2015–16 Eredivisie

Eredivisie

Season	2015–16
Champions League	Ajax PSV
Europa League	Feyenoord
Matches played	297
Goals scored	885 (2.98 per match)
Top goalscorer	Vincent Janssen (26 goals)
Biggest home win	Ajax 6–0 Roda JC
Biggest away win	Cambuur 0–6 PSV
Highest scoring	De Graafschap 3–6 PSV Heracles 3–6 AZ
Longest winning run	10 games[1] PSV
Longest unbeaten run	21 games[1] PSV
Longest winless run	15 games[1] Cambuur
Longest losing run	7 games[1] Cambuur Feyenoord
Highest attendance	51,875[1] Ajax 2–1 Feyenoord
Lowest attendance	3,394[1] SBV Excelsior 2–2 AZ
Average attendance	19,357[1]
← 2014–15 2016–17 → All statistics correct as of 2 May 2016.

The 2015–16 Eredivisie season is the 60th season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. PSV are the defending champions.

Teams

A total of 18 teams will be taking part in the league: The best fifteen teams from the 2014–15 season, two promotion/relegation playoff winners and the 2014–15 Eerste Divisie champions.

N.E.C., champion of the 2014–15 Eerste Divisie, and play-off winner Roda JC Kerkrade return to the Eredivisie after just one season. De Graafschap, the other play-off winner, returns to the highest level since the 2011–12 season.

ADO

Ajax

AZ

Cambuur

De Graafschap

Excelsior

Feyenoord

Groningen

Heerenveen

Heracles

NEC

PEC

PSV

Roda JC

Twente

Utrecht

Vitesse

Willem II

Location of teams in Eredivisie 2015–16

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
ADO Den Haag	The Hague	Kyocera Stadion	15,000
Ajax	Amsterdam	Amsterdam ArenA	53,490
AZ	Alkmaar	AFAS Stadion	17,023
Cambuur	Leeuwarden	Cambuur Stadion	10,500
De Graafschap	Doetinchem	De Vijverberg	12,600
Excelsior	Rotterdam	Stadion Woudestein	3,531
Feyenoord	Rotterdam	De Kuip	51,177
Groningen	Groningen	Euroborg	22,550
Heerenveen	Heerenveen	Abe Lenstra Stadion	26,100
Heracles Almelo	Almelo	Polman Stadion	13,500
NEC	Nijmegen	Stadion de Goffert	12,500
PEC Zwolle	Zwolle	IJsseldelta Stadion	12,500
PSV	Eindhoven	Philips Stadion	36,500
Roda JC	Kerkrade	Parkstad Limburg Stadion	19,979
Twente	Enschede	De Grolsch Veste	30,205
Utrecht	Utrecht	Stadion Galgenwaard	23,750
Vitesse	Arnhem	GelreDome	25,500
Willem II	Tilburg	Koning Willem II Stadion	14,500

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
ADO Den Haag	Henk Fraser	Erreà	Basic-Fit Fitness
Ajax	Frank de Boer	adidas	Ziggo
AZ	John van den Brom	Under Armour	AFAS software
Cambuur	Marcel Keizer	Quick	Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma
De Graafschap	Jan Vreman	Quick	ATAG
Excelsior	Alfons Groenendijk	Quick	DSW Zorgverzekeraar
Feyenoord	Giovanni van Bronckhorst	adidas	Opel
Groningen	Erwin van de Looi	Robey	Essent
Heerenveen	Foppe de Haan	Jako	Univé
Heracles	John Stegeman	Acerbis	TenCate
NEC	Ernest Faber	Patrick	Scholten Awater
PEC Zwolle	Ron Jans	Robey	Molecaten
PSV	Phillip Cocu	Umbro	Philips
Roda JC	Darije Kalezić	Robey	KLG
Twente	René Hake	Nike	Webprint.nl
Utrecht	Erik ten Hag	hummel	Zorg van de Zaak
Vitesse	Rob Maas	Macron	Truphone
Willem II	Jurgen Streppel	Robey	Tricorp

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Utrecht	Alflen, RobRob Alflen	End of contract	1 July 2015[2]	Pre-season	ten Hag, ErikErik ten Hag	1 July 2015[3]
NEC	Brood, RuudRuud Brood	Mutual consent	1 July 2015[4]		Faber, ErnestErnest Faber	1 July 2015[5]
Excelsior	Dijkhuizen, MarinusMarinus Dijkhuizen	Signed by Brentford	1 July 2015[6]		Groenendijk, AlfonsAlfons Groenendijk	1 July 2015[7]
Roda JC	Plum, RickRick Plum	End of interim spell	1 July 2015		Kalezić, DarijeDarije Kalezić	1 July 2015[8]
Twente	Schreuder, AlfredAlfred Schreuder	Sacked	30 August 2015[9]	16th	Hake, RenéRené Hake	30 August 2015
Heerenveen	Lodeweges, DwightDwight Lodeweges	Resigned	20 October 2015[10]	15th	de Haan, FoppeFoppe de Haan	20 October 2015
Vitesse	Bosz, PeterPeter Bosz	Signed by Maccabi Tel Aviv	4 January 2016[11]	5th	Maas, RobRob Maas	4 January 2016
Cambuur	de Jong, HenkHenk de Jong	Resigned	9 February 2016[12]	17th	Keizer, MarcelMarcel Keizer	13 February 2016[13]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Ajax (T)	33	25	6	2	80	20	+60	81	Qualification to Champions League group stage
2	PSV Eindhoven (T)	33	25	6	2	85	31	+54	81	Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3	Feyenoord (Q)	33	18	6	9	61	40	+21	60	Qualification to Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1]
4	AZ	33	17	5	11	67	52	+15	56	Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
5	Utrecht	33	15	8	10	56	45	+11	53	Qualification to European competition play-offs[lower-alpha 2]
6	Heracles Almelo (Q)	33	14	9	10	46	46	0	51
7	PEC Zwolle	33	14	6	13	55	50	+5	48
8	Groningen	33	13	8	12	39	48	−9	47
9	NEC	33	13	7	13	37	41	−4	46
10	Vitesse	33	12	9	12	53	36	+17	45
11	ADO Den Haag	33	10	12	11	47	49	−2	42
12	Heerenveen	33	11	8	14	45	60	−15	41
13	Twente[lower-alpha 3]	33	12	6	15	47	62	−15	39
14	Roda JC Kerkrade	33	8	10	15	32	51	−19	34
15	Excelsior	33	6	9	18	32	60	−28	27
16	Willem II	33	5	11	17	32	51	−19	26	Qualification to Relegation play-offs[lower-alpha 4]
17	De Graafschap (Q)	33	5	7	21	38	64	−26	22
18	Cambuur (R)	33	3	9	21	33	77	−44	18	Relegation to Eerste Divisie

Updated to match(es) played on 1 May 2016. Source: Eredivisie, NUsport, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-off (only if deciding champion and relegation); 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head away goals scored; 8) Draw. (Note: Criteria 5-8 is only used if deciding Europa League play-off places)^[14]
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (R) Relegated; (T) Qualified, but not yet to the particular phase indicated.
Notes:

1. Feyenoord qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2015–16 KNVB Cup.
2. Four teams play for one spot in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
3. Twente were deducted three points for breaking the financial standards set by the Royal Dutch Football Association.
4. Ten teams, two from the Eredivisie and eight from the Eerste Divisie, play for two spots in the 2016–17 Eredivisie, the remaining eight teams play in the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round. Note: Since round 30 FC Twente were deducted three points since they did not meet the financial standards set by the KNVB.

Team \ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ajax	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
PSV	6	6	7	5	4	5	4	4	3	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Feyenoord	4	2	2	3	3	4	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	4	6	7	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
AZ	18	15	13	14	13	14	11	9	10	11	11	10	9	10	10	11	12	10	10	9	8	6	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	6	4	4	4
Utrecht	14	11	12	10	7	10	10	11	11	9	9	9	10	9	9	8	7	7	5	7	7	9	7	4	5	5	5	5	5	4	5	5	5
Heracles	16	8	4	2	2	2	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	4	5	4	3	3	5	6	9	6	6	6	5	6	6	6
PEC Zwolle	6	4	3	5	5	3	5	5	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	7	9	8	8	8	10	10	10	9	9	8	9	8	9	8	9	7	7
Groningen	10	14	10	13	9	8	8	10	9	8	8	8	8	6	5	5	8	9	9	10	9	7	9	10	10	10	11	12	12	10	11	10	8
NEC	5	10	11	9	10	9	9	7	7	7	6	6	5	7	7	9	6	5	7	4	5	5	8	8	8	7	8	9	8	9	7	8	9
Vitesse Arnhem	10	5	9	7	8	7	6	6	5	5	5	5	6	5	6	6	5	4	6	6	6	8	5	6	7	6	7	7	7	7	8	9	10
ADO Den Haag	6	3	6	11	12	12	13	15	14	14	13	14	14	14	13	12	10	11	11	12	12	12	11	11	13	11	10	10	11	12	10	11	11
Heerenveen	2	6	7	8	11	11	12	13	15	15	14	12	12	11	11	10	11	12	12	11	11	11	12	12	11	12	13	13	13	11	12	12	12
Twente	10	15	16	16	16	16	15	16	13	13	15	15	15	16	16	16	17	16	16	16	15	14	13	13	12	13	12	11	10	13	13	13	13
Roda JC	2	9	5	4	6	6	7	8	7	10	10	13	13	13	14	14	15	15	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Excelsior	15	12	15	12	14	15	16	12	12	12	12	11	11	12	12	13	14	14	15	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	16	15
Willem II	10	17	14	15	15	13	14	14	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	13	13	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	15	16
De Graafschap	16	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
Cambuur	6	13	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18

Source:

	Leader and 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage
	2015–16 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
	2015–16 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
	European competition play-offs
	Relegation play-offs
	Relegation to 2016–17 Eerste Divisie

Results

Home ╲ Away

ADO

AJX

AZ

CAM

GRA

EXC

FEY

GRO

HEE

HER

NEC

PEC

PSV

RJC

TWE

UTR

VIT

WIL

ADO Den Haag

0–1

1–2

2–1

1–1

3–3

1–0

0–1

0–1

1–0

0–2

2–2

2–2

2–1

1–1

2–2

1–1

Ajax

4–0

4–1

5–1

2–1

3–0

2–1

2–0

5–2

0–0

2–2

3–0

1–2

6–0

4–0

2–2

1–0

3–0

AZ

0–1

0–3

3–1

4–1

2–0

4–2

4–1

3–1

3–1

2–4

5–1

2–4

0–1

3–1

2–2

1–0

0–0

Cambuur

1–1

0–1

1–1

2–3

0–2

2–2

0–1

1–6

3–1

1–0

0–6

0–1

0–0

0–2

0–2

1–1

De Graafschap

3–1

1–3

2–2

2–0

1–2

1–2

0–1

0–1

1–1

0–3

3–6

3–0

1–1

0–1

2–2

2–2

Excelsior

2–4

0–2

2–2

1–4

3–0

2–4

2–1

1–1

1–3

2–0

2–2

1–3

0–1

1–1

1–0

0–3

0–0

Feyenoord

0–2

1–1

3–1

3–1

3–1

3–0

1–1

1–2

3–0

2–0

0–2

1–1

5–0

3–2

2–0

1–0

Groningen

2–1

1–2

2–0

2–0

3–1

2–0

1–1

3–1

0–0

2–0

0–3

1–0

1–1

1–4

0–3

2–1

Heerenveen

0–4

0–2

4–2

2–0

3–1

2–1

2–5

1–2

0–1

1–1

1–1

1–1

3–0

1–3

0–4

0–0

3–1

Heracles

1–1

0–2

3–6

3–1

2–1

0–0

2–2

2–1

2–0

3–0

2–0

2–1

0–5

2–0

1–1

1–1

2–1

NEC

4–1

0–2

0–3

2–1

2–0

1–0

3–1

1–1

2–0

1–0

2–2

0–3

1–2

2–0

1–0

2–1

1–0

PEC Zwolle

2–1

0–2

2–1

2–2

2–1

3–0

3–1

1–3

5–2

1–1

2–0

3–1

2–1

1–2

1–5

4–1

PSV

2–0

0–2

3–0

6–2

4–2

1–1

3–1

2–0

1–1

2–0

2–1

3–2

1–1

4–2

3–1

2–0

2–0

Roda JC

1–1

2–2

0–1

1–1

1–0

1–2

1–1

0–0

1–2

3–1

0–0

0–5

0–3

0–1

1–0

1–2

Twente

1–4

2–2

2–2

3–0

2–1

2–0

0–1

2–0

1–4

4–0

1–0

2–1

1–3

2–1

3–1

1–3

Utrecht

2–2

1–0

3–3

0–2

2–1

1–2

2–0

1–1

4–2

3–1

1–0

0–2

1–1

4–2

2–1

2–1

Vitesse Arnhem

2–2

1–3

0–2

4–1

3–0

0–0

0–2

5–0

3–0

1–1

1–0

1–1

0–1

3–0

5–1

1–3

0–1

Willem II

0–2

0–4

0–2

3–0

0–0

2–3

0–1

1–1

2–2

0–0

0–1

0–1

2–2

3–2

2–3

3–1

1–1

Updated to games played on 1 May 2016.
Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Number of teams by provinces

Number of teams	Province	Team(s)
3	Gelderland	De Graafschap, NEC and Vitesse Arnhem
	Overijssel	Heracles, PEC Zwolle, and Twente
	South Holland	ADO Den Haag, Excelsior, and Feyenoord
2	Friesland	Cambuur and Heerenveen
	North Brabant	PSV and Willem II
	North Holland	Ajax and AZ
1	Groningen	Groningen
	Limburg (Netherlands)	Roda JC
	Utrecht	Utrecht

Season statistics

Top scorers

Up to and including matches played on 1 May 2016.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[15]
1	Vincent Janssen	AZ	26
2	Luuk de Jong	PSV	24
3	Arkadiusz Milik	Ajax	21
4	Dirk Kuyt	Feyenoord	18
5	Sébastien Haller	Utrecht	17
	Hakim Ziyech	Twente
7	Christian Santos	NEC	16
8	Mike Havenaar	ADO Den Haag	15
9	Michiel Kramer	Feyenoord	14
	Lars Veldwijk	PEC Zwolle

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Tannane, OussamaOussama Tannane^4	Heracles Almelo	SC Cambuur	6–1	22 August 2015
de Jong, LuukLuuk de Jong	PSV	SC Cambuur	6–0	12 September 2015
Veldwijk, LarsLars Veldwijk	PEC Zwolle	Excelsior	3–0	12 September 2015
Kuyt, DirkDirk Kuyt	Feyenoord	Heerenveen	5–2	18 October 2015
Kuyt, DirkDirk Kuyt	Feyenoord	AZ	3–1	25 October 2015
Kramer, MichielMichiel Kramer	Feyenoord	Excelsior	4–2	28 November 2015
Andersen, LucasLucas Andersen	Willem II	Twente	3–1	28 November 2015
Janssen, VincentVincent Janssen	AZ	Feyenoord	4–2	24 January 2016
Janssen, VincentVincent Janssen^4	AZ	PEC Zwolle	5–1	16 April 2016

Note

⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Assists

Up to and including matches played on 21 April 2016.

Rank	Player	Club	Assists[15]
1	Édouard Duplan	ADO Den Haag	11
2	Hakim Ziyech	Twente	10
3	Andrés Guardado	PSV	9
	Rick Karsdorp	Feyenoord
	Jürgen Locadia	PSV
	Lars Veldwijk	PEC Zwolle
7	Nemanja Gudelj	Ajax	8
	Davy Klaassen	Ajax
	Sam Larsson	Heerenveen
10	Ouasim Bouy	PEC Zwolle	7
	Dabney dos Santos	AZ
	Luuk de Jong	PSV
	Arkadiusz Milik	Ajax
	Joris van Overeem	AZ

Discipline

Up to and including matches played on 17 April 2016.

Player

• Most yellow cards: 9^[16]
  • Lucas Bijker (Heerenveen)
  • Funso Ojo (Willem II)

• Most red cards: 2^[16]
  • Joey van den Berg (Heerenveen)
  • Ouasim Bouy (PEC Zwolle)
  • Sander Fischer (Excelsior)
  • Derrick Luckassen (AZ)
  • Mark van der Maarel (Utrecht)

Club

• Most yellow cards: 61^[16]
  • Heerenveen

• Most red cards: 5^[16]
  • Utrecht

Attendances

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Ajax	681,147	51,875	48,494	48,653	−1.5%^†
2	Feyenoord	617,500	47,500	47,500	47,500	+4.5%^†
3	PSV	433,600	35,000	32,000	33,354	+2.7%^†
4	Twente	334,300	24,900	24,900	24,900	−12.6%^†
5	Heerenveen	300,051	24,645	20,100	22,373	−7.9%^†
6	Groningen	271,765	21,241	19,277	20,259	+0.3%^†
8	Utrecht	228,313	16,364	16,364	16,364	−1.6%^†
9	AZ	207,862	16,673	14,144	15,409	−0.6%^†
10	Roda JC	202,624	13,472	13,130	13,301	+24.1%^1
7	Vitesse Arnhem	233,393	13,212	13,212	13,212	−23.2%^†
15	ADO Den Haag	155,929	13,125	12,293	12,709	+6.1%^†
14	Heracles	157,095	12,084	12,084	12,084	+45.1%^†
13	PEC Zwolle	158,608	12,123	11,650	11,887	−2.6%^†
12	NEC	161,589	12,321	10,240	11,281	+18.3%^1
11	Willem II	173,862	11,000	11,000	11,000	−9.0%^†
17	Cambuur	126,874	10,000	9,630	9,815	+1.0%^†
16	De Graafschap	146,477	8,100	8,100	8,100	+64.4%^1
18	Excelsior	49,821	3,394	3,394	3,394	−3.4%^†
	League total	498,612	48,494	3,394	18,467	−1.4%^†

Updated to games played on 23 August 2015
Source: World football
Notes:
Median attendances of the 2014–15 season will be shown until the league starts.
1: Team played last season in Eerste Divisie

Play-offs

European competition

Four teams play for a spot in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

	Semi-finals						Final
	5th placed team
	8th placed team
	6th placed team
	7th placed team

Key: * = Play-off winners, (a) = Wins because of away goals rule, (e) = Wins after extra time in second leg, (p) = Wins after penalty shoot-out.

Promotion/relegation play-offs

Ten teams, two from the Eredivisie and eight from the Eerste Divisie, play for two spots in the 2016–17 Eredivisie, the remaining eight teams play in the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie.

First round

Second round

Third round

MVV Maastricht

2

—

—

Volendam

1

—

—

Winner First Round

De Graafschap

Winner Second Round

Winner Second Round

Go Ahead Eagles

VVV-Venlo

Almere City

4

—

—

Emmen

1

—

—

Winner First Round

16th placed team

Winner Second Round

Winner Second Round

Eindhoven

NAC Breda

Key: * = Play-off winners, (a) = Wins because of away goals rule, (e) = Wins after extra time in second leg, (p) = Wins after penalty shoot-out.

References

1. "Dutch Eredivisie statistics". ESPN FC. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
2. "Alflen en Adriaanse weg bij FC Utrecht". NOS (in Dutch). 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
3. "Erik ten Hag trainer/coach en technisch manager". FC Utrecht (in Dutch). 22 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
4. "Weg vrij voor Ruud Brood naar PSV, contract bij NEC ontbonden". Omroep Brabant (in Dutch). 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
5. "Ernest Faber nieuwe hoofdtrainer NEC". NEC (in Dutch). 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
6. "Dijkhuizen vertrekt naar Brentford FC". NOS (in Dutch). 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
7. "Fons Groenendijk nieuwe hoofdtrainer van Excelsior". Excelsior (in Dutch). 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
8. "Kalezic van PSV naar Roda JC". Telegraaf (in Dutch). 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
9. "FC Twente ontslaat trainer Schreuder". NOS (in Dutch). 30 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
10. "Lodeweges stapt op als trainer van SC Heerenveen". VI (in Dutch). 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
11. "Bosz vertrekt per direct bij Vitesse". NOS (in Dutch). 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
12. "Henk de Jong stapt op als trainer SC Cambuur". NU.nl (in Dutch). 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
13. "Keizer opvolger De Jong bij Cambuur". NOS (in Dutch). 13 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
14. "Eredivisie 2015/2016 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
15. "Statstieken". Eredivisie official website (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 February 2015.
16. "Statistieken". Eredivisie. Retrieved 1 September 2015.

External links

• Official website (Dutch)