The ‘big five’ as we know them at the minute consist of the English Premier League, France’s Ligue 1, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and the Bundesliga in Germany. But what is it that puts them in that category?
Well, various things have created this idea that these five leagues are the biggest and best: everything from the size of the clubs, the superstars it attracts and the fans that attend. All of the big five host these three factors and many more, but what is it about them that place them in higher regard than the Eredivisie?
Through a series of questions related to the key variables that separate the big five from other leagues, I will investigate the notion that Holland’s top-tier should be considered a part of the conversation.
Does the Eredivisie have big clubs?
The short and sweet answer to this is yes. Some could argue that they host one of the biggest clubs in football, Ajax, who play their football at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in Amsterdam. However, the Eredivisie does not stop there, with PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord making up what is known as ‘the big three’ in the Netherlands. Teams like AZ Alkmaar and FC Utrecht are also relatively well-known clubs who have had a few decent runs in European competitions over the years.
But have these clubs actually won anything?
Again, another yes. All three of the aforementioned ‘big three’ in the Netherlands have won at least one European Cup, with PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord both winning one and Ajax boasting an impressive four titles, which is more than Manchester United and Juventus.
Feyenoord, however, are ahead in regards to the UEFA Cup as it was called at the time of their two triumphs. They find themselves one ahead of both PSV Eindhoven and Ajax. Domestically, they are just as successful with Ajax winning 34 Eredivisie titles, followed by PSV’s 24 and Feyenoord’s 15.
Do they actually produce any good players?
Very much so and they have done for years, Ajax are world-renowned for their incredibly successful academy and the quality of what they have produced over the years. They have developed greats such as Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Wesley Sneijder, Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert. The Dutch league have also produced greats such as Ruud Gullit, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, and they have also helped greats from elsewhere develop and be discovered within the European game.
PSV was the first European team for the great Brazilian Ronaldo, Feyenoord were the team that put Henrik Larsson on the map. The Dutch league also aided the likes of Romario, Jerzy Dudek, Eider Gudjohnson and Park Ji-Sung on their way to global successes.
The Dutch academies haven’t dried up either, with many of today’s superstars coming from Dutch teams. Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum, who were both recently crowned Premier League champions, started in the Eredivisie. Van Dijk made his professional debut with Groningen in 2011 whilst Wijnaldum starting his career at Feyenoord before a spell at PSV. Toby Alderweireld also started at Ajax as well as Frankie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and recent Chelsea signing Hakim Ziyech started at Heerenveen.
So, yes. From the calibre of players mentioned alone, it’s safe to say the Netherlands has a reputation for producing talented footballers.
Do the clubs actually have fans?
In this season’s Eredivisie, Ajax averaged 53,290 at home which is pretty good going, Feyenoord average 42,681 and PSV average 33,625 so the big clubs pull in large audiences but the league overall has a very good attendance record. The Eredivisie averages 83.3% stadium capacity across the league which is a larger percentage than La Liga, who average 76.1%, the Serie A, who average 71.1%, and Ligue 1, who average 68.2%. So it’s clear that the league is well supported and the major teams in the league do hold a reputation for impressive displays alongside loud, loyal and large fanbases.
Is the league any good to watch?
Most definitely, yes!
Dutch football is famed and admired historically for its game changing style of Total Football created by Ajax in the 1970s, which is the style that inspired the famous ‘tika taka’ style played by Barcelona more recently.
The style of football is still very good with Ajax showing that after an impressive semi-final run in the 2018/19 Champions League where they proved they were still capable of beating great teams such as Real Madrid on the way.
The league itself is also a competitive and interesting league, most of the time the league winner is one of the ‘big three’, however, other clubs have been known to challenge the traditional top three and sometimes prevail with AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente recording league titles since the turn of the century.
This year has been no different with Ajax at the top and AZ fighting a surprising fight at the top, having found themselves just behind on goal difference when the league was cancelled due to Covid-19. Many think that had the league continued, AZ may well have had enough to win it.
So, taking all things into consideration, the Eredivisie, in my opinion, does deserve to be regarded as one of the big leagues. Whether it becomes the ‘big six’ or they remove one of the others to give the Eredivisie their rightful seat in the big leagues.
Featured Image: Anadolu Agency
Football’s Finest 