Go Ahead Eagles are flying high after a historic season – winning their first KNVB Cup and qualifying for the Europa League. We analyse the revival of Dutch football’s cult club.
If there were a contest for the best-named football club, Go Ahead Eagles would be a strong contender. Hailing from Deventer, the club was originally founded in 1902 as Be Quick. When they joined the Dutch football federation in 1905-06, they adopted the name Go Ahead to avoid clashing with another club of the same name from Groningen. The “Eagles” moniker came later in 1971, suggested by then-manager Barry Hughes when the professional team split from the amateur side.
Unsurprisingly, Go Ahead Eagles are the very definition of a cult club – a rarity in modern football. While their golden era came in the 1960s and ’70s, including a KNVB Cup final appearance (a 1-0 loss to Feyenoord) and multiple top-10 finishes in the Eredivisie, recent decades have seen them oscillate between divisions, their ambitions often constrained by modest means.
That’s what makes their 2024-25 campaign nothing short of remarkable.
Go Ahead Eagles finished the Eredivisie season with 51 points – their most since 1970-71 (53, adjusted to 3 points for a win) – and secured their highest top-flight finish since that same campaign (7th).
But the real headline came elsewhere: they claimed their first-ever KNVB Cup, beating AZ in a dramatic final to secure a place in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League. Trailing 1-0 in stoppage time, Mats Deijl scored a penalty in the 99th minute, before Go Ahead Eagles clinched the trophy in a shootout.
Yes, that is a bathrobeDe Adelaarshorst (The Eagle’s Nest), their compact, atmospheric ground nestled deep in a Deventer neighbourhood, will host major European football next season. With its intimate setting and throwback charm, it gives off similar vibes to Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road. And for the Eagles, the stage is set for a new chapter. This time, across the continent.
Not long ago, Go Ahead Eagles found themselves on the fringes of Dutch football. After finishing bottom of the Eredivisie in 2016-17, they dropped into the Eerste Divisie and slumped to fourth from bottom the following season. Were it not for the unusual rule that prevents relegation from the Dutch second tier, the Eagles might have been staring down the barrel of a full-blown freefall. Something had to change.
In stepped Paul Bosvelt, a former no-nonsense midfielder who made over 100 appearances for Go Ahead Eagles, and won the Eredivisie and UEFA Cup with Feyenoord. He also won 24 caps for the Dutch national team and had a stint at Manchester City between 2003 and 2005. Bosvelt took on the role of technical director, and under his guidance, Go Ahead Eagles emerged from the depths.
In his first full season, the club reached the promotion play-off final. Though they narrowly missed out, steady progress followed, and in 2020-21, Go Ahead clinched promotion as Eerste Divisie runners-up in a campaign that included a record 25 clean sheets in 38 matches.
Bosvelt helped transform Go Ahead into a stable Eredivisie side with growing ambitions, and they increasingly became a role model club for others to follow. They even secured a place in the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round in 2023-24 after finishing ninth in the league, before beating N.E.C. and FC Utrecht in the play-offs.
But after two successful seasons, head coach René Hake departed to become the assistant manager of long-time friend Erik ten Hag at Manchester United – it didn’t last long but was a move he simply couldn’t refuse.
Hake wasn’t the only departure: club captain Bas Kuipers left for FC Twente, goalkeeper Jeffrey de Lange was poached by Marseille, forward Willum Þór Willumsson joined Birmingham City, and midfield engine Philippe Rommens left for Ferencváros.
Enter Paul Simonis, a 39-year-old rookie manager who had never coached a senior team before. With four starters sold and the first competitive match less than two weeks away when he arrived, expectations were low. And early signs weren’t encouraging either: Go Ahead failed to win any of their first four matches across all competitions, scoring just one goal in the process and their European adventure was limited to a double header against Norwegian side SK Brann, losing 2-1 on aggregate.
But Simonis quickly got everyone pulling in the same direction and once the train started rolling, it didn’t stop. He built a well-drilled side: disciplined in a low block, dangerous on the counter, but also capable of patient build-up from the back.
Statistically, their style stood out. This season, only two Eredivisie teams posted a lower PPDA than Go Ahead Eagles (14.8), with their figure in that metric was comparable to Ipswich Town (14.9), Everton (14.8), and Atlético de Madrid (14.7) in their respective leagues. Go Ahead also ranked last in the Eredivisie for possession won in the final third (95) and recorded just 198 high turnovers – only two teams had fewer. In short, they did not press high up the pitch.
But from their low block, Go Ahead were remarkably effective at transitioning into the opposition’s half at speed.
Go Ahead recorded 72 direct attacks – open-play sequences starting just inside their own half, with at least 50% forward movement, ending in a shot or a touch in the opposition box. Only champions PSV had more (78). These transitions yielded nine goals – the joint-most in the Eredivisie, alongside Feyenoord.
But the Eagles weren’t just about verticality. They played attractive, controlled football from the back as well. As head coach Simonis put it: “We combine direct play with building up patiently.”
The numbers back him up. Go Ahead played the joint-highest share of their passes in their own half (50.4%) in the Dutch top flight this season, while only four teams in the Eredivisie produced more sequences of 10+ passes (332).
Notably, they were the only side to score two goals following 20+ passing sequences this season, including a stunning team goal against Feyenoord in which every outfield player touched the ball.
Central defender Joris Kramer has been instrumental in Go Ahead’s build-up play. He ranked sixth in the Eredivisie for line-breaking passes (335) and fourth for total successful passes (2,137). Only twice before since Opta records began (since 2010-11) has a non-Ajax, Feyenoord, or PSV player completed so many successful passes in a single season – Vitesse’s Jan-Arie van der Heijden (2,345) and Guram Kashia (2,325) in 2013-14.
These varied attacking styles helped Go Ahead create high-quality chances. Only Ajax (0.13) and PSV (0.12) posted a higher xG per shot than Go Ahead Eagles (0.11, excluding penalties).
Another heroic performer, both by name and by numbers, was Oliver Antman. He recorded 15 assists in the Eredivisie this season, the most by a player outside of Ajax, Feyenoord, or PSV since Hakim Ziyech (16 for FC Twente in 2014-15).
All of Antman’s assists came from open play, something only Dusan Tadic has matched in a single Eredivisie season over the past decade (15 in both 2020-21 and 2021-22).
The Finnish winger also created 50 open-play chances – the fourth-most in the league and the most ever by a Go Ahead Eagles player in a single Eredivisie campaign on record, which helped earn him a place in our Eredivisie team of the season.
In fact, across Europe’s top 10 leagues this season, only Mohamed Salah (18) recorded more assists than Antman, with Bayern’s Michael Olise also finishing on 15.
Antman made his biggest impact during a key stretch in February and March, scoring twice and assisting once in back-to-back games against PSV, including in the KNVB Cup semi-final.
Another standout performer for Go Ahead this season was Jakob Breum, even though his campaign was cut short by injury in late February.
The Danish forward played just 2,062 of a possible 3,060 league minutes, yet still finished as the club’s top scorer with 10 goals, the most by a Go Ahead player since Jack de Gier netted 11 in 1994-95.
Breum was highly involved in The Eagles’ attacking play. He featured in 6.0 unique open-play shot-ending sequences per 90 (2.4 shots, 1.4 chances created, 2.2 in build-up), the second highest among all players outside of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV with at least 1,500 minutes played.
The name Jari surged in popularity in the Netherlands during the 1990s thanks to the brilliance of Jari Litmanen at Ajax. If the people of Deventer are anything to go by, we might just see a revival of the moniker, inspired by the heroics of Jari De Busser between the sticks.
The Belgian took over as Go Ahead’s first-choice goalkeeper in the second half of the season and quickly proved himself to be one of the Eredivisie’s standout shot-stoppers. Among goalkeepers with 10 or more appearances, only one posted a higher save percentage than De Busser’s 74.2%. He was also particularly vital in the club’s historic KNVB Cup triumph, preventing 1.7 goals in the final according to our expected goals on target model (xGOT) and saving two penalties in the shootout to seal the win.
Go Ahead Eagles have a strong core of players, and while some may attract summer interest, perhaps the biggest adventure still lies ahead, right at home.
With eight guaranteed UEFA Europa League matches on the horizon, Go Ahead are set to become the first Dutch club to debut in a major European competition since SC Heerenveen in the 1998-99 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Will Paul Simonis lead them there? All signs point to yes. Despite interest from elsewhere, reportedly including Ajax, the 40-year-old has signed a contract extension through 2027.
Can he guide Go Ahead to even greater heights? The trajectory for the Eagles looks promising.
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Go Ahead Eagles Take Flight – Inside the Resurgence of a Cult Club Opta Analyst.
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