EREDIVISIE

Eredivisie
''Eredivisie 2007/2008''
'Founded'
1954
'Nation'
'Relegation To'
Eerste Divisie
'Number of Teams'
18
'European Qualification'
Champions League
UEFA Cup
Intertoto Cup
'Cups'
KNVB Cup
Johan Cruijff-schaal
'Current Champions (2006/2007)'
PSV Eindhoven
'Most Successful Club'
AFC Ajax (29)
'Website'
Official

The 'Eredivisie' (English: ''Honorary Division'') is the highest football league in the Netherlands.
From 1990 to 1999, the official name of the league was PTT Telecompetitie (after the sponsor, PTT Telecom), which was changed to KPN Telecompetitie in 1999 and to KPN Eredivisie in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, the league was called the Holland Casino Eredivisie. From the 2005-06 season onwards, the league will be sponsored by the ''Sponsorloterij'' lottery, but for legal reasons, its name cannot be attached to the league.
The top division consists of 18 clubs. Each club faces every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away. At the end of each season, the bottom club is automatically relegated to the second level of the Dutch league system, the ''Eerste Divisie'' (First Division), with the champion of the ''Eerste Divisie'' automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. The next two clubs from the bottom of the Eredivisie go to separate promotion/relegation playoffs. The playoffs are played in two groups. Each group has one Eredivisie club and four high-placed clubs from the ''Eerste Divisie''. In both promotion/relegation playoff groups, each club plays a home-and-away series with the other clubs. The winner of each playoff group plays in the following season's Eredivisie, with the other teams going to the ''Eerste Divisie''.
AFC Ajax has won the most titles, 29. PSV Eindhoven is next with 20, and Feyenoord follows with 14. Since 1965, these three giants have won all except for one title (the 1980/81 title went to AZ '67).

Contents
Current teams (2007-2008)
Champions
Number of titles
Positions
European competition
Relegation
Attendance
All-Time Ranking
UEFA Ranking
Topscorers
References
See also
External links

Current teams (2007-2008)



Ajax
AZ
Excelsior
Feyenoord
De Graafschap
FC Groningen
sc Heerenveen
Heracles Almelo
NAC Breda
N.E.C.
PSV
Roda JC
Sparta Rotterdam
FC Twente
FC Utrecht
Vitesse
VVV-Venlo
Willem II

Champions


SeasonChampion
1897-1898 R.A.P. (Amsterdam)
1898-1899 R.A.P.
1899-1900 Kon. H.V.V. (Den Haag)
1900-1901 Kon. H.V.V.
1901-1902 Kon. H.V.V.
1902-1903 Kon. H.V.V.
1903-1904 H.B.S. (Den Haag)
1904-1905 Kon. H.V.V.
1905-1906 Kon. H.B.S.
1906-1907 Kon. H.V.V.
1907-1908 Quick (Den Haag)
1908-1909 Sparta (Rotterdam)
1909-1910 Kon. H.V.V.
1910-1911 Sparta
1911-1912 Sparta
1912-1913 Sparta
1913-1914 Kon. H.V.V.
1914-1915 Sparta
1915-1916 Willem II (Tilburg)
1916-1917 Go Ahead (Deventer)
1917-1918 AFC Ajax (Amsterdam)
1918-1919 AFC Ajax
1919-1920 Be Quick (Groningen)
1920-1921 N.A.C. (Breda)
1921-1922 Go Ahead
1922-1923 R.C.H. (Heemstede)
1923-1924 Feyenoord (Rotterdam)
1924-1925 H.B.S.
1925-1926 Sportclub Enschede
1926-1927 Heracles (Almelo)
1927-1928 Feyenoord
1928-1929 P.S.V. (Eindhoven)
1929-1930 Go Ahead
1930-1931 AFC Ajax
1931-1932 AFC Ajax
1932-1933 Go Ahead
1933-1934 AFC Ajax
 
SeasonChampion
1934-1935 PSV
1935-1936 Feyenoord
1936-1937 AFC Ajax
1937-1938 Feyenoord
1938-1939 AFC Ajax
1939-1940 Feyenoord
1940-1941 Heracles
1941-1942 A.D.O. (Den Haag)
1942-1943 A.D.O.
1943-1944 De Volewijckers (Amsterdam)
1945-1946 Haarlem
1946-1947 AFC Ajax
1947-1948 B.V.V. (Den Bosch)
1948-1949 S.V.V. (Schiedam)
1949-1950 Limburgia (Brunssum)
1950-1951 PSV
1951-1952 Willem II
1952-1953 R.C.H.
1953-1954 Eindhoven
1954-1955 Willem II
1955-1956 Rapid J.C. (Kerkrade)
1956-1957 AFC Ajax
1957-1958 D.O.S. (Utrecht)
1958-1959 Sparta
1959-1960 AFC Ajax
1960-1961 Feyenoord
1961-1962 Feyenoord
1962-1963 PSV
1963-1964 D.W.S. (Amsterdam)
1964-1965 Feyenoord
1965-1966 AFC Ajax
1966-1967 AFC Ajax
1967-1968 AFC Ajax
1968-1969 Feyenoord
1969-1970 AFC Ajax
1970-1971 Feyenoord
1971-1972 AFC Ajax
 
SeasonChampion
1972-1973 AFC Ajax
1973-1974 Feyenoord
1974-1975 PSV
1975-1976 PSV
1976-1977 AFC Ajax
1977-1978 PSV
1978-1979 AFC Ajax
1979-1980 AFC Ajax
1980-1981 A.Z. '67 (Alkmaar)
1981-1982 AFC Ajax
1982-1983 AFC Ajax
1983-1984 Feyenoord
1984-1985 AFC Ajax
1985-1986 PSV
1986-1987 PSV
1987-1988 PSV
1988-1989 PSV
1989-1990 AFC Ajax
1990-1991 PSV
1991-1992 PSV
1992-1993 Feyenoord
1993-1994 AFC Ajax
1994-1995 AFC Ajax
1995-1996 AFC Ajax
1996-1997 PSV
1997-1998 AFC Ajax
1998-1999 Feyenoord
1999-2000 PSV
2000-2001 PSV
2001-2002 AFC Ajax
2002-2003 PSV
2003-2004 AFC Ajax
2004-2005 PSV
2005-2006 PSV
2006-2007 PSV

Number of titles

ClubAFC Ajax29
PSV20
Feyenoord14
kon. H.V.V.10
Sparta6
Go Ahead Eagles4
kon. H.B.S., Willem II3
ADO Den Haag, Heracles, R.A.P., R.C.H.2
AZ, Be Quick Groningen, D.O.S., B.V.V., D.W.S.,
FC Eindhoven, Sportclub Enschede, Haarlem,
Limburgia, NAC, Quick, Rapid JC,
S.V.V., De Volewijckers
1

Positions


European competition

As of 2005-06, the champion of the Eredivisie automatically advances to the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. The KNVB introduced a playoff system in 2005-06 for the second to ninth placed clubs. One place in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, as well as three UEFA Cup spots are available for the best performing clubs in the playoffs. The remaining UEFA Cup place is awarded to the winner of the KNVB Cup. If this club is in the top 5 of teams a different schedule will be played, where numbers 2 to 5 are all guaranteed no worse than a UEFA Cup spot. This was the case in the first two seasons the playoffs were held, 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.
The playoffs consist of knockout (home and away) matches, according to a complex schedule:
play_off_system_eredivisie.png

In these matches, the lowest ranked team gets the first home match. The return will be held at the opponent's venue.
Also the number 10 to 13 enter the playoffs, with the 10th ranked team facing the 13th, while the 11th team faces number 12. Then both winners meet each other in the next round and finally challenge the loser of match G for a special situation spot. The special situation spot comes in hand when the KNVB Cup winner is among the top 7 ranked teams. In that case this team is already qualified for Europe and does not need to qualify through the playoffs, resulting in the special situation spot team to get an Intertoto ticket.
The playoff system has been criticized by clubs, players and fans as the number of matches will increase. The system also makes it possible that the second-place team is forced the enter the UEFA Cup while a lower placed team enters the qualifying round of the Champions League (which happened in 2005/06; AZ Alkmaar, 2nd in competition, had to play for the UEFA Cup, while AFC Ajax Amsterdam, 4th in competition, went into the CL qualifying round).
Relegation

The club at the bottom of the league (18th) is automatically relegated to the Eerste Divisie. The next-lowest two teams (16th and 17th) play in a promotion/relegation knock-out playoff known as the Nacompetitie, in which they will face eight teams from the Eerste Divisie (before the 2005-06 season, six Eerste Divisie teams were involved). Usually, the Eerste Divisie teams that play in the Nacompetitie are the 2nd- through 9th-place teams in that league. (The actual qualification rules are more complex; more detail is provided in the Eerste Divisie page.) Teams finishing above 16th automatically stay in the Eredivisie.

Attendance


Since the beginning of the league, there are three clubs with an attendance much higher than the others: AFC Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. These clubs are followed by FC Utrecht, FC Groningen, Heerenveen and Vitesse, clubs that also have a fairly large fanbase. The average league attendance was just over 7,000 in 1990, but the league has seen a large rise in attendance with the building of many new stadiums and the expansion of several existing stadiums nationwide. Current season average attendance is 17,893, with AFC Ajax having the largest (48,124) and Excelsior having the smallest (3,100).
Season 2006-2007 average attendance:



# Ajax, 48.124

# Feyenoord, 40.184

# PSV, 33.875

# Heerenveen, 25.771

# FC Utrecht, 19.707

# FC Groningen, 19.075

# Vitesse, 19.033

# AZ, 16.128

# NAC Breda, 14.849

# Roda JC, 14.571

# FC Twente, 13.250

# Willem II, 11.950

# N.E.C., 11.875

# Sparta Rotterdam, 9.522

# Heracles Almelo, 8.416

# ADO Den Haag, 7.026

# RKC Waalwijk, 5.714

# Excelsior, 3.100

Current average league attendance: 17.893

All-Time Ranking


RankClubSeasonsPlayedWonDrawnLostPointsGoals forGoals againstGoal difference
1 AFC Ajax 52 1719 1135 301 283 '3706' 4366 1799 ''2567''
2 PSV Eindhoven 52 1719 1026 377 316 '3455' 3944 1828 ''2116''
3 Feyenoord 52 1719 986 405 328 '3363' 3753 1969 ''1784''
4 FC Twente 51 1685 715 452 518 '2597' 2727 2273 ''454''
5 Sparta R'dam 49 1617 579 462 576 '2199' 2473 2459 ''14''
6 Roda JC 41 1361 538 351 472 '1965' 2102 1953 ''149''
7 FC Groningen 41 1345 433 390 522 '1689' 1874 2094 ''-220''
8 FC Utrecht 38 1259 453 322 484 '1681' 1746 1909 ''-163''
9 NAC Breda 41 1349 425 361 563 '1636' 1827 2249 ''-422''
10 AZ Alkmaar'67 31 1021 403 270 348 '1479' 1646 1444 ''202''
11 ADO Den Haag 34 1140 386 291 463 '1449' 1666 1843 ''-177''
12 MVV 36 1208 350 357 501 '1407' 1527 1990 ''-463''
13 Willem II Tilburg 34 1115 359 263 493 '1340' 1628 1975 ''-347''
14 NEC Nijmegen 32 1055 288 297 470 '1161' 1175 1634 ''-459''
15 Go Ahead Eagles 28 940 302 249 389 '1155' 1293 1500 ''-207''
16 Vitesse 23 749 287 224 238 '1085' 1106 1027 ''79''
17 FC Volendam 24 808 221 207 380 '870' 956 1446 ''-490''
18 RKC Waalwijk 19 646 206 170 270 '788' 861 1028 ''-167''
19 sc Heerenveen 16 511 214 128 169 '770' 822 747 ''75''
20 Fortuna Sittard 19 646 179 193 274 '730' 756 1005 ''-249''
21 HFC Haarlem 18 612 172 178 262 '694' 695 978 ''-283''
22 Door Wilskracht Sterk 15 498 167 137 194 '638' 691 774 ''-83''
23 DOS 14 460 168 109 183 '613' 790 848 ''-58''
24 VVV-Venlo 16 511 153 140 218 '599' 690 905 ''-215''
25 FC Den Bosch 15 510 132 133 245 '529' 617 928 ''-311''
26 Fortuna '54 12 392 141 99 152 '522' 635 700 ''-65''
27 Stormvogels Telstar 14 464 117 141210 '492' 528 754 ''-226''
28 De Graafschap 16 511 115 127 269 '472' 573 988 ''-415''
29 SBV Excelsior 15 477 105 122 250 '436' 514 866 ''-352''
30 FC Zwolle 12 408 99 120 189 '417' 496 745 ''-249''
31 USV Elinkwijk 7 234 65 50 119 '245' 306 483 ''-177''
32 FC Amsterdam 6 204 61 56 87 '239' 263 321 ''-58''
33 Blauw-Wit Amsterdam 6 196 65 42 89 '237' 334 401 ''-67''
34 Heracles Almelo 8 223 54 55 114 '217' 259 461 ''-202''
35 Holland Sport 4 136 37 34 65 '138' 168 279 ''-101''
36 RBC Roosendaal 5 170 35 26 109 '131' 164 358 ''-194''
37 NOAD 4 136 33 30 73 '129' 187 311 ''-124''
38 Sittardia 4 132 32 29 71 '125' 148 256 ''-108''
39 FC Dordrecht 5 170 27 38 105 '119' 184 387 ''-203''
40 Cambuur Leeuwarden 4 136 25 38 73 '113' 139 252 ''-113''
41 Xerxes Rotterdam 2 68 26 17 25 '95' 92 95 ''-3''
42 FC Eindhoven 3 102 23 25 54 '94' 107 209 ''-102''
43 BV Veendam 2 68 12 23 33 '59' 74 127 ''-53''
44 FC Wageningen 2 68 13 18 37 '57' 72 137 ''-65''
45 De Volewijckers 2 64 15 10 39 '55' 99 189 ''-90''
46 Helmond Sport 2 68 12 18 38 '54' 93 162 ''-69''
47 SVV 2 68 13 13 42 '52' 62 142 ''-80''

The clubs highlighted in green play in the Eredivisie in the 2007/08 season.

The clubs highlighted in red play in the Eerste Divisie in the 2007/08 season.

The clubs highlighted in grey no longer exist because they have been disestablished or have been merged into another club.

Remaining clubs play in lower competitions.

For this year's Eredivisie clubs, the 2007/08 season is already counted in the 'seasons' column.

UEFA Ranking


'Current National League Ranking' [1]

★ 01 La Liga

★ 02 Premier League

★ 03 Serie A

★ 04 Ligue 1

★ 05 Bundesliga

★ 06 Portuguese Liga

★ 07 Liga I

★ '08' 'Eredivisie'
(see UEFA coefficients full list for more information)

Topscorers


SEASONTOPSCORER'S NAME GOALSCLUB
1956-57 Coen Dillen'43'PSV Eindhoven
1957-58 Leo Canjels'32'NAC
1958-59 Leo Canjels'34'NAC
1959-60 Henk Groot'38'AFC Ajax
1960-61 Henk Groot'41'AFC Ajax
1961-62 Dick Tol'27'FC Volendam
1962-63 Pierre Kerkhofs'22'PSV Eindhoven
1963-64 Frans Geurtsen'28'DWS
1964-65 Frans Geurtsen'23'DWS
1965-66 Willy van der Kuijlen / Piet Kruiver'23'PSV Eindhoven / Feyenoord
1966-67 Johan Cruijff'33'AFC Ajax
1967-68 Ove Kindvall'28'Feyenoord
1968-69 Dick van Dijk / Ove Kindvall'30'FC Twente / Feyenoord
1969-70 Willy van der Kuijlen'26'PSV Eindhoven
1970-71 Ove Kindvall'24'Feyenoord
1971-72 Johan Cruijff'25'AFC Ajax
1972-73Cas Janssens / Willy Brokamp'18'N.E.C. / MVV Maastricht
1973-74 Willy van der Kuijlen'27'PSV Eindhoven
1974-75 Ruud Geels'30'AFC Ajax
1975-76 Ruud Geels'29'AFC Ajax
1976-77 Ruud Geels'34'AFC Ajax
1977-78 Ruud Geels'30'AFC Ajax
1978-79 Kees Kist'34'AZ'67
1979-80 Kees Kist'27'AZ'67
1980-81 Ruud Geels'22'Sparta Rotterdam
1981-82 Wim Kieft'32'AFC Ajax
1982-83 Peter Houtman'30'Feyenoord
1983-84 Marco van Basten'28'AFC Ajax
1984-85 Marco van Basten'22'AFC Ajax
1985-86 Marco van Basten'37'AFC Ajax
1986-87 Marco van Basten'31'AFC Ajax
1987-88 Wim Kieft'29'PSV Eindhoven
1988-89 Romário'19'PSV Eindhoven
1989-90 Romário'23'PSV Eindhoven
1990-91 Romário / Dennis Bergkamp'25'PSV Eindhoven / AFC Ajax
1991-92 Dennis Bergkamp'22'AFC Ajax
1992-93 Dennis Bergkamp'26'AFC Ajax
1993-94 Jari Litmanen'26'AFC Ajax
1994-95 Ronaldo'30'PSV Eindhoven
1995-96 Luc Nilis'21'PSV Eindhoven
1996-97 Luc Nilis'21'PSV Eindhoven
1997-98 Nikos Machlas'34'Vitesse Arnhem
1998-99 Ruud van Nistelrooij'31'PSV Eindhoven
1999-00 Ruud van Nistelrooij'29'PSV Eindhoven
2000-01 Mateja Kežman'24'PSV Eindhoven
2001-02 Pierre van Hooijdonk'24'Feyenoord
2002-03 Mateja Kežman'35'PSV Eindhoven
2003-04 Mateja Kežman'31'PSV Eindhoven
2004-05 Dirk Kuijt'29'Feyenoord
2005-06 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar'33'sc Heerenveen (17) / AFC Ajax (16)
2006-07 Afonso Alves'34'sc Heerenveen

References


1. [1]

See also



Eredivisie 2006/2007

Eerste Divisie

List of sports attendance figures – the Eredivisie in a global context

External links



Eredivisie.nl - Official website Eredivisie

KNVB.nl - Official website KNVB /

Soccerway.com - Eredivisie

Voetbal International - Dutch and international football news

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