title drought would continue, after Ajax lost their manager (Martin Jol, who resigned in early December because the squad was playing so poorly). Then Ajax lost their leading scorer, the talismanic striker Luis Suarez (who was sold to Liverpool in January). Then they lost their star goalkeeper to injury (Maarten Skekelenberg, who has since moved to Roma). But the squad came together under the leadership of Frank De Boer, and meanwhile Twente and PSV dropped points in the run-up. So Ajax’s fine form in the deciding weeks led to a final dual-match showdown versus Twente – first in the KNVB [Dutch] Cup, and then on the final day of the Eredivisie season. Although Ajax lost the Dutch Cup final to Twente (by a score of 3-2 in aet), a week later they showed up for the more important of the two matches, and handily disposed of Twente 3-1, to claim the title, with Siem de Jong scoring a brace. Frank De Boer is now, along with Rinus Michels and Ronald Koeman, one of the 3 players to have won a title as a player and a manager of Ajax.

It wasn’t just player attrition and a managerial change that the Ajax squad had to contend with last season – there was also a very public turf war within the Ajax top brass. Suffice to say that the 800 pound gorilla in the room, Johan Cruyff, is back with the leadership of the club now, after a half-decade-long turmoil within the Ajax board, so it looks like it will be bright days ahead for Ajax, what with the spiritual father of total football guiding the club and its player development system, {see this, from WorldOfAjax.wordpress.com, from 31 March 2011, ‘A free way for Johan Cruyff(?)‘.}

In that 7-year span when Ajax went without a title, 2 clubs emerged with national championships, breaking the quarter-century-long domination of the Dutch game by the Big 3 – the triumvirate of Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord. Those 3 clubs had won every Dutch title from 1981-82 to 2007-08 (27 seasons). Then the small club from Noord Holland, AZ of Alkmaar, won the 2008-09 title after coming agonizingly close in the seasons before [AZ had won the 1980-81 title; their 08/09 title is their second Dutch title]. AZ [pronounced 'Ah-Zed'] recently re-built and expanded their stadium, but it still has a capacity of only 17,000. Alkmaar has a population of around just 90,000 {2007 figure}. Even people from down the road in the freak-friendly city of Amsterdam consider Alkmaar to be a pretty freaky place, what with it’s fully-sanctioned window prostitution in it’s red-light district. After AZ shook up the status-quo in Dutch football, another provincial club took the baton the following season, with FC Twente, of Enschede, winning the 2009-10 title, by one point ahead of Ajax…{see this from Guardian.co.uk, from 2 May 2010, by Louise Taylor, ‘Steve McClaren goes from zero to hero as FC Twente win Dutch title‘. Enschede has a population of around 156,000 {2009 figure}. It was FC Twente’s first Dutch title. Twente play in the 24,000-capacity De Grolsch Veste, and the club pretty much plays to capacity these days. [FC Twente's current stadium expansion saw a recent tragedy {see this, from Guardian.co.uk, from 8 July, 'Second death following collapse of FC Twente stadium roof'}.]

In fact, clubs playing to high, above-90-percent-capacities is a recurring theme in the Netherlands, as you can see by the chart on the map page. Over half of the clubs – eleven clubs in the current season of Eredivisie – filled their stadiums to an above-90%-capacity figure last season (and Ajax was just below that at 89.3 %-capacity). But notably, only one of the Big 3 did – PSV, of Eindhoven, who are, like Wolfsburg in Germany (Volkswagen) and Sochaux in France (Puegot), a club that is bankrolled by a large multinational that makes durable goods. In PSV’s case, it is the electronics manufacturer Philips that has put the club on the map. PSV are the most successful club in the Netherlands in the last decade or so, having won 7 titles since 1999-2000, but their last title was 3 seasons ago in 2007-08. PSV play at the 35,000-capacity Philips Stadion. Philips Stadion is a pretty nice ground (with state-of-the-art fully heated seating and hi-tech turf-maintenance features) that is, unlike many of the first-division grounds in the Netherlands, right by the city center. Eindhoven has a population of around 213,000 and a metro-area population of around 440,000 {2010 figures}. To round out the population figures of the cities of the Big 3 clubs, Amsterdam [Ajax], the largest city in the Netherlands, has a city population of 1.2 million and a metro-area population of around 2.15 million {2010 figures}; while Rotterdam [Feyenoord], Holland’s second city, has a city population of around 611,000 and a metro-area population of around 1.21 million {2010 figures}. Feyenoord is starting to become like the Dutch version of Liverpool, because they have not won a national title since 1998-99, and are in retrograde, and in fact were in the bottom-half of the table last season, with a 10th-place finish, which included a 10-0 loss to PSV. The reason for Feyenoord’s title-drought and drastic drop in form is financially-based. However, Feyenoord might be out of contention these days, but the club can still pack them in, drawing 42,559 per game last season. Only Ajax draws better: they drew 47,316 per game to their 52,960-capacity Amsterdam Arena, which has a retractable roof and looks like it landed there from another planet. That’s par for the course in Dutch football, because in my opinion, this plucky little nation has created some pretty cool looking football grounds, as you can see in my previous post on the Eredivisie, {see this- ‘The Netherlands: 2009-10 Eredivisie, with 08/09 average attendances, and stadium photos‘}. Last season, the Eredivisie as a whole drew 19,296 per game. Notice that there are no running tracks in any of the top flight stadiums in the Netherlands. Thank goodness no one ever tried to combine an ice-skating oval and a football ground there.

_
Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance data.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Eredivisie‘.
Thanks to Demis.nl for the base map, Demis Web Map Server.

June 13, 2010

2010 FIFA World Cup: Netherlands, 23-man roster.

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, 2010,Netherlands — admin @ 9:59 am


Netherlands 2010 World Cup squad.


The map shows the birthplaces of the 23-man squad representing the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Netherlands team made it all the way to the final, but fell just short, losing 1-0 to Spain in AET.

22 players on the Netherlands 2010 World Cup squad were born and raised in the home county of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Young defender Edson Braafheid, who plays professionally for Bayern Munich, was born in South America, in the former Dutch possession of Suriname. Braafheid emigrated to the Netherlands (ie, Holland) when he was a youngster and played in youth set-ups in the Amsterdam and Utrecht areas, before joining the FC Utrecht youth academy.

At the bottom of the map page are photos of projected starters and key subs (20 player photos). International appearances (aka caps) and international goals are listed and are up to date as of 11th July, 2010 (that is, the close of the 2010 World Cup).
-
From The Guardian.co.uk, from 13 June, 2010, by Daniel Taylor: ‘World Cup 2010: Holland hope for harmony from their feuding stars‘.
-
Dutch players in the 2010 World Cup squad, by locations of their current professional clubs…
In the Netherlands, in the Eredivisie (9 players).
In Germany, in Bundesliga-1 (6 players).
In England, in the Premier League (5 players)
In Italy, in Serie A (2 players).
In Spain, in La Liga (1 player).
-
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.eikipedia.org. Netherlands national football team.
Thanks to Demis of the Netherlands, for the Netherlands base map and the Suriname base map. Demis.nl [homepage];
Demis Web Map Server.

October 17, 2009

The Netherlands: 2009-10 Eredivisie, with 08/09 average attendances, and stadium photos.

Filed under: Football Stadia,Netherlands,Zoom Maps — admin @ 8:11 am

netherlands_eredivisie2009-10_post_c.gif


Note: to see my latest post on Dutch football, cluck on the following, category: Netherlands.

The reigning Eredivisie champions are AZ .  The club is located  in Alkmaar,  Nord-Holland,  which is 33 km. (20 mi.) north-west of Amsterdam.   KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup) Holders are SC Heerenveen,  from Heerenveen,  Friesland.

At the top of the map are the crests of each club,  sized to reflect their 2008-09 average attendance in either the Eredivisie or the second division,  which is called the Eerste Divisie.   At the top left,  there is a list of the cities with 09/10 Eredivisie representation.   Below is the list I used.

‘List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people’ {click here (en.wikipedia.org}.

Dutch clubs in UEFA competitions for 2009-10

AZ,  Champions League Group stage-Group H,  with Arsenal,  Olympiacos (Greece),  and Standard Liège (Belgium).   AZ travels to north London to play Arsenal on Tuesday, 20th October. 

Ajax,  Europa League,  Group stage-Group A.   At home versus Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) on Thursday, 22nd October.    Heerenveen,  Europa League,  Group stage-Group D.   Away to FK Venspils (Latvia) on Thursday, 22nd October.    Twente,  Europa League,  Group stage-Group H.   Away to Sheriff [Tiraspol] (Moldova) on Thursday, 22nd October.    PSV,  Europa League,  Group stage-Group K.   Home versus FC Copenhagen (Denmark) on Thursday, 22nd October.

UEFA site,  here. 

Thanks to  SportingSites.com/netherlands {click here}.   Thanks to http://hollandfoci.eufoci.hu/stadionok.php .   Thanks to Panoramio.com {I have set the link  to a ground-level exterior shot of SC Heerenveen’s Abe Lenstra Stadion,  here,  by Jelmer Wielema}.   Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org  {click here (2009-10 Eredivisie page)}.   Thanks to E-F-S site for attendance figures {click here}.

September 18, 2008

Netherlands: Eredivisie, Clubs in the 2008-’09 Season (with 07/08 attendances).

Filed under: Netherlands — admin @ 10:52 am

netherlands_eredivisie08-09_attendances07-08_post1.gif


The 53rd season of the Netherlands’ Eredivisie is underway.  Reigning champions PSV Eindhoven have won the crown 4 consecutive seasons,  and 7 times in the last 9 seasons (Ajax were champions in ’04 and ’02; Feyenoord won it in 1999).  The Eredivisie, which began it’s first season in 1956, has 18 clubs.  One or two clubs are relegated each year, depending on the outcome of the promotion/relegation playoffs (between the 17th and 16th place finishers in the Eredivisie, and two clubs from the second division, which is called the Eerste Divisie).

Here is an overview of the 07/08 Eredivisie season and preview of 08/09,  from http://www.betinf.com/prev_netherland.htm.

For the Eredivisie table, {Click here}.

The Dutch clubs still playing in Europe this season are as follows…

PSV Eindhoven are in the 2008-’09 Champions League, in Group D.   In their first match, Tuesday, PSV were embarrased at home by Atletico Madrid, 0-3.  They next play at Anfield, versus European powerhouse Liverpool, so it looks grim for PSV’s chances of getting any sort of decent start in this competition.   [Note, I wrote a bit about PSV in an April '08 post: {Click here}.]    PSV have won 21 Dutch titles (the second most, behind Ajax), 8 KNVB Cups (last in 2005),  and 1 European championship: the 1988 Champions League title.   The club drew around 33,500 per game last season,  in their lavish 35,100-capacity Philips Stadion {see this},  in Eindhoven, North Brabant.

{Click here, for 08/09 Champions League results (UEFA site) }.

There are 4 Dutch clubs still competing in the 2008-’09 UEFA Cup.   FC Twente might have made it to the Champions League had they not drawn such a tough opponent as Arsenal,  in the CL 3rd Round Qualifiers.  [As it is, Twente missed a golden chance for entry into the promised land of the Champions League, especially since the second Dutch spot for a Champions League place will no longer be decided by a post-season playoff between 2nd through 5th place finishers in the Eredivisie.  Basically, Ajax complained enough about the format to have it scrapped, and the Dutch Big 3 have again consolidated their hold on the Dutch game.  These playoffs had been designed, effectively, to give a club outside the Big 3 a shot at the Champions League.  Ironically, two seasons ago, up-and-coming club AZ Alkmaar blew the Eredivisie title on the last game of the season, lost the title on goal difference to PSV, then lost in the playoffs.  So that year, the whole plan of the playoffs backfired.  Anyways, it's back to simply putting the 2nd place finisher into the 3rd Round Qualifiers of the Champions League.] 

FC Twente,  with English National Team flameout Steve McLaren as their new manager, face French club Rennes, in the UEFA CUP 1st Round.   FC Twente are from Enschede (a city with a population of around 154,000),  in east-central Netherlands,  in the province of Overijssel;  Twente is a region in the south-east of the province.   FC Twente draw around 13,000 per game;  they have won the KNVB (Dutch) Cup twice:  19777, and 2001;  a predecessor of theirs, Sportclub Enschede, won the Dutch championship (pre-Eredivisie) in 1926. 

Ajax face Serbian club FK Borac Cacak {Click here, for Wikipedia’s page on the biggest football club in the Netherlands,  Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax.}.   Amsterdam is the nation’s largest city, with a population of around 752,000.  Ajax have won 29 Dutch titles (the most); 17 KNVB Cups (last in 2007);  4 European championships:  3 European Cups (three straight years: 1971-’73),  and 1 Champions League title, in 1995;  and 1 UEFA Cup (1992).   Their home is the Amsterdam Arena {see this}, which features a retractable roof and a capacity of 51,628.  Last season, Ajax averaged around 49,100.

NEC Nijmegen face 18-time Romanian champions Dinamo Bucharest.   NEC are a medium-small club that has been punching above their weight.  Their ground only holds 12,470; the club played to around a 95% capacity last season.  Nijmegen is a city of 160,000 or so, near the German border,  in the eastern part of the province of Gelderland.

SC Heerenveen are a perennial UEFA Cup participant,  and are the club of Friesland,  a north-central province of the Netherlands that has it’s own language,  West Frisian (which is linguistically similar to the English language {see this} ).   Heerenveen isn’t even a city: it’s a town of about 43,000.  SC Heerenveen is known for discovering (then selling) future star players (such as Ruud van Niistelrooy and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, as well as the Brazillian Afonso Alves, who scored 7 goals in an Eredivisie game last October, and is now on Middlesbrough).  The club averages a respectable 25,000 per game, and have been consistently improving/enlarging their grounds.  But they still are unable to crack the hegemony of the Big 3.  Heerenveen did make it to the Champions League, once, in 2000.  But he club has no major titles.  Last season, Heerenveen lost in the 07/08 UEFA Cup 1st Round to Sweden’s Helsingborgs;  2 years ago they made it to the Group (of 40) Stage).  Currently, in this year’s competition,  Heerenveen face Portugal’s Vitoria Setubal.

Feyenoord are part of the Big 3, but have not been champions for nine seasons.  {Click here, for Wikipedia’s page on Feyenoord Rotterdam.}    Rotterdam is the Netherlands’ second largest city (pop: appx. 584,000), and has the largest port in Europe.  Feyenoord have won 14 Dutch titles,  11 KNVB Cups (they won it this year),  1 European championship (1970 European Cup),  and 2 UEFA Cups (1974 and 2002).  Feyenoord face Sweden’s Kalmar FF.

{Click here for 2008-’09 UEFA Cup Results, etc. (UEFA site) }. 

Thanks to the European Football Statistics site, for the attendance figures {Click here}.

May 28, 2008

UEFA Euro 2008: Netherlands. National Team- Squad Map.

Filed under: Netherlands,UEFA Euro 2008 — admin @ 5:34 pm

euro_2008_netherlands_post1.gif


Netherlands coach Marco van Basten shrunk his roster to 24 players on 25th May {see this}.  He made his final cut on the 27th {see this}.  And here is an update from the Dutch camp {see this}

On this map, I have made a couple adjustments, for better readability.  I listed each position in the order of players with the most caps (rather than alphabetically).  I listed each player’s name twice, so you can scroll easier.  And I tried to list all the former clubs that each player played for (not just the first club or two). 

The 18 biggest Dutch cities (cities with more than a 122,000 population) are listed on the map.  I added two smaller cities that have prominent first division clubs,  Heerenveen (pop. 42,000), and Alkmaar (pop. 94,000).   **{Click here, for the list of largest cities in the Netherlands.}

The Netherlands team is in the Group of Death…Italy, France, Netherlands, and Romania. (Yikes !)

Thanks to (www.demis.nl) for the blank map of the Netherlands.  Thanks to the UEFA site for the Netherlands National Team Euro 2008 kits {click here, for the UEFA Euro 2008 site}.

April 6, 2008

Netherlands, Eredivisie 2007-’08-Zoom Map.

Filed under: Netherlands,Zoom Maps — admin @ 10:35 am

netherlands_zoom_post_c.gif


Professional football in the Netherlands has been played since the late 19th century, with the first National Title won by RAP Amsterdam, in 1898.  But it took another couple decades for the dominant clubs of today’s Dutch football to emerge:  Ajax (est. 1900) won their first Title in 1918;  Feyenoord (est. 1908) won their first Title in 1924;  PSV Eindhoven (est. 1913) won their first Title in 1929. 

PSV is on course for their fourth consecutive championship.  They have won the Title 6 out of the last 8 seasons.  The club has won 20 Dutch Titles, overall.  PSV stands for Philips Sports Vereniging (that last word means “Union”), and was formed as a sporting club of Philips, the electronics conglomerate.  They play in a swank 36,600-capacity stadium in Eindhoven, which is in the southern part of the country, in the province of North Brabent.  All the seats in the stadium are heated.  The red and white stripes on their jersey reflect a similar, horizontal pattern on the flag of  North Brabent.  PSV won the 1987-’88 Champions League, and the 1977-’78 UEFA Cup.  The current squad is still alive among the last 8 clubs in the 2007-’08 UEFA Cup, with their home leg v. Fiorentina coming up on 10th April (1-1 score, in the first leg).   {Click here, for Wikipedia’s entry on PSV Eindhoven.} 

The Eredivisie was formed in 1956.  Currently, there are 18 clubs in the league.  There are 1 to 2 clubs relegated each season, depending on the outcome of the relegation/promotion playoffs, which involves the 16th and 17th place finishers in the Eredivisie, and the top 8 (!) clubs in the Ereste Divisie (the second tier).  

{Click here, for Wikipedia’s entry on the Eredivisie.}

{Click here, for the Eredivisie Round-Up, from the Sky Sports site.}

The Netherlands domestic league is currently ranked #8 for European competitions by UEFA {see this: scroll down to third table on page}.   The National Champions automatically advance to the Champions League Group Stage.  2nd place through 5th place enter a playoff for the other Champions League spot (in the CL 3rd Round Qualifiers).  There is a similar playoff for 3 UEFA Cup spots {see this};  the winner of the KNVB Cup also gains entry to the UEFA Cup.   Overall, The Netherlands receives 2 Champions League spots, and 4 UEFA Cup spots.

**Click here, to see my attendance map of Netherlands football, circa 2007.   **Click here, for my Hand-drawn map of  Netherlands football, circa 2004.

Thanks to (colours-of-football[dot]com) for the kits.  Thanks to (demis[dot]nl) fot the base map.

Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress