COACH OF
THE SEASON
ArneSlotalready had
a good trackrecord
atAZ, despitebeing
sackedwhenhe
announced hismove
toFeyenoord.Calm,
smart andtactically
aware,heprefers
attacking butrealistic
football. He ledthe
Rotterdam club to the
final of theEuropa
ConferenceLeague.NEWCOMER
OFTHE SEASON
Unlikemanyofhis
countrymen, Austria
centre-backGernot
Traunerhas never
playedinthe German
Bundesliga, which
perhaps explains why
heslipped underthe
radar andis, at 30,a
latebloomer.His calm,
no-risk approach and
work-rate make him
vital forFeyenoord.75 minutesontheclock,Ajaxtrailed
AZ2-1,whileoverinRotterdam,PSV
were2-0up againstFeyenoord.At
thatmoment,thegap wasjustone
point,butitwouldn’tstaythatway.
Inthe 86th minute,Ajaxequalised
throughEdsonAlvarez,whileCyriel
Desserspulledonebackfor Feyenoord.
A fewmomentslatercamethe
crucialmomentthatwouldultimately
decidethe championship.Referee Serdar
Gozubuyukgaveacontroversialpenalty
afterJensToornstra’sshothit Mauro
Junior’sarmwhilethedefenderwas
clearly makinganattempttoduck
awaywhilstturningaround.Dessers
steppeduptoconvertthespot-kick,
andthedealwassealed.
Itcausedfuriousreaction,
especially in Eindhoven,withnearly
everybodyagreeingthatthepenalty
shouldneverhavebeenawarded.
EventheDutchFAagreed,issuing
a statementthefollowingday
admittingthemistake.
Intheirnextgame,justthreedays
later, Ajax clinchedthetitlewitha 5-0
thrashingofHeerenveen,andeventually
finishedtwopoints clearofPSV.
Their 36 thtitle,theonlysilverwarethisseason,marksthe endofanera.
Ajaxneedfreshblood,andnew coach
AlfredSchreuder, whowas TenHag’s
assistantin 2018 andrecentlyledClub
Bruggetothe title,facesa heavytask
tobuildupa newteamthathastobe
successfulimmediately;thespoiled
boardandfanswon’tsettleforless.
A similartransformationwillbe
requiredinEindhovenas Ruudvan
Nistelrooy takesoverfromRoger
Schmidt.Broughtinasa topcoach,
theBenfica-boundGerman’s reputation
provedtobebetterthanhisresults.
A DutchSuperCupanda nationalcup
intwo years(comparedtoTenHag’s six
trophiesinthree)isn’tenoughtotake
awaytheimageofa wrongedcoach
whooftenmadeinexplicableteam
changesandcomplainedabittoo
muchaboutrefereeingdecisions.
PerhapsSchreuderandVan
Nistelrooy couldlearnatrickortwo
fromArneSlot,whokissedsleeping
giantsFeyenoordbackto life despite
losingNetherlandsinternationalSteven
Berghuistoarch-rivalsAjaxlast summer.
TheRotterdamclubhavefinancial
constraintsbutSlot’sdown-to-earthapproach,smarttransfersandtactical
awarenesssteeredthemalltheway to
theEuropaConferenceLeaguefinal.
Learningfromhisapproachonhis
debut yearata topclubisa valuable
lessonfor thenewfacesatAjaxand PSV.WORLDSOCCER 49
MrReliable...
Playerofthe Season...Brazilian winger Antony GernotTrauner
NETHERLANDS:EREDIVISIE
EUROSEASONREVIEW
Controversial...
PSV’s Brazilian
full-backMauro
Junior reacts
afterconceding
a penaltyagainst
rivalsFeyenoord