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"Waalwijk know where we're going, but we don't know what we've RKC'n!"

Deisler26

By Deisler26,
in FM Career Updates

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Deisler26

Deisler26

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2022/23 KNVB Beker 4th Round

14 December 2022

2045hrs, Rat Verleigh Stadion, Breda

RKC Waalwijk 0-1 Helmond Sport

A bitterly cold day in Breda with temperatures reaching -2 and snow drifting in greeted us as we prepared for our KNVB Beker Fourth Round match against Helmond Sport. As regular readers will know, we beat Helmond in the Final two years ago to give us our first major trophy as a club. And now we faced them in the Fourth Round.

I played my backup team. Jordy Clasie made his comeback from injury, Bilal Houari & Ezra Walian started up front with Viktor Einarsson also coming into the side. The game started and it was barely two minutes on the clock when a Helmond break down the right saw a cross into the middle and the central Helmond striker knocked the ball home. 0-1. They forced Sergio Padt into two more saves in the first five minutes. And that was it. Yep. They had NO more shots all game. None wide, none blocked. NONE.

Whilst we blew every chance we had. Bilal Houari missed a hatful of chances, including thundering a header against the bar in the first half. We were blazing shot after shot over and wide. 

HT came and went and the underperforming Houari & Walian were yanked for Juric & Zivkovic, whilst a tiring Clasie was pulled for Markus Bay. Filip Juric hit the post with the keeper beaten and again, we just panicked everytime we got close to their goal. When the game finished, we'd had 16 shots. ONE on target. We'd also lost our two year unbeaten record in the competition. :mad:

32798489875_4125948db4_o.png 32675522021_6774c0fbcb_o.png 

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Deisler26

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22566586548_8936818463.jpg

RKC Waalwijk

2022/23 January Transfer Window Roundup

Results

Our first game of September and we faced FC Emmen. By a strange quirk of the fixture computer, we were to face Emmen in the first game after the January window. We comfortably won 3-0. This saw us into back-to-back 4-1 wins against AZ Alkmaar & sc Heerenveen. Both games featured Richairo Zivkovic hat-tricks. We then trounced FC Volendam 3-0 and beat Heracles Almelo 1-0 with a late, late goal from Abdelhak Nouri.

Then the rot set in. Europe was a bit of a distraction as we picked up just two wins and 10 points out of the next 11 matches. Wins against Vitesse Arnhem (2-1) and FC Utrecht (3-0) and three 0-0 draws against N.E.C Nijmegen, Feyenoord Rotterdam & PSV Eindhoven were easily blotted out by the defeats to FC Twente Enschede, FC Dordrecht, FC Groningen and, as usual, AFC Ajax Amsterdam to end the half season on a very down note.

- Table - Results -

In the KNVB Beker, we faced non-league side FC Hilversum for the first time in my career. They won't want to remember this however, as we slaughtered them 8-0. Ezra Walian got four goals and Brian de Boer popped up with a brace. To compound their misery, we were 5-0 up in 20 mins... This was followed by an easy 3-0 win over Jupiler League side Fortuna Sittard. This game was notable for two goals in 30 seconds as Teun Veerman raced away with the ball after an interception from their kick off and scored from 25 yards. Our Fourth Round tie was against Eredivisie strugglers Helmond Sport, only we were the strugglers as we lost 0-1 to a second minute goal... 

- Cup Results -

Back into European football saw us placed again in Group H of the UEFA Europa League. We were placed with R.C.D Espanyol of Spain, Zenit St. Petersburg of Russia and AC Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic. Our first match was at home against Espanyol and Richairo Zivkovic sealed the deal in a 2-0 win. We then travelled to Prague and came back with all three points as we also came back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Sparta Prague. Our back to back games against Zenit St. Petersburg proved the shock of the group, as we smashed six past them away, thanks to a Richairo Zivkovic hat-trick, in a 6-2 win. Then we came back home to win 2-0. Our away game against Espanyol proved a damp squib as we went down 0-2, but improved to smash Sparta Prague 3-0 in our last game to win the group.

- Europa Group - - Europa Results -

 

Transfers

We made Ezra Walian's loan permanent as he was welcomed back with open arms. We paid West Ham United £7.25m for him. We also picked up a Tunisian goalkeeper, ES Sahal's Said Naffati for £550k, then loaned him out to FC Oss.

Then came the last day flood. First off, Borussia Mönchengladbach swooped in with a £6.25m + 50% sell on (£10m with clauses) bid for Richairo Zivkovic. He had been making noised about moving to a bigger club and I said he could go for £7.5m. So when the bid came in, there was very little I could do. In response, I signed recently released Mexican international forward Giovanni dos Santos on a six-month deal.  He would play behind Walian, who would be promoted to main striker. 

Sadly, Walian had strained knee ligaments, so I also swooped for young SK Rapid Wien striker Dominik Gartner on loan. But, while prowling the loan list, I saw old favourite Cesarinho listed for loan by SC Corinthians Paulista and I immediately swooped for him, allowing the underperforming backup Bilal Houari to go on loan back to FC Den Bosch.

Coming into the final hours of the window, I received a £12m bid for Abdelhak Nouri from RCD Espanyol. He, like Zivkovic, demanded a move if a good offer was made and so my hands were tied.

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Deisler26

Deisler26

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So, I watched the Youth Candidates vs my U-19's and although the U-19's won, this guy had a good game, positionally. He only got 6.5 and couldn't finish a good meal according to the highlights, but his movement was excellent. I looked him up and :eek:

 

32942131265_5f4731318a_o.png

SIGN HIM UP!

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Deisler26

Deisler26

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On 20/02/2017 at 16:39, Bigpapa42 said:

<slow clap> Nice work! Hopefully you do well. Dutch clubs doing well in Europe is always great to see, let alone when they have been built up from below like you've done with RKC.

Thanks man, it's appreciated

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2023 UEFA Europa League Final

24 May 2023

2000hrs, VELTINS Arena, Gelsenkirchen

RKC Waalwijk 1-2 Manchester City

A balmy night in Germany awaited us in the biggest game in the club's history. We'd scrapped and fought our way past RSC Anderlecht (3-1 on aggregate) in the First Knockout Round, then beat Fenerbaçhe A.S on away goals after finishing 1-1 on aggregate. A Quarter Final saw us up against one of our parent clubs FC Porto. And we showed our appreciation by knocking them out 2-1 on aggregate. This put us into the Semi Finals against 2014/15 Premier League champions Leicester City. A 1-1 draw in the first leg was followed up by a magnificent 2-1 win in England to see us into this historic first European final.

Squad-wise, we'd lost main striker Ezra Walian to a neck injury, just days before the match, so Cesarinho started up front with Filip Juric. Other than that, we lined up as so

33010845536_91c1a10476_o.png 

The game kicked off and immediately some good work in the midfield, brought a snapshot from Cesarinho, which the City goalie managed to save with ease. Then we were under the cosh. City were flooding forward, but their first 3 shots were all blocked by our massed defence. We were doing excellently, defending like lions against a strike force that was valued at over £120m..

Sadly, the wall was breached on 15 minutes in the most flukey of circumstances. The £44m striker got in behind the defence and met a teasing cross with a bullet header. Paas saved magnificently from point-blank range, but as Floranus tried to clear, his clearance ricocheted off the striker and into the net. 0-1.

Then, on 31 minutes, Antonio Candela was harshly adjudged to have brought down the £44m striker on the edge of the box. I was incandescent with rage! No way was that a penalty!! The English international defender stepped up for City. AND MISSED! Paas making an excellent save from a poor penalty! We kept them at bay for the rest of the half. I kicked every ball from the touchline with the team, yelling passionate encouragement whenever I could.

Half time came in and I told them I was so proud of them and that I had faith they could turn it around. Good energy flowed in the dressing room and we ran back out for the second half.

On 60 minutes, a cross from their full back was blocked by Dupont. The ball bounced out to the City midfielder, whose ball over the top caught the defence pinching and the £44m striker had that vital second of time to control and put the ball in at the near post. 0-2. The agonised look of Maarten Paas who knew he could have done better with it was a sight to see.

We started to come back into the game. A lot of shots were being put just wide and I would have given my career earnings (£2m) for Ezra Walian to be on the pitch. However, a glimmer of hope appeared on 76 minutes, as a long, raking ball from left back saw Cesarinho pick the ball up in the left-hand channel. He beat the defender for pace, got into the box and cut the ball back from the byline for an onrushing Filip Juric to nip in front of the stationary defender and poke the ball home. 1-2. We continued to attack City and a hopeful shot from Juric deflected off a defender and just drifted wide, with the keeper wrong-footed..

However, the final whistle blew and we'd lost the Europa League Final. I was proud of my boys and we'd done well to keep pace with the giants of European football.

33053023505_f7a3c3a584_b.jpg 32897004112_a5c9b47e38_b.jpg

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Deisler26

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On 22/02/2017 at 14:48, Jupjamie said:

2-1 against a team with City's financial clout is damn respectable, especially with the ref on their side. You'll be back!

I hope so. We got an extremely fortunate run to the final. Arsenal vs City was the other semi.

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22566586548_8936818463.jpg

RKC Waalwijk

2022/23 Season Review

Results

Our new signing Giovani dos Santos made an immediate impact in the first game after the January transfer window. He scored the opener after 9 minutes in a 2-0 win over FC Emmen. However, our European exploits meant that we struggled in the league to maintain our focus. We took 4 points out of the next 15, with only a late 1-0 win over sc Heerenveen in the W column. We had a 0-0 draw with Roda JC Kerkade as our other point. Back-to-back 1-2 defeats to PSV Eindhoven & AZ Alkmaar dented our morale and a 2-3 loss to FC Volendam only deepened the crisis.

We then reversed the skid with a 3-1 win over Heracles Almelo. This kickstarted a run of 5 wins in 6 games. Helmond Sport (4-0), Vitesse Arnhem (1-0), N.E.C Nijmegen (3-1) and FC Twente Enschede (2-1) were all put by the wayside with only a reverse to NAC Breda (1-2) to blot our copybook. An embarrassing 0-3 defeat to FC Utrecht ended a very disappointing season in the Eredivisie for us.

This dumped us into the Eredivisie European Places Playoff Semi Final, where we faced up to Vitesse Arnhem. We swept the season series with them, so I was confident of a decent result. We were away in the First Leg, which gave us an advantage being at home in the return leg. On 30 minutes, a corner caused chaos in the box and the Vitesse player rammed home. 0-1. Four minutes later, a free kick on the left hand touchline was whipped into the box where Sami Boucetta clumsily brought down his man. Penalty!. The Vitesse taker dispatched it coolly passed the keeper. 0-2. Livid at HT, I screamed at the team to do better. Only for it to get worse. On 61 mins, a free-kick on the edge of the box was whipped into the top corner. 0-3. Salvation came in the form of Maxime Soulas, who headed home from a corner on 64 minutes to make it 1-3 and bring the deficit back to 2. The game finished 1-3 and we were left with a mountain to climb in the second leg. 

So, in the Second Leg, we had it all to do. A 2-0 win would see us through. A 3-1 win would see ET. So I sent the team out with my most attacking formation and passionately gave them a speech to inspire them. And we flew at them from minute one. A 9th minute whipped cross from deep by Bart Theunissen saw Filip Juric glance a header past the Vitesse keeper from 6 yards out. 1-0. It would take until the 30th minute for us to get another. Good passing from the left wing across the middle saw Dos Santos play a ball inside the fullback for the rampaging Bart Theunissen who took a touch and beat the keeper at his near post. 2-0. We were now ahead on away goals. However, just two minutes later, a deep cross found the Vitesse player whose header came back off the crossbar and bounced in off Sergio Padt. 2-1. Crap. But, the tie turned again just five minutes later, as good play around the box saw Juric set free by a slide-rule ball from Brian de Boer. Juric pulled the trigger, but his shot was blocked. The ball broke free to Sami Boucetta, who rifled the ball into the top corner. 3-1. We were heading for ET and it wasn't even HT! Once the whistle blew for HT, I was able to draw breath. We worked hard in the second half, but with no cutting edge, we got to full time still tied on aggregate. So ET it was and we made the breakthough on 98 minutes. Sami Boucetta got free on the left hand side. He looked up and whipped in a high ball into the middle. The Vitesse keeper came for the high ball in a crowd of players and it caused him to flap at the ball. It came out to Giovani Dos Santos to blast the ball into an empty net. 4-1. This goal was the backbreaker as we then changed to our usual defensive formation and rode the game out. 

This put us into the Eredivisie European Places Playoff Final against sc Heerenveen. Our First Leg matchup was three days before our UEFA Europa League Final match, so a scratch team went to Heerenveen and sat on the game to draw 0-0. Then, when they came to Mandemakers Stadion after the Final, goals from a recently recovered Ezra Walian and a glorious curled finish from a tight angle by Mauro Savastano gave us an easy 2-0 win and a route back into the Europa League.

Season Expectations: Qualify for the UEFA Europa League

Actual Result: Finished 6th, qualified for UEFA Europa League through European Places Playoff

- Table - Results -

In the KNVB Beker, we faced non-league side FC Hilversum for the first time in my career. They won't want to remember this however, as we slaughtered them 8-0. Ezra Walian got four goals and Brian de Boer popped up with a brace. To compound their misery, we were 5-0 up in 20 mins... This was followed by an easy 3-0 win over Jupiler League side Fortuna Sittard. This game was notable for two goals in 30 seconds as Teun Veerman raced away with the ball after an interception from their kick off and scored from 25 yards. Our Fourth Round tie was against Eredivisie strugglers Helmond Sport, only we were the strugglers as we lost 0-1 to a second minute goal.

Season Expectations: Make the Semi Finals

Actual Result: Lost in Fourth Round (0-1 vs Helmond Sport)

- Cup Results -

After topping Group H of the UEFA Europa League, We'd scrapped and fought our way past RSC Anderlecht (3-1 on aggregate) in the First Knockout Round, then beat Fenerbaçhe A.S on away goals after finishing 1-1 on aggregate. A Quarter Final saw us up against one of our parent clubs FC Porto. And we showed our appreciation by knocking them out 2-1 on aggregate. This put us into the Semi Finals against 2014/15 Premier League champions Leicester City. A 1-1 draw in the first leg was followed up by a magnificent 2-1 win in England to see us into this historic first European final.

- Euro Results - 

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