CoefficientsAfter the painful defeat of Feyenoord against AS Roma, the European dream campaign of Dutch football came to an end. That downer should not spoil the coefficient fun. The great results of the five participating clubs brought the Netherlands back to the second-tier in Europe. In terms of coefficients, the Netherlands is again seriously counting after difficult years.
Impressive advance
When the Netherlands ended up in fourteenth place in 2018 and a direct ticket to the Champions League group stage was far away, it seemed a utopia that the Netherlands would measure itself again with the European sub-top four years later. However, the excellent performances of this season have put the Netherlands firmly back in seventh place in the ranking. This season, the Netherlands is almost the best performing country in Europe with 19,200 points: only England scored more points (21,000). As a result, fears of early European elimination have disappeared and the dreams of two clubs in the Champions League are more than justified.
Hunting France
Because virtually, thanks to the European dream campaign, the Netherlands has already surpassed number six Portugal in the ranking. Next season, the Netherlands will defend a lead of 2,684 points to be assured of two places in the group stage of the Champions League in 2024. Even number five France is no longer out of sight: the Netherlands has 2,181 points less than the French. In 2018, that deficit was still almost 42 (!) points. The reward for fifth place? Two Champions League spots, two Europa League starting tickets and two teams that can compete in the preliminary round of the Champions and Conference League.
A place in the top five would mean Dutch history. For years, Dutch football fluctuated around tenth place, with peaks up and down. In 1998, the Netherlands was last in fifth place in the coefficient ranking. See below the virtual stand for next season:
5. France – 48,581
6. Netherlands – 46,400
7. Portugal – 43,716
Feyenoord points gun
The difference is immense: last season Feyenoord’s coefficient yield stopped at just four points, good for a shared 62nd place in the European ranking. The Rotterdammers thus performed less than, for example, Slovan Liberec and kept pace with CFR Cluj. Feyenoord brought a gigantic metamorphosis between the European elite: Arne Slot’s team scored 24 points and therefore only has to tolerate Liverpool, Eintracht Frankfurt, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
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The fact that these clubs have collected more points is due to the many bonus points that come with reaching the next round in the Champions or Europa League. Clubs in the Conference League were rewarded considerably less this season with extra points for surviving a round. Purely looking at the yield in matches, however, Feyenoord is almost the leader in Europe. Only Liverpool, which still plays the CL final against Real Madrid on Saturday, has more points left from the duels.
1. Liverpool – 21
2. Feyenoord and Eintracht Frankfurt – 20
3. AS Roma – 17
Power of the collective
The years that Ajax withheld Dutch football from its status as the laughingstock of Europe are in the past. Not only the team from Amsterdam scored points for the coefficient ranking this season. All five participants overwintered in the group stage and jointly created a tsunami of points. Telling: Vitesse is the least performing team with nine points achieved, while in recent seasons it regularly happened that a team had already disappeared from the European stage when the coefficient points were divided.
• Feyenoord: 24 points
• Ajax: 22 points
• AZ: 13
• PSV: 10
• Speed: 9
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