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IMAGO<\/p>\nPre-season is nearly over, the first competitive matches have been played and the transfer window is in full swing. The new Eredivisie season is now genuinely just around the corner. In a series of season previews, we are putting all 18 Eredivisie clubs under the microscope this week. Here, the focus is on ADO Den Haag. We analyse their summer business, dive into Robin Peter’s style of play, pick out a player who could surprise and make a number of other bold predictions for the new season.<\/p>\n
ADO are back in the top flight in the Netherlands after five seasons away. The Hague club were emphatic champions of the Keuken Kampioen Divisie last season. Now a new phase begins.<\/p>\n
One obvious plus is that Peter has stayed on in The Hague. The 39-year-old German is a talented, ambitious coach with an attacking approach built on front-foot football and pressing.<\/p>\n
The big question is whether Peter’s side can bring that to the Eredivisie as well. If they can, ADO will not only stay up but also give Dutch football fans something worth watching.<\/p>\n
IMAGO<\/p>\n
Incoming and outgoing transfers<\/p>\n
Mark Wotte, ADO’s experienced technical director, has already brought in five new players this summer: goalkeeper Niclas Thiede (VfL Bochum), centre-back Lasse Wilhelm (1. FC Saarbr\u00fccken), midfielder Jan Zamburek (Heracles Almelo), predatory striker Don\u00e1t B\u00e1r\u00e1ny (Debreceni VSC) and talented forward Yannick Eduardo (TSG Hoffenheim).<\/p>\n
Against that, star player Jari Vlak has left after a \u20ac600,000 move to CD Castell\u00f3n. Peter also lost another key regular in Steven van der Sloot, who joined Fortuna D\u00fcsseldorf. Cult hero Diogo Tomas signed for AIK in Sweden. Milan Hokke is still an ADO player for now despite a multi-million bid from Union Sint-Gillis. The left-footer, who came through at Feyenoord, would improve plenty of Eredivisie clubs.<\/p>\n
Even so, ADO could still do with two or three Eredivisie-level additions in the final month of the window. According to Tubantia, FC Twente’s Arno Verschuren was a target, but the experienced midfielder is not keen on a move to the Hofstad.<\/p>\n
Results in pre-season<\/p>\n
ADO had a far calmer pre-season than last year, when Peter was only appointed head coach in the middle of July. The promoted side also came through their friendly schedule unbeaten.<\/p>\n
They brushed aside Laakkwartier (1-5) and the Westlands Elftal (0-6), then beat KV Mechelen (2-3) and Lommel SK (0-4) as well.<\/p>\n
A lifeless draw against Greece’s Asteras Tripolis (0-0), however, brought pre-season to a flat finish. On Saturday evening, ADO head to Alkmaar for a difficult first real test against AZ.<\/p>\n
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IMAGO<\/p>\n
The style of play<\/p>\n
Peter’s ADO side have a number of clear traits. Pieter Zwart, the tactical mastermind behind Voetbal International, did not call it the promotion of pressing for nothing last season.<\/p>\n
ADO dominated the Keuken Kampioen Divisie with ultra-aggressive pressing, dominant possession and attractive positional play. It’s not hard to see that Peter learned his trade at RB Leipzig.<\/p>\n
The coming months will show which parts of that game ADO can carry into the Eredivisie, where the level of opposition will be considerably higher. They will get an early answer this month away to AZ and Feyenoord.<\/p>\n
The key player<\/p>\n
Juho Kilo has grown into one of ADO’s mainstays over the past two seasons. In the title-winning campaign, the 24-year-old Finn also added end product to his game.<\/p>\n
This summer, ADO rewarded Kilo with a new contract until mid-2029, with the option of an extra season. His debut for the Finland national team probably is not far away.<\/p>\n
Kilo is an intelligent, complete midfielder who does not shirk the dirty work. That is exactly the sort of thing the crowd in The Hague love.<\/p>\n
Who is going to break through?<\/p>\n
Illaijh de Ruijter is still only 19 but has already played 44 matches for ADO. He missed a large part of last season with a knee injury, so the coming year will be especially important for the multifunctional wide player from Maassluis.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Omroep West, De Ruijter said one long-cherished dream of his has already come true. “I’m in FIFA now too, so I’m looking forward to that. It is something I thought about during my holiday. I haven’t ordered the game yet, but I’m going to do that soon.”<\/p>\n
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IMAGO<\/p>\n
When will the season be a success?<\/p>\n
Back at the start of April, Wotte was already talking ambitiously when he appeared on ESPN podcast Tekengeld. “We want to make ourselves safe as quickly as possible and then see how high we can still climb.”<\/p>\n
He then went a step further. “You can make it very politically correct and easy for yourself by saying the season will be a success if we stay up, but we also have a bit of Hague bravado. In five years’ time, we want to be an established mid-table side that regularly competes for the European places.”<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, we are not competing for fourteenth or fifteenth place. We are more ambitious than that, but at the same time we also simply want to remain a healthy club. Naturally, we do not want to follow the Vitesse scenario,” said Wotte.<\/p>\n
For most ADO supporters, the season will already be a success if they stay up automatically. If they do it with Peter’s recognisable style of play, they will win over even more Eredivisie followers.<\/p>\n
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IMAGO<\/p>\n
(Bold) predictions<\/p>\n
Player of the Year: Juho Kilo. After Vlak’s departure, he will have to lead the way in The Hague, especially if ADO do not manage to bring in a number of additions with Eredivisie experience.<\/p>\n
Biggest disappointment: Lasse Wilhelm. The German arrived on a free transfer from the 3. Liga, a significantly lower level than the Eredivisie. On top of that, he faces strong competition from Hokke, Matteo Waem and Pascal Mulder, all of whom have already proved themselves at ADO.<\/p>\n
Best signing: Yannick Eduardo. He made his Bundesliga debut for Hoffenheim last season after producing no fewer than 12 goals and five assists for FC Dordrecht in the first half of the campaign. He earned the Schapekoppen a record fee of no fewer than \u20ac2.6 million and can now show what he can do at ADO for a season.<\/p>\n
Top scorer: Don\u00e1t B\u00e1r\u00e1ny. The two-cap Hungary international scored no fewer than 60 goals in 152 official matches for Debreceni VSC and is therefore a proven predatory striker.<\/p>\n
Final Eredivisie position: Fifteenth place. ADO will secure a second Eredivisie season, after which the club can start looking a little further up again. If their talents continue to develop at the top level in the Netherlands, the outlook is bright.<\/p>\n
Other season previews<\/p>\n
In the build-up to the first round of Eredivisie fixtures, we are highlighting all 18 clubs this week. Below are the club previews that have already been published:<\/p>\n
Ajax<\/p>\n
AZ<\/p>\n
Cambuur<\/p>\n
Excelsior<\/p>\n