Can Feyenoord Finally Win The Eredivisie Again? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Dutch Eredivisie is normally dominated by the three giants PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord. However, Feyenoord managed to finish in the top three only once in the last four years. This has been a huge disappointment for the supporters, who are desperate to be contenders for the title again. Despite the poor results in the league, the supporters were not totally left without cause to celebrate. Last year’s 2-0 victory over Roda JC in the cupfinal was heavily celebrated and winning 2002’s UEFA cup was just a gift from heaven for the supporters. Aside from these two trophies Feyenoord were unable to impress on the big stage. What’s the reason for Feyenoord their downfall? Like all the teams from the smaller leagues, Feyenoord have difficulty keeping their starplayers in Rotterdam. In the last couple of years they lost Royston Drenthe to Real Madrid, Dirk Kuyt to Liverpool, Robin van Persie to Arsenal and Salomon Kalou to Chelsea. However, This problem is consistent among all the Dutch giants. An even greater reason for the disappointing results is the fact that Feyenoord aren’t very lucky on the transfer market. Dutch weekly Voetbal International recently published the hard facts on Feyenoord’s transfer policy. In ten years they bought 88 players, with only eleven of them being considered a success. They also had the possibility to sign Brazilian internationals Fred and Ricardo Oliveira in the beginning of their careers, but passed it up. Furthermore, Feyenoord their bad results could be due to the lack of consistency in the technical staff. New manager Gertjan Verbeek is the fifth man in charge in the last five seasons. A new manager might be the fresh blood a team needs, but changing this often can be problematic. The upcoming centenary Feyenoord were founded on 19 July 1908 under the name of Wilhelmina. After a couple of changes of name the club was named after the city district where the team was founded, SC Feyenoord. Feyenoord their biggest glory moment was in 1970, when they were the first Dutch team to claim a major European trophy. With the likes of Coen Moulijn, Wim van Hanegem, Rinus Israel and Wim Jansen the people’s club produced some legendary players. Other stars that wore the famous red and white shirt are Johan Cruijff, Ruud Gullit, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Ronald Koeman and of course folk hero Jozsef Kiprich. In the centenary year Feyenoord have planned a lot of festivities, starting with the presentation of the current squad on the 19th of July. They also organized a centenary tournament with the clubs they once faced in the final of an European tournament (Tottenham Hotspur, Borussia Dortmund and Celtic). However, celebrating the Eredivisie title at the end of the season would just be the icing on the cake. What are the odds of winning De Eredivisie? If there’s any chance of celebrating the Eredivisie title at the end of the season remains to be seen. Feyenoord strengthened their squad with Jon Dahl Tomasson and Karim El Ahmadi. These added to last year’s signings Roy Makaay, Gio van Bronckhorst and Kevin Hofland, making the core of the team is of excellent quality for Dutch standards. With young talents like Ron Vlaar, Luigi Bruins and Jonathan de Guzman surrounding these five Feyenoord should be considered as a serious contender. However, Ajax splashed the cash on last year’s revelation Micky Sulejmani and Argentinian topscorer Dario Cvitanic. When they can keep striker Huntelaar at De Arena and strengthen their squad with a good defender Ajax is the favourite to end the PSV era. Reigning champions PSV lost Jefferson Farfan and world-class goalkeeper Gomes and don’t look as strong as the years before. Finally, with ambitious teams like AZ, FC Twente, SC Heerenveen and FC Groningen also trying to compete for a place in the top three it promises to be an interesting season. Feyenoord is definitely one of the favourites to win the Eredivisie and Het Legioen will definitely flood De Coolsingel when Feyenoord can be crowned the centenary with a title.</div>
