FC Groningen faces the weeks of truth with a series of strength tests against direct competitors. How high does expert Dick Lukkien estimate the chances of direct promotion? “That should help us in the rest of the competition.”
It was almost eleven on Monday evening when the party song came from the depths of the De Herdgang training complex in Eindhoven. Kali by folk singer Django Wagner still rang loudly through the catacombs. The mega speaker from FC Groningen was able to get back to work after the 2-3 in the very last second against the promises of the Eindhoven team.
In the dressing room the hoarse throats sang along at the top of their lungs. A few meters away, Dick Lukkien was quietly enjoying himself. “Wonderful, isn’t it? These are actually the tastiest, so they don’t even get kicked off anymore. I hope not to experience it too often, but such a late goal can also give a huge boost,” the trainer concluded, knowing that the weeks of truth are approaching for his team.
The luck of a champion
Because it is quite a program that FC Groningen has ahead of it. A year and a half ago, they might have laughed in Euroborg at De Graafschap at home, ADO Den Haag and FC Emmen away, NAC Breda at home, VVV-Venlo away, Cambuur at home and Willem II away. The reality in 2024 is that they are all serious opponents in the hunt for direct promotion back to the Premier League.
Marvin Peersman’s striking header in the ultimate final second against Jong PSV on Monday evening had the happiness that characterizes a champion or at least a PhD candidate. “If you want something, you have to be able to deal with setbacks,” says Lukkien. “I think we have grown enormously in that regard this season. If you have that about you as a team, you also force these kinds of denouements, because we now know that we can always do something, regardless of the flag in a match. The boys also realize that we did not play top, but we did get the victory over the line.”
Unwise change
Lukkien himself seemed to bring disaster upon himself by bringing on Thom van Bergen ten minutes before the end. The criticism of the 20-year-old attacker is that he still scores little. The Haren native has made five goals so far and provided four assists, but Van Bergen also proves to be invaluable defensively with his early disruption.
“I wanted to bring fresh legs in the final phase, but the difference afterwards was that Van Bergen with tired legs was able to put pressure on the opponent’s ball. That didn’t happen anymore after that, even though our game starts there. Now we were pushed back and Jong PSV could start a siege. Fortunately, despite the fatigue, we threw all the brakes on and still managed to escape unscathed.”
Survival of the fittest
That fatigue could become an issue towards the end of the competition. Quality is not always of decisive importance. The fittest team often wins the prize after a long and tough season. Lukkien read off the fatigue of his men in Eindhoven after four duels in twelve days. The physical condition of Laros Duarte, the midfielder who can be decisive in a match like no other, is the most worrying. The Rotterdammer suffers from a chronic knee tendon injury, which mainly occurs when overloaded. Reason to keep him aside in Eindhoven as a precaution.
“I sit with him every day. It was already clear at the end of last week that he would not be an option against Jong PSV. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he knows his own body very well. In addition, we as staff have a season to manage. If you look at the short term, we want to win a game, but it doesn’t benefit me if I lose him for four games because I drafted him. That is the decision every time, with medical and physical guidance on top of it. There is great confidence in each other that we will make the right decisions.”
Of crucial importance
Back to the enormous boost that the late victory in Eindhoven brought to FC Groningen. Lukkien thinks that this could be crucial in the coming weeks. “We have an intransigence in the team that you can tell. That should help us in the remainder of the competition. It got us where we are now. Now it’s a matter of moving on.”