Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
The Eredivisie may not be homes to superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi nor Neymar.
But it is seen by many to be the breathing home of superstars, as stars like Edwin Van de sar, Luis Suarez, Johan Cruyff and Zlatan Ibrahimovic just to mention a few, came through the Eredivisie ranks and went on to write their names in football's history books. When it comes to European football, Eredivisie possesses one of the big guns in Ajax and PSV as the Amsterdam outfit has been crowned European champions on four occasions and that is more times than both Chelsea and Arsenal combined.
Last season saw PSV claim their 24th league title after finishing top of the league standings just four points above fierce rivals Ajax. They became champions after seeing off their close rivals Ajax 3-0 at the Philips Stadion. PSV scooped the title after winning 26 games losing just 3 and 5 draws; they finished at the summit of the standings with 83 points, four points adrift Ajax.
Once again, the title race is likely to be a closed shop between Holland's big three. PSV and Ajax are a class apart from the rest of the teams in the league and the Eredivisie title is seen by many to be the birthrights of PSV and Ajax, but 2015/2016 champions Feyenoord look capable of causing an upset this term. The bookies being unable to split them, so click here for some great betting tips. Since 1965 these three clubs have won all but three Eredivisie titles (the 1981 and 2009 titles went to AZ and FC Twente won the 2010 title) and these three clubs are the only once to appear in every edition of the Eredivisie since its formation.
The 2018/2019 Eredivisie will be the 63rd season of the Eredivisie since its inception in 1955. The season kicks off on 10 August 2018 with Zwolle and Heerenveen to kick the first ball and conclude on 12 May 2019, the Europa league and relegation play-offs will take place later that month. Emmen, De Graafschap and Fortuna Sittard join as the promoted clubs from the 2017/2018 Eerste Divisie. They will replace Sparta Rotterdam, Twente and Roja JC who were relegated to the 2018/2019 Eerste Divisie.
PSV's defence of the crown may depend on how energy sapping a champion's league campaign may be and how well they do in the transfer market both in keeping their star players and reenforcing the squad with new talents.
With Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV all enduring respective change-overs in playing and coaching staff, attention may turn to one of the chasing pack to mount a title bid. The Eredevisie's traditional top three are still more affluent in riches, but in the past ten years, we have seen surprises such as AZ (2009) and Twente (2010) take the crown. The only realistic oustsiders this term maybe AZ as Twente got relegated last term. Further down the table, there are plenty of the teams that will be hoping to make it to Europa league play-offs. The battle between Ultrech, Vitesse, AZ, Heerenveen, and Groningen is always exciting to see unfold.
With the World cup looking to produce young talents as usual and with the re-enforcements looking to happen in the current transfer period, few will argue that we are in for an intriguing 2018/2019 Eredivisie campaign.
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All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
Tony Incenzo has been to over 2,000 football grounds - is he the world's barmiest football fan? Read about his love for Non-League football and groundhopping obsession, including watching a match in prison!
