Eredivisie

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This article explains the top football league in the Netherlands; for other meanings see: Eredivisie (disambiguation)

Eredivisie
Association	KNVB
First edition	1956
Teams	18th
master	Ajax Amsterdam (34)
Record champions	Ajax Amsterdam (34)
Record player	Jan Jongbloed (717)
Record scorer	Willy van der Kuijlen (311)
Current season	2019/20
Website	eredivisie.nl
Qualification for	Champions League Europa League Dutch Supercup
↓ First Division (II)

The Eredivisie (pronunciation: [ˈeː.rə.di.ˌvi.zi] , German  Ehrendivision ) is the highest football league of the Dutch football association Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond (KNVB). It was founded in 1956.

There are currently 18 teams playing in the Eredivisie, and they compete against each other on 34 match days during the annual season. The battle for the Dutch soccer championship is dominated by the three largest and most financially strong Dutch clubs Ajax Amsterdam , PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord Rotterdam . Only a few other clubs such as AZ Alkmaar and Twente Enschede were able to celebrate championships.

UEFA five-year ranking

Placement in the UEFA five-year ranking ( previous year's ranking in brackets ). The abbreviations CL and EL after the country coefficients indicate the number of representatives in the 2019/20 season of the Champions League and the Europa League .

• 09. ( 8 ) Ukraine ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 38,900 - CL: 2, EL: 30 
• 10. ( 10 ) Turkey ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 34,600 - CL: 2, EL: 3 
• 11. ( 14 ) Netherlands ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 32,433 - CL: 2, EL: 3 
• 12. ( 11 ) Austria ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 31,250 - CL: 2, EL: 3 
• 13. ( 13 ) Czech Republic ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 28,675 - CL: 2, EL: 3 

Status: end of the European Cup season 2018/19

In the five-year ranking of UEFA , which regulates the starting and qualifying places for European competitions, the honor division is currently in eighth place. Accordingly, the "Eredivisie" is entitled to a direct starting place and a place for qualifying for the UEFA Champions League . There are also three qualifying places for the UEFA Europa League . The winner of the KNVB Cup , which is held parallel to the honor division, will receive another Europa League place .

mode

With a reform of the Eredivisie that came into force in the 2005/06 season, play-off games will take place after a season has ended . After the Champions League participants were initially determined in these games, since the 2008/09 season only the five to eighth places in the final table have taken part in the playoffs. Between these a place in the Europa League is played. All playoff games are played with a return leg.

Criticism of the playoff mode

The playoff mode has been and is controversial in the Netherlands, but also internationally. Critics believe that the mode leads to a devaluation of the regular seasonal operations and that clubs that have performed well during the season can be deprived of the fruits of their labor in a single game.

In the eyes of the critics, a prime example of this was the playoff game between AZ Alkmaar and FC Groningen in the first season after the introduction of the new mode . Vice-champions AZ Alkmaar had distanced fifth placed Groningen by 18 points in the regular season. After a long season in which Alkmaar had to play significantly more competitive games than Groningen through the Cup and UEFA Cup , the AZ lacked the necessary strength in the playoff. Groningen won 3: 1 and 1: 2 on both legs.

Something similar could also be observed in 2007/08, when runners-up Ajax Amsterdam failed in the Champions League playoffs with 1: 2 and 0: 0 to Twente Enschede (4th place). The capital city had to remain in this way in the UEFA Cup.

descent

For the 2019/20 season , the Dutch Football Association decided that the seventeenth of the table, who had previously taken part in the relegation relegation together with the sixteenth, will also be firmly relegated.

Participants of the 2019/20 season and their venues

Alkmaar Almelo Amsterdam Arnhem The hague Eindhoven Emmen Enschede Groningen Heerenveen Rotterdam Tilburg Utrecht Sittard Venlo Waalwijk Zwolle

Venues of the Eredivisie 2019/20

team	city	Home stadium	capacity
ADO The Hague	The hague	Cars Jeans Stadium	15,000
Ajax Amsterdam	Amsterdam	Johan Cruyff Arena	53,052
AZ Alkmaar	Alkmaar	AFAS stadium	17,023
FC Emmen	Emmen	De Oude Meerdijk	08,600
FC Groningen	Groningen	Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadium	22,500
FC Twente Enschede	Enschede	De Grolsch Veste	30.205
FC Utrecht	Utrecht	Galgenwaard Stadium	24,426
Feyenoord Rotterdam	Rotterdam	De Kuip	51,177
Fortuna Sittard	Sittard	Fortuna Sittard Stadium	12,500
Heracles Almelo	Almelo	Erve Asito	12,080
PEC Zwolle	Zwolle	Mac3Park Stadium	12,500
PSV Eindhoven	Eindhoven	Philips Stadium	35,000
RKC Waalwijk	Waalwijk	Mandemakers Stadium	07,500
SC Heerenveen	Heerenveen	Abe Lenstra Stadium	26,000
Sparta Rotterdam	Rotterdam	Sparta Stadium - Het Kasteel	11,000
Vitesse Arnhem	Arnhem	GelreDome	25,000
VVV-Venlo	Venlo	Covebo Stadium - De Koel -	07,500
Willem II Tilburg	Tilburg	King Wilhelm II Stadium	14,750

Audience numbers

In the regular 2017/18 season, the average number of spectators per game was 19,001, making the Eredivisie one of the most popular football leagues in the world. Ajax Amsterdam (49,670) and Feyenoord Rotterdam (45,588) had the highest average viewership.

season	cut	Games	total
1969/70	12,715	306	3,890,791
1979/80	9,853	306	3,015,119
1989/90	7,441	306	2,428,288
1999/00	14,028	306	4,292,437
2009/10	19,588	306	5,993,784
2010/11	19,269	306	5,896,460
2011/12	19,538	306	5,978,689
2012/13	19,596	306	5,996,264
2013/14	19,557	306	5,984,484
2014/15	18,744	306	5,735,736
2015/16	19,412	306	5,940,000
2016/17	19,090	306	5,841,521
2017/18	19.001	306	5,814,307
2018/19	17,957	306	5,494,944
2019/20 1	18,230	232	4,229,375

¹Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic , the season was canceled prematurely in April 2020, by then 232 out of 306 games had been played.

Dutch champions since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956/57

season	society
1956/57	Ajax Amsterdam
1957/58	DOS Utrecht
1958/59	Sparta Rotterdam
1959/60	Ajax Amsterdam
1960/61	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1961/62	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1962/63	PSV Eindhoven
1963/64	DWS Amsterdam
1964/65	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1965/66	Ajax Amsterdam
1966/67	Ajax Amsterdam
1967/68	Ajax Amsterdam
1968/69	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1969/70	Ajax Amsterdam
1970/71	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1971/72	Ajax Amsterdam
1972/73	Ajax Amsterdam
1973/74	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1974/75	PSV Eindhoven
1975/76	PSV Eindhoven
1976/77	Ajax Amsterdam
1977/78	PSV Eindhoven

season	society
1978/79	Ajax Amsterdam
1979/80	Ajax Amsterdam
1980/81	AZ Alkmaar
1981/82	Ajax Amsterdam
1982/83	Ajax Amsterdam
1983/84	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1984/85	Ajax Amsterdam
1985/86	PSV Eindhoven
1986/87	PSV Eindhoven
1987/88	PSV Eindhoven
1988/89	PSV Eindhoven
1989/90	Ajax Amsterdam
1990/91	PSV Eindhoven
1991/92	PSV Eindhoven
1992/93	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1993/94	Ajax Amsterdam
1994/95	Ajax Amsterdam
1995/96	Ajax Amsterdam
1996/97	PSV Eindhoven
1997/98	Ajax Amsterdam
1998/99	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1999/00	PSV Eindhoven

season	society
2000/01	PSV Eindhoven
2001/02	Ajax Amsterdam
2002/03	PSV Eindhoven
2003/04	Ajax Amsterdam
2004/05	PSV Eindhoven
2005/06	PSV Eindhoven
2006/07	PSV Eindhoven
2007/08	PSV Eindhoven
2008/09	AZ Alkmaar
2009/10	FC Twente Enschede
2010/11	Ajax Amsterdam
2011/12	Ajax Amsterdam
2012/13	Ajax Amsterdam
2013/14	Ajax Amsterdam
2014/15	PSV Eindhoven
2015/16	PSV Eindhoven
2016/17	Feyenoord Rotterdam
2017/18	PSV Eindhoven
2018/19	Ajax Amsterdam
2019/20	none 2

²Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic , the season was canceled prematurely in April 2020 and no champions were chosen.

Number of championships since 1956/57

society	Title number
Ajax Amsterdam	26th
PSV Eindhoven	20th
Feyenoord Rotterdam	10
AZ Alkmaar	2
Twente Enschede DWS Amsterdam Sparta Rotterdam DOS Utrecht	1

Eredivisie record champions

• 1957: Ajax Amsterdam
• 1958: Ajax Amsterdam and DOS Utrecht
• 1959: Ajax Amsterdam, DOS Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam
• 1960–1961: Ajax Amsterdam (2)
• 1962–1964: Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord Rotterdam
• 1965: Feyenoord Rotterdam (3)
• 1966: Feyenoord Rotterdam and Ajax Amsterdam
• since 1967: Ajax Amsterdam (4–26)

Eternal table

→ Main article : Eternal table of the Eredivisie

Top scorer

season	player	Gates	society
1956/57	Coen Dillen	43	PSV Eindhoven
1957/58	Leo Canjels	32	NAC Breda
1958/59	Leo Canjels	34	NAC Breda
1959/60	Henk Groot	38	Ajax Amsterdam
1960/61	Henk Groot	41	Ajax Amsterdam
1961/62	Dick Tol	27	FC Volendam
1962/63	Pierre Kerkhoffs	22nd	PSV Eindhoven
1963/64	Frans Geurtsen	28	DWS Amsterdam
1964/65	Frans Geurtsen	23	DWS Amsterdam
1965/66	Willy van der Kuijlen Piet Kruiver	23	PSV Eindhoven Feyenoord Rotterdam
1966/67	Johan Cruyff	33	Ajax Amsterdam
1967/68	Ove Kindvall	28	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1968/69	Dick van Dijk Ove Kindvall	30th	FC Twente Enschede Feyenoord Rotterdam
1969/70	Willy van der Kuijlen	26th	PSV Eindhoven
1970/71	Ove Kindvall	24	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1971/72	Johan Cruyff	25th	Ajax Amsterdam
1972/73	Cas Janssens Willy Brokamp	18th	NEC Nijmegen MVV Maastricht
1973/74	Willy van der Kuijlen	27	PSV Eindhoven
1974/75	Ruud Geels	30th	Ajax Amsterdam
1975/76	Ruud Geels	29	Ajax Amsterdam
1976/77	Ruud Geels	34	Ajax Amsterdam
1977/78	Ruud Geels	30th	Ajax Amsterdam
1978/79	Kees Kist	34	AZ Alkmaar
1979/80	Kees Kist	27	AZ Alkmaar
1980/81	Ruud Geels	22nd	Sparta Rotterdam
1981/82	Wim Kieft	32	Ajax Amsterdam
1982/83	Peter Houtman	30th	Feyenoord Rotterdam
1983/84	Marco van Basten	28	Ajax Amsterdam
1984/85	Marco van Basten	22nd	Ajax Amsterdam
1985/86	Marco van Basten	37	Ajax Amsterdam
1986/87	Marco van Basten	31	Ajax Amsterdam
1987/88	Wim Kieft	29	PSV Eindhoven
1988/89	Romario	19th	PSV Eindhoven
1989/90	Romario	23	PSV Eindhoven
1990/91	Romário Dennis Bergkamp	25th	PSV Eindhoven Ajax Amsterdam
1991/92	Dennis Bergkamp	22nd	Ajax Amsterdam
1992/93	Dennis Bergkamp	26th	Ajax Amsterdam
1993/94	Jari Litmanen	26th	Ajax Amsterdam
1994/95	Ronaldo	30th	PSV Eindhoven
1995/96	Luc Nilis	21st	PSV Eindhoven
1996/97	Luc Nilis	21st	PSV Eindhoven
1997/98	Nikos Machlas	34	Vitesse Arnhem
1998/99	Ruud van Nistelrooy	31	PSV Eindhoven
1999/00	Ruud van Nistelrooy	29	PSV Eindhoven
2000/01	Mateja Kežman	24	PSV Eindhoven
2001/02	Pierre van Hooijdonk	24	Feyenoord Rotterdam
2002/03	Mateja Kežman	35	PSV Eindhoven
2003/04	Mateja Kežman	31	PSV Eindhoven
2004/05	Dirk Kuyt	29	Feyenoord Rotterdam
2005/06	Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	33	SC Heerenveen / Ajax Amsterdam
2006/07	Afonso Alves	34	SC Heerenveen
2007/08	Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	33	Ajax Amsterdam
2008/09	Mounir El Hamdaoui	23	AZ Alkmaar
2009/10	Luis Suarez	35	Ajax Amsterdam
2010/11	Bjorn Vleminckx	23	NEC Nijmegen
2011/12	Bas Dost	32	SC Heerenveen
2012/13	Wilfried Bony	31	Vitesse Arnhem
2013/14	Alfreð Finnbogason	29	SC Heerenveen
2014/15	Memphis Depay	22nd	PSV Eindhoven
2015/16	Vincent Janssen	27	AZ Alkmaar
2016/17	Nicolai Jørgensen	21st	Feyenoord Rotterdam
2017/18	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	21st	AZ Alkmaar
2018/19	Luuk de Jong Dušan Tadić	28	PSV Eindhoven Ajax Amsterdam
2019/20	Steven Berghuis 3 Cyriel Dessers 3	15th	Feyenoord Rotterdam Heracles Almelo

³Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic , the season was canceled prematurely in April 2020 and no top scorer was chosen. Until then, Berghuis and Dessers had each scored the most goals together.

See also

• Soccer in the Netherlands
• List of Dutch football champions
• List of the highest national soccer divisions

Web links

• eredivisie.nl: website of the Eredivisie (Dutch, English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ UEFA rankings for club competitions. In: UEFA. Retrieved July 14, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Vanaf volgend seizoen degraderen twee clubs rechtsstreeks uit Eredivisie , vi.nl, accessed on June 25, 2019 (English)
3. ↑ Eredivisie 2017/2018 - viewers. Retrieved January 14, 2019 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Afwikkeling voetbalseizoen 2019/20 , eredivisie.nl, accessed on April 25, 2020 (Dutch)
5. ↑ ^{a b c} "Biggest shame in the history of Dutch sport" , kicker.de, accessed on April 25, 2020