Compact defensive, powerful center, game without faults »Who is Go Ahead Eagles, the revelation of the Netherlands, who wrote history in 2025

• GO Ahead Eagles – FCSB will take place on Thursday, September 25, from 7:45 pm. The match can be watched in LiveText format on GSP.ro, being televised by Primasport 1 and Digisport 1.

Go Ahead Eagles, briefly historian: 4 titles in 123 years, Cup in the previous season and lack of European pedigree

Go Ahead Eagles is a Dutch club founded in 1902 under the name “Be Quick”, renamed in 1905 to avoid confusion with another team from Groningen. In the first decades he dominated regional competitions and He won four national titles, three of them in the interwar period (1922, 1930, 1933). After World War II, the team went through difficult periods, including relegations and return to the upper league.

In 1963, the club promoted in Eredivisie, and in 1971, with the separation of the professional section from the amateur, it received the current name, Go Ahead Eagles. Along the decades alternated between the first two Dutch leaguespassing through periods of success and others less favorable.

In the 2020/2021 season, the team returned to Eredivisie, And in 2024 he won the Netherlands Cup, the first major trophy, after almost a century.

90+9It was the minute in which GO Ahead Eagles equalized at 1 in the final of the Cup with Az Alkmaar, won later at the break, 4-2.

7It was the place occupied by them in the past edition of Eredivisie.

What style of play do the Dutch have

Go Ahead Eagles predominantly uses the 4-2-3-1 system, which can be metamorphosis in 4-1-3-2in many of the moments of the game, on the offensive phase. The team from Deventer, a city of 100,000 people from the Eastern Netherlands, is noted for an organized and balanced football, under the leadership of Melvin Boel, a 38-year-old technician, at the helm of the team from the beginning of this summer (7 matches, an average of 1.29 points per match).

Paul Simonis was the one who conquered the Netherlands Cup with “Vultures”, at the helm of the team throughout the season, but he made the transition to Bundesliga, at Wolfsburg.

Also 4-2-3-1 was the favorite system in his mandate. If Simonis had a more conservative, more pragmatic style, mainly concerned with defensive balance and organization, Boel, starting from the same base and tactical system, comes with a stronger background from academies and lots of youth, the team having a slightly more creative tint.

The team combines possession with fast transitions, building the game carefully, but also with efficiency. Defensive is compact and disciplinedfocusing on blocking the central corridor, which forces the opponents to resort to long steps or remote shots, thus providing the team to control the game and defensive safety.

Defensive duels won in their own third, season 2025-2026 // Photo: WYSCOUT

In the offensive, Go Ahead Eagles exploits the width of the field, with side defenders and band players that generate overlaps and create free spaces. Through fast combinations and well -placed centering, the team manages to constantly put in difficulty the adverse defense.

Dutch abuse focus and actions in side areas // Photo: WYSCOUT

It is based on solid defenders (Kramer, Nauber), on balance midfielders (Meulesteen, Linthorst) and Edvardsen as a fixed point in attack. The strengths are the defensive organization, the recovery in the middle, the well -worked fixed phases and the efficiency in the box, especially for headaches.

The weaknesses appear in the pressure construction, where they lose the ball easily, to dribbling where they have low percentage, and to fast transitions, where they leave spaces. The offensive is used strips and centering, but efficiency is not constant, the real danger comes from pressing and fixed phases.

Where I lose and win the “Vulturii” ball // photo: WYSCOUT

• Go Ahead Eagles, type formation (4-2-3-1): De Busser – Deijl, Nauber, Kramer, James – Meulensteen, Linthorst – Margaret, Breum, Suy – Edvardsen

Compared to last season, the “vultures” did not make many changes in the gear.

With the exception of players who returned after loans, they transferred five other players: Kenzo Koudmijn (loan, derby), Giovanni Van Zwam (free, from Vitesse), Melle Meulensteen (400,000 euros, from Sampdoria), Yassir Salah Rahmouni (gratis. (1 million euros, from Waalwijk).

Luca Everink (loan, Emmen), Enric Llansana (1 million euros, at Anderlecht) and Oliver Antman (4.4 million euros, Luca Llansana (loan).

4 goalsOf the total of 11 this season they were successful by Eagles from static phases.

51.8%It is the average of the possession of the band, the best of the best in Eredivisie in this chapter.

29.85 million eurosIt adds the batch of the bats, about 19 less than the red-blue. Jakob Breum (offensive midfielder) is the best player – 5 million euros.

Other relevant statistics on Deventer team:

• XG of 9.8 (8/18 in Eredivisie)

• 6.5 shots on gate / match (4/18 in Eredivisie)

• 21 high chances (5/18 in Eredivisie)

• 366.3 Precise Pass / Match (5/18)

• 24.3 Precise long passes / match (11/18)

• 152 Touches in the opponent's box (8/18)

• 44 corners (3/18, under only Feyenoord and Ajax)

• 10.3 Estimated goals received (5/18) – “Vultures” received 9

• 9.3 Faultures / match (16/18)

• 7 yellow cards (16/18)

• a red card

Go Ahead Eagles stands in Eredivisie as a team from the top of the standingswith an offensive and spectacular style. It creates many occasions (high XG, numerous kicks on the gate and high chances), has a constant presence in the opposing corner and dominates for fixed phases, being among the leaders in the corners.

At the same time, it keeps a clean game, with few faults and rare cards, which gives them the image of a fair play band. Defensively, they stay solid, receiving even fewer goals than it would be statistically waiting.

Without experience on the European scene

The duel with FCSB will be the first of this European season, qualifying directly in the groups of the second continental competition as importance due to the triumph in the Netherlands Cup. In fact, it will be the first participation of the club in the groups of a major European competition.

Previously, several decades ago, the team participated several times in the groups of the Intetoto Cup. In Eredivisie, “Vultures” have 9 points after 6 stages: 2 victories, 3 draws and a failure. The successes came in the last two stages, 3-0 with Volendam and 2-0 with Zwolle Pec.

Since 1985, Go Ahead Eagles has evolved twice in Europebeing eliminated by Ferencvaros (2-5, general) in round 1 of Europa League in the 2015-2016 season and by Brann in the second preliminary round of league last season, 1-2 in general.

After FCSB, the bats will meet in the unique group of Panathinikos, Aston Villa, Salzburg, Stuttgart, Lyon, Nice and Braga – an infernal course.

Where will FCSB play

Built in 1920 and renovated several times (last time in 2015), “de Adelaarshorst” It is the stadium on which the red-blue will evolve in the European debut this season.

Has a capacity of about 10,400 seatsof which 7,900 covered and 2,100 standing. Over time, he has hosted international events, the victory of the Netherlands with 8-1 in front of Iceland in 1973, from the 1974 World Championship preliminaries.

Despite the small dimensions, the atmosphere is often extremely animated, the fans of the “eagles” being very vocal and creative, Evidence in this regard, standing for the multiple scenographers displayed before the championship parties.

The record of the champion of the last two seasons against the teams in the Netherlands: