Eredivisie End of Season Review: NEC Nijmegen | OneFootball

Final Position: 8th

Overview:

NEC Nijmegen ended their Eredivisie season in eighth and tasted bitter defeat at the hands of FC Twente in the Europa Conference League playoffs. While this perhaps came as an underwhelming finish after last term’s sixth-place and their previous playoff failure, their third campaign in the top flight since promotion in 2020-21 continued their status as a consistent midtable force that looks to be moving in the right direction.

Coming second in last season’s KNVB Cup probably also kept hopes high for Roger Meijer’s side. However, with a second-round crash out in the tournament this year, the upcoming summer and 2025-26 campaign can be viewed as a time of transition. After eight years of affiliation, and five years as head coach, NEC’s Meijer moves on to be replaced by Dick Schreuders.

Whether he can reorient the Goffertstadion club’s aspirational course to Europe remains to be seen. The Nijmegen picture is a really mixed one. There are the highs of notable results this season (including a title-influencing destruction of Ajax) mixed with the lows of last term’s defeat in the cup final and recent European playoff failure. Either way, the core of players should be more than ready to bounce back and better both their league and cup finishes.

Player of the season: Vito van Crooij

Although Sontje Hansen (on his day) has been one of NEC’s most fun-to-watch players this term, the numbers show that both Vit van Crooij and Sami Ouaissa have just about had a greater impact than the Jong Oranje winger.

A highly able midfielder in both defence and attack, the 29-year-old Van Crooij stood out this term and topped both the club’s scoring and assisting charts with nine goals and six assists in 25 appearances (and just 22 starts). His average Fotmob rating was a 7.13.

Young Player of the Season: Sami Ouaissa

While goalkeeper Robin Roefs was also up there with his 10 clean sheets, Ouaissa arrives a real contender for YPOTS. Properly coming into the starting NEC set-up for the first time since joining from JC Roda (and a subsequent loan move back to Kerkrade) Sami Ouaissa (20) has really taken to the Eredivisie this season.

Key top-flight moments for the man with seven goals and one assist came with a fine low strike against Fortuna Sittard in September, and a monstrous free-kick against the same opposition in January 2025.

Summer needs:

Under Schreuders from next season, the Nijmegen side will first need to adapt to a new face in the dugout. Secondly, they’ll have to try and keep hold of the key talents that helped them to an eighth-placed finish in 2024-25. If those hypotheticals come true, the focus in the window should surround bolstering the attack.

While Bryan Linssen’s Dutch return was a pleasant story, the experienced forward may not be the best sole outlet (four goals in 15) if the club wish to transition into Europe, especially if Koki Ogawa (seven goals in 24) fails to stay out of injury’s way. An offensive reinforcement would be ideal to add depth. Compared to the teams ahead of them vying for continental football, NEC managed 51 goals in the league season – six less than Go Ahead Eagles, a place above in seventh, and 11 off Conference League qualifiers Utrecht in fourth.

Grade: C+

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield