Roberto Abrego
08-16-2002, 03:16 PM
The Dutch Eredivisie season kicks off over this weekend with the first match on Friday night between two of the promoted teams.
RBC Roosendaal finished third in the second division last season and were successfully promoted via the playoffs and host the second division champions Zwolle in their opening fixture.
The first of the three Dutch giants to get their season underway is PSV Eindhoven on Saturday as league champions Ajax and UEFA Cup winners Feyenoord are in action on Sunday.
It has been an interesting summer for PSV after Eric Gerets stepped down at the end of last season. After weeks of speculation Guus Hiddink agreed to return to the club where he had success earlier in his managerial career. The former Real Madrid and Holland boss has become one of the most respected managers in World football after his heroics with South Korea during the World Cup. He will of course be looking to continue in that vain on Saturday when they play against the third newly promoted outfit, Excelsior.
However, Ajax have already got the upperhand over their fierce rivals with a 3-1 win in the Dutch Super Cup last weekend.
The Amsterdam club are the strong favourites to take the title again this season and they will be looking to start how they mean to go on with a win against Utrecht at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday afternoon.
After winning the UEFA Cup Feyenoord will be hopeful of their chances this year and they begin their campaign with a home match against NEC. Feyenoord lost Jon Dahl Tomasson to AC Milan in the summer, but they appear to have been able to hold on to another star player Brett Emerton.
Vitesse finished fifth last year but have lost star striker Victor Sikora to Ajax over the summer. They start the season with a trip to Groningen and along with Heerenveen, who face AZ Alkmaar, will be aiming at breaking into the top three this season.
RBC Roosendaal finished third in the second division last season and were successfully promoted via the playoffs and host the second division champions Zwolle in their opening fixture.
The first of the three Dutch giants to get their season underway is PSV Eindhoven on Saturday as league champions Ajax and UEFA Cup winners Feyenoord are in action on Sunday.
It has been an interesting summer for PSV after Eric Gerets stepped down at the end of last season. After weeks of speculation Guus Hiddink agreed to return to the club where he had success earlier in his managerial career. The former Real Madrid and Holland boss has become one of the most respected managers in World football after his heroics with South Korea during the World Cup. He will of course be looking to continue in that vain on Saturday when they play against the third newly promoted outfit, Excelsior.
However, Ajax have already got the upperhand over their fierce rivals with a 3-1 win in the Dutch Super Cup last weekend.
The Amsterdam club are the strong favourites to take the title again this season and they will be looking to start how they mean to go on with a win against Utrecht at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday afternoon.
After winning the UEFA Cup Feyenoord will be hopeful of their chances this year and they begin their campaign with a home match against NEC. Feyenoord lost Jon Dahl Tomasson to AC Milan in the summer, but they appear to have been able to hold on to another star player Brett Emerton.
Vitesse finished fifth last year but have lost star striker Victor Sikora to Ajax over the summer. They start the season with a trip to Groningen and along with Heerenveen, who face AZ Alkmaar, will be aiming at breaking into the top three this season.