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Can NAC Breda delude PSV as well?
Saturday 18 October 2008
When he arrived in Breda the new
manager Robert Maaskant said he was relishing the special
Nights of NAC or 'Avondje NAC', which had been the club's
trademark since his father Bob managed the club in the
seventies.
With reigning champions PSV coming
to the Rat Verlegh Stadium for what is the second Saturday
night game of the season the picture is perfect, and
with NAC being joint seconds in the Eredivisie tonight's
game is a top match.
"This high ranking is fantastic
for us, where for PSV it's business as usual. We experience
this game as a top match, for PSV it's just a difficult
away match," Maaskant says.
"PSV are the main candidates
to win the league for me. People have been saying for
years it seems to be going down hill in Eindhoven, but
so far they have made a decent impression on me. It's
a big difference in perception. PSV and NAC have an
equal amount of points, but in Breda everyone is euphoric
and in Eindhoven they are almost talking of a crisis."
The strong start of the season
of clubs like FC Groningen, NAC Breda and SC Heerenveen
feeds the notion that the league title could go to a
club outside the top-three this season.
"But there is always a chance
of that," says PSV coach Huub Stevens.
"It's the delusion of the
moment. The truth is that FC Groningen are top at the
moment and NAC are ranked very high. Will that be the
case after 34 matches? No one knows. What is remarkable
is that Heerenveen lose at NAC and no one makes a bone
about it. Whereas our defeat in Alkmaar was made into
a big story. That's a good indication of how things
stand."
Maaskant believes very much that
a change of guard is happening.
"It's imminent, yes. The smaller
sides are seeing their possibilities grow and at the
same time the budgets of the top-three can no grow much
further. Teams like AZ, SC Heerenveen and FC Twente
will in time compete for the league title. Perhaps already
even this season."
Fixtures
- Table
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