Football Season Guide

VVV-Venlo weren't able to prevent relegation back to the Jupiler League in 2013 which was a blow for the fans at that time but the Venlo side managed to maintain the quality in the squad for the most part. This resulted in some decent finishing spots in the Jupiler League (2nd in 2016 for instance) but this club wasn't able to take that final step for three years. This all changed last season though when manager Maurice Steijn finally showed the true potential of his outfit. The Venlo team was by far the best side in the Jupiler League which eventually resulted in the deserved promotion to the Eredivisie. VVV-Venlo will be extremely satisfied with this outcome but actually preventing relegation back to the Jupiler League next year won't be an easy mission at all. This club is one of the smallest ones in the Eredivisie and they simply don't have the budget available to add well-known names to their squad. The De Koel Stadium is always a tough place to visit though and VVV-Venlo could surprise if they show their best form at home. VVV-Venlo's squad still contains quality but it remains to be seen if these players are good enough to adjust to Eredivisie football. The club had to react on the market to add some necessary quality to the group, which is what they did, but most of the new players are relatively inexperienced. Lars Unnerstall and Lennart Thy for instance are unknown in The Netherlands but they will get the chance to show their qualities on the highest level. Tarik Tissoudali managed to show his skills in the Jupiler League for clubs like Telstar and SC Cambuur and he should be fully motivated now to test his qualities in the Eredivisie. More transfers are expected but VVV-Venlo will have to be creative due to the lack of a decent budget. Steijn will face one of the toughest missions next season and actually preventing the drop back into the Jupiler League would be a huge success.