Man United sit 15
clear, Barcelona are 13 points ahead, Bayern are six points away from winning the Bundesliga, after a wobble Juventus are now nine points clear and thanks to a
combination of their own wealth of experience and the implosion of any
challengers, PSG look likely to hold onto their five point advantage.
By contrast, the
top four teams in the Eredivisie are separated by three points, with
seven left to play.
PSV exploded out
of the blocks and by early December looked on course to beat the previous goal-scoring
record in the Netherlands, held by Ajax from the 1966-67 season who scored 122
times. Their form and rate of scoring has dropped off in the new year and recent
mistakes have allowed Ajax to climb to the summit of the Eredivise, at the most
crucial part of the season.
Managed by Dick
Advocaat and led on the pitch by returning talisman, Mark Van Bommel, PSV have
played some fantastic football, a goal difference of +54 is indicative of this. The lack of an obvious striker has been
disguised by the goal-scoring form of Belgian, Dries Mertens, who with 13
league goals looks set for a summer move to one of Europe's elite sides.
Kevin Strootman is
a ready-made Premier League player. The 22-year-old is famous for his coverage
on the pitch and at 22 he is an established part of Louis Van Gaal's young
national team, along with 25-year-old Jeremain Lens.
Despite only
conceding two more goals than Ajax, when any defence contains
Wilfried Bouma, who looked past it at Villa two seasons ago, this area could
well be where PSV lose the title. Bouma is only playing due to injury to former
Newcastle target, Erik Pieters, who lost virtually all season to injury before
being sent off and punching a glass partition on his eventual return.
By contrast Ajax
have been the quietly efficient challengers who now lead the pack of
four in Holland. Frank de Boer has assembled a squad of young technicians who,
if kept together, could be destined for great success nationally and on the
continent. Manchester City were left chasing shadows when they played Ajax in
Europe this season, and with another years experience (and a more favourable group) de
Boer could revive the 1995 Champions League winners in European competition.
Christian Poulsen
(yes Liverpool fans, that one) anchors the midfield and allows Christian
Eriksen and Siem De Jong to pull the strings in midfield, with the likely
full-backs of the Dutch national team for the next ten years, Daley Blind and
Ricardo van Rhijn creating passing channels. Swedish winger Tobias Sana was the
star last season, but Denmark’s Viktor Fischer has had a phenomenal
breakthrough this year.
The 18-year-old
scored five goals in his first 10 appearances for the club; a better return
than Marco Van Basten or Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He made his Champions League debut
against City and in the space of three months has established himself as an
integral part of the Ajax starting XI.
Feyenoord are
level on points with PSV in third place as Ronald Koeman looks to steer them to
their first title since 1999. The goals of Italian target-man, Graziano Pelle,
have fired Feyenoord to this heady position, but the young trio of Bruno
Martins Indi, Stefan de Vrij and midfielder Jordy Clasie have grabbed equal
headlines.
All three have
been capped by van Gaal in his most recent squads, with de Vrij expected to
become a mainstay of the defence for years to come. The 21-year-old captains
his club and has already been scouted by Brendan Rodgers. Clasie has gathered
interest from around Europe, with Fiorentina known to have submitted an
official bid, and the diminutive midfielder has been compared to Xavi
and compatriots like Wesley Sneijder.
One man has
grabbed the headlines for Vitesse this season and the Ivory Coast look to have
found a new talismanic striker in Wilfried Bony, who has grabbed 26
goals in 24 Eredivise games. Prolific goal-scorers in the Dutch league should
always be treated with caution: think Mateja Kezman or Alfonso Alves, but
likewise there are also Robin Van Persie's or Ruud Van Nistelrooy's ready to
test themselves in a more competitive league.
After flirting
with administration in 2003, Vitesse are now owned by Georgian businessman,
Merab Jordania, making them the first foreign-owned team in the Netherlands.
The purchase attracted a lot of controversy in Holland at the time, but the
traditional minnows are competing with the established clubs this season.
Alongside Bony, Marco van Ginkel was called up to the latest Dutch squad, a
sign that the investment in youth at Vitesse is reaching fruition.
The Dutch have
been going about it quietly, and they will continue to slip further
down the UEFA coefficient, but the Eredivisie has been slowly been assembling a
pool of talented youngsters. How long these clubs will be able to hang on to
these players remains to be seen, but the league and its fans are enjoying the
spectacle while it can.
