First Division. 2 points for a win, the last 3 teams in the final table relegated. There was revival of Dutch football, but there was also huge division between the leading two clubs and the rest. Ajax and PSV Eindhoven had the crop of current talent and Feyenoord was still suffering with insignificant squad. Yet, Feyenoord was solid third, comfortably above the rest of the league. As for the leaders, they were obviously way above Feyenoord, but PSV Eindhoven was at its peak, leaving Ajax far, far behind.
Excelsior (Rotterdam) was the outsider this season – last and out with 19 points.
SC Veendam, quite predictably, was unable to stay in the top league longer: 18th with 23 points.
Go Ahead Eagles was the third unfortunate: 16th with 23 points.
AZ’67 (Alkmaar) sunk to insignificance – 15th with 27 points. No wonder why: nothing was left of the great squad at the beginning of the 1980s. Louis van Gaal was the sole recognizable name – and that largely in retrospect, when the name signified the great coach and not the player.
FC Den Haag – 14th with 28 points. Aging Martin Jol, back from his German and English adventures, and Tony Morley, also over 30, and familiar from the strong West Bromwich Albion team of some time back and recently returned from playing a bit in Hong Kong, were the stars of the team keeping it afloat.
FC Groningen – 13th with 30 points. Top row from left: René Eijkelkamp – Mark Verkuyl – Johan de Kock – Peter Houtman – Ron van de Berg – John de Wolf
Middle row: Rob Jacobs (trainer) – Edwin Olde Riekerink – Sjaak Storm – Pieter Beuzenberg – Edwin Bakker – Dick van Vlierden (assistent)
Sitting: Paul Mason – Claus Boekweg – Marco Waslander – Joop Gall – Jos Roossien – Jan van Dijk
A few not bad players, but John de Wolf was still too young. Peter Houtman was scoring quite a lot of goals.
HFC Haarlem – 12th with 31 points.
PEC Zwolle – 11th with 31 points.
FC Den Bosch – 10th with 32 points.
Fortuna (Sittard) – 9th with 32 points. Third row from left: Andre Van Gerven, John Linford, Bert van Harwijk, Wim Koevermans, Mario Eleveld, Sigi Lens, Anne Evers, Chris Kerver.
Middle row: Dick Voorm, verzorger Bruls, verzorger Van de Laar, Frans Thijssen, Richard Gerringa, Rene Maessen, Anton Janssen, Louk Frijns, trainer Bert Jacobs, manager J.J.M.
Sitting: Gerrie Schrijnemakers, Jos Mordang, Roger Reijnders, Willy Boessen.
For some reason the squad is not fully named in the original picture.
Sparta (Rotterdam) – 8th with 34 points. The British coach Barry Hughes was known from his work with West Bromwich Albion and the other known name – now, not then – was the 20-years old goalkeeper Ed de Goey.
Twente (Enschede) – 7th with 36 points. Slowly reestablishing itself in the top league. Standing from left: Epi Drost(assistent-trainer), Theo Vonk(trainer/coach), Kees Rijvers(technisch Directeur), Fred Rutten, Eric Groeleken, Jan Pouls, A. Paus, Patrick Bosch, Martin Koopman, Ben Weber, Theo ten Caat, Marcel Fleer, Jan Steenbeeke(masseur).
Goalkeeper at the car door: Theo Snelders.
Crouching: Ron Willems, Mika Liponen, Ulrich Wilson.
FC Utrecht – 6th with 36 points. Not bad.
VVV Venlo – 5th with 37 points. Quite a success for a rather anonymous team. Third row from left: masseur Veggel, F. Verbeek, P. Berkens, J. Taihuttu, J. Rutten, J. Roux, L. Gilkes, H. Ringels, W. Hooreman.
Middle row.: manager W. Teeuwen, G. Kopp, H. Coort, W. Jacobs, R. Libregts, R. Reynierse, E. van Berge Henegouwen, P. Corbijn, C. Burhenne, M. Verlijsdonk, elftalleider G. Janssen, G. van Rosmalen. Sitting: J. van Aerts, H. Winkelmolen, F. Nijssen, trainer S. Vergoossen, hulptrainer J. Versleijen, S. Valckx, J. Versleeuwen, W. van den Beek.
Stan Valckx eventually became a well known player, but not yet.
Roda JC – 4th with 39 points. Perhaps the best period of the club. Top row from from left: Jimmy Calderwood, Wilbert Suvrijn, Ernie Brandts, Piet Wiltschut, Danny Hoekman, Norbert Keulen (verz.)
Middle row: Jan Versleijen (ass.), Michel Broeders, Ron Jans, Henny Meijer, John de Jong, Servaas Henssen, Jan Geurden (Fysio), Rob Baan (trainer).
Sitting: Eugène Hanssen, Pierre Blatter, Jan Nederburgh, Jos Smits, Paul Jansen, Moti Iwanier.
Strongly depending on veterans Ernie Brandts, Piet Wiltschut, and Jimmy Calderwood.
Feyennord – 3rd with 42 points. Struggling with rebuilding for quite some time and not a real factor. Rinus Israel was at the helm, but still there was dependency on oldish players,who made their names with arch-enemy Ajax: Tahamata, for instance.
Ajax – 2nd with 53 points. Good and strong again, but this was not their year. Feyenoord was left far behind, but PSV Eindhoven was equally distant.
PSV Eindhoven dominated the championship – 27 wins, 5 ties, only 2 lost games, 99-21 goal-difference and 59 points. 6 points ahead of Ajax. Naming, however is in order, for the Slovakian publictaion made a little mess. Sitting from left: maz, Willy van der Kuijlen (assistent trainer), Guus Hiddink (trainer), Hans Kraaij (technisch manager), Pim Doesburg, Kees Ploegsma (commercieel manager), Huub Stevens (jeugdcoördinator), Ton van Schijndel (fysiotherapeut), Jac van de Ven (verzorger), Eric Viscaal.
Middle row: Gerald Vanenburg, Frank Arnesen, Erik Gerets, Hallvar Thoresen, Patrick Lodewijks, Michel Valke, Jan Heintze, Berry van Aerle, Jurrie Koolhof, John Veldman.
Top row: Frans van Rooij, Ronald Koeman, Willy van de Kerkhof, Rob McDonald, Hans van Breukelen, Ruud Gullit, Ivan Nielsen, Adick Koot, Lowie van Schijndel, René van der Gijp.
This was a squad almost at its peak and perhaps stronger one than the great team of the 1970s, from which only Willy van de Kerkhof still remained. The other link with the previous great decade of Dutch football was the seemingly eternal goalkeeper Pim Doesburg. The rest however, was formidable team: Gus Hiddink was coach and Hans Kraay technical director. Doesburg was already back-up to current great keeper van Breukelen. What a wealth of great talent: Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Vanenburg, van Aarle, Valke, great Belgian full back Gerets, Danish national team regulars Nielsen, Heintze and Arnesen, Norwegian Hallvar Thoresen. One can easily miss the British Rob McDonald. Great coaching stuff, great players and sky was the limit.