Twente and Heerenveen draw 1-1

19 Oct 2002

Twente lineup: Boschker - El-Brazi, Pothuizen, Grujic - Heubach, Ouedraogo, Cziommer, Polak, Cairo, Cavens, Booth. Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Venema, Ebbinge, Hansen, Edman - Radomski, De Jong, Jensen, Nurmela, Denneboom - Selakovic. Twente have managed to snatch a point against Heerenveen with a last minute goal, a fine shot by El Brazi. It's another disappointing Ere Divisie result for Foppe de Haan's team who'd gone ahead with a 69th minute spot-shot by Mika Nurmela. El-Brazi's goal was coincidentally Twente's 2000th in the club's history. The 'Tukkers' could have settled the match in theng half but were hampered by a lack of self-confidence, Cravens' hitting the bar with their best chance. Heerenveen remained a shadow of their normal selves in the first half but picked themselves up after the break and played some better football. After the Frieslanders went ahead with the penalty Twente fought back and launched a series of late attacks resulting in the injury-time equalizer. After this result both teams remain at the wrong end of the table.

Heerenveen and Utrecht both want amateur

12 Oct 2002

Heerenveen and Utrecht are fighting each other for the signature of amateur talent Michael Kristel. The defender currently plays for ADO'20, has just played a match for Jong Utrecht and next week visits Heerenveen for a trial. The Frieslanders have invited him to play against a South Korean team and his trainer at ADO'20, Rob Witschge, has advised him to take the opportunity to get a taste of footballing-life in Heerenveen instead of another practice match with Utrecht.

Heerenveen and Willem II in 1-1

06 Oct 2002

Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Venema, Hansson, Ebbinge, Edman - Radomski, De Jong, Jensen - Nurmela, Denneboom, Selakovic. Willem II lineup: De Vlieger - Wau, Jaliens, Janssens, J. Mathijsen - Landzaat, Van der Gun, Victoria - Ceesay, Sektioui, Shoukov. Heerenveen had a fine 2-0 UEFA Cup perfomance against National Bucharest on Thursday, even though they exitted the tournament, which indicated a revival was at hand and it was certainly their best performance so far this season. As far as this match is concerned, Foppe de Haan's comment that he was sorry his team had 'lost' the match spoke volumes about how the coach was experiencing his team's latest domestic failure to win and how great his disappointment was in not winning all 3 points. His team played some fine high tempo football, especially in theng half, but failed to create realngs in front of goal. Mika Nurmela finally put them ahead from the spot in the 37th minute, a controversial decision, but Cedric van der Gun equalized for the 'Tricolores' in the 67th. After the match Willem II coach Mark Wotte was also disappointed in his team's performance, their worst this season he said.

Heerenveen beat National Bucharest 2-0

03 Oct 2002

Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Venema, Ebbinge, Hansson, Edman - Radomski, Jensen, Barsom - Nurmela, Selakovic, Denneboom. National Bucharest lineup: Vintila - Curt, Petrescu, Prodan, Marin - Duro, Olah, Coman - Caramarin, Ilie, Radu. Heerenveen have finally climbed out of the hole they've dug for themselves with this fine UEFA Cup performance, by far their best this season, against National Bucharest even though they exit the tournament. Foppe de Haan's team looked rejuvenated as they got their UEFA Cup 2nd leg match under way and Romano Denneboom had 3 chances within theng 20 minutes to put the Frieslanders ahead. Things were indeed looking good but unfortunately, as theng half progessed, the goals failed to arrive. They came out after the break looking even sharper and after 8 minutes of pressure Hansson finally found the back of the net for a well deserved hors d'ouevre, would there be  main course? Denneboom, having a great match (shame about the missed-chances), finally found the back of the net with a fine goal in the 64th to give us all hope of a 3rd and maybe extra 30 minutes of football. Heerenveen played out the 2nd half in impressive form but failed to get that vital goal to push the match into extra-time. The 3-0 defeat in Romania means they exit the UEFA Cup but at least did it in style and it most definitely looks like Foppe's 'boys are  back in town'.

Heerenveen close ranks before UEFA clash

03 Oct 2002

Heerenveen know they have a chance in hell of getting through to the next round of the UEFA Cup but have decided to use tonight's match to get out of the rut that they've been in since the start of the season, which sees them currently in 17th place in the Ere Divisie table. The Frieslanders have handed out 3,000 free tickets to fans who had problems getting hold of their season-tickets and have hung up special decorations in their Abe Lenstra stadium to encourage their team to do better! Heerenveen have been under fire in the press due to their 'worst ever start' and Dutchfootball magazine 'Voetbal International' is claiming this week that several players do not want to continue under trainer Foppe de Haan. Swedish striker Stefan Selakovic has answered the story with the following, "It's not the trainer's fault we've played so badly it's our own fault and we should get the blame!"

Tough job for Heerenveen tonight

03 Oct 2002

Heerenveen have an almost impossible job of trying to overturn the 3-0 away defeat they suffered at the hands of National Bucharest in tonight's 2nd leg UEFA Cup match. Gerard de Nooijer, Radoslav Samardzic, Jeffrey Talan and Jesper Hakansson are all injured and John de Jong (on loan from PSV) is not eligible to play in Europe. Tieme Klompe is not fully up-to-speed and will start on the bench. Probable lineup:  Vonk, Venema, Hansson, Ebbinge, Edman, Selakovic, Jensen, radomski, Nurmela, Denneboom, Barsom.

NEC beat Heerenveen 4-2

29 Sep 2002

NEC lineup: Dennis Gentenaar, Rob Wielaert, Peter Wisgerhof, Danny Hesp, Resit Schuurman, Dejan Govedarica, Youssouf Hersi, Mike Zonneveld, Jarda Simr, Dennis de Nooijer, Frank Demouge. Heerenveen lineup: Hans Vonk, Ronnie Venema, Tieme Klompe, Arjan Ebbinge, Erik Edman, Arek Radomski, Mika Vayrinen, Abgar Barsom, Mika Nurmela, Stefan Selakovic, John de Jong. NEC got off to a reasonable looking start against Heerenveen who needed to make an impression after their disastrous start to the season. The home team went ahead in the 13th minute from a Rob Wielaert freekick and the score was doubled in the 26th when an unmarked Jarda Simr was able to blast in for the 2-0. Youssouf Hersi scored the 3rd on the hour with a great distance lob over goalie Hans Vonk's head. Stefan Selakovic scored a controversial goal for Heerenveen in the 66th (a was it or or wasn't it over the line goal) but Dennis de Nooijer restored NEC's lead in the 72nd before John de Jong, on loan from PSV and making his debut for his new team, put away Heerenveen's 2nd of the afternoon in the 74th. It was a good performance by Johan Neesken's men who climb to 8th place while Heerenveen languish in 17th with still that one lonely point to show after 6 matches.

Heerenveen and Suurbier continue together

26 Sep 2002

Heerenveen and Wim Suurbier have decided to continue working together after the former Ajax player completed a 3 month spell as Foppe de Haan's assistant. Although the role played by Suurbier has not been entirely to Heerenveen's satisfaction both parties wished to continue working together.  Club chairman said, "It's not Wim's fault things haven't gone according to plan, it's actually

Heerenveen sign John de Jong

25 Sep 2002

Heerenveen have taken the first step on the road to recovery by signing PSV's John de Jong who will be presented to the press today. It will be the 25 year-old's task to kick some life back into a team that has had a disastrous start to the season. Since the departure of 'Mighty Swede' Marcus Allbäck to Aston Villa and Anthony Lurling to Feyenoord the Frieslanders have lost their way and are currently sunk at the bottom of the table, together with Groningen and Twente, and have failed to score a single goal in their last 4 matches. De Jong has become sidetracked at PSV and, although he's not known as a great scorer-of-goals, will be expected to rekindle the goal-scoring skills of Heerenveen's strikers by providing them with the right-kind-of-balls.

De Nooijer injury new blow for Heerenveen

24 Sep 2002

Heerenveen have been dealt a new blow in their struggle to rediscover their form with the news that Gérard de Nooijer will be out of action for the next 3 weeks. The 33 year-old defender picked up a knee injury during last week's UEFA Cup 3-0 defeat by National Bucharest.

Heerenveen crisis announcement tomorrow

24 Sep 2002

Heerenveen's club management will be holding a press conference tomorrow and chairman Riemer van de Velde is expected to reveal how the club plans to combat their disastrous start to the season. Heerenveen have only earned themselves one point in 5 games and also booked an embarassing 3-0 UEFA Cup defeat by National Bucharest. The string of poor results have led to rumours that the chemistry between coach Foppe de Haan and the players is no longer working, something De Haan has consistently denied.

Roda beat Heerenveen 1-0

22 Sep 2002

Roda lineup: Kujovic - Sonkaya, Rudge, Luijpers, Filipovic - Sonko, Vicelich, Sérgio, Soetaers - Cristiano, Anastasiou. Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Venema, Klompe, Ebbinge, Edman - Radomski, Jensen, Barsom - Nurmela, Selakovic, Kolk. Roda continue their run of successes under Wiljan Vloet after a negative 2001/2002 with too much negative publicity. The Kerkrade Crew's latest signings, Sérgio, Cristiano, Vladan Kujovic and Predrag Filipovic, have turned out to be valuable reinforcements for the team. Man of the moment is Tom Soetaers who took his season's tally to 5 with the only goal of the match in the 23rd.  Heerenveen are still desperately trying to find themselves after a disastrous start to the Ere Divisie season and a 3-0 UEFA Cup defeat by National Buchrest. Roda were sitting comfortably in 6th place with a few good results under their belts, a win against Willem II, a win at NEC, a home draw with Feyenoord and an away draw at NAC - they climb to 5th place. Soetaers 23rd minute goal was enough to deliver Heerenveen their latest defeat and put a few more lines on Foppe de Haan's brow. It's their 5th defeat in a row and there's still no sign of any sort of recovery yet, stuck as they are in 16th place and only 'un point'!

Heerenveen lick UEFA wounds

20 Sep 2002

Foppe de Haan still thinks he can get Heerenveen back in the groove and lead them to success, despite a disastrous start to the season and last night's humiliating 3-0 defeat in the UEFA Cup by National Buchrest. Visibly disappointed in Heerenveen's performance he claimed that the chemistry is still there, between coach and squad, but that it will take a little longer to reveal itself in the form of on-pitch successes again. Heerenveen have only a very slim chance of reaching the next round of the UEFA Cup after their defeat.

Heerenveen lose 3-0 to Nat. Bucharest

19 Sep 2002

National Bucharest lineup: Vintila - Curt, Petrescu, Prodan, Petre - Olah, Coman, Marin - Caramarin, Ilie, Radu. Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - De Nooijer, Klompe, Hansma, Edman - Radomski, Barsom, Nurmela, Hansson - Selakovic, Denneboom. Heerenveen return home with their tails between their legs after another weak performance and a 3-0 defeat at the hnads/feet of Roanian side National Bucharest. The Frieslanders were unable to impress or create chances against trainer Walter Zenga's team who displayed more technique, more effort, more teamwork. The four-man defence chosen by Foppe de Haan to face the Romanian team was totally ineffective against the speed of their opponents while their own strikers, Romano Denneboom and Stefan Selakovic, were stranded up front with perhaps one chance in front of goal during the 90 minutes. Tiberiu Curt gave the home team an early lead (6th) and a handsball by recently returned Tieme Klompe gave Sabin Ilie the chance to put away the spot-shot for the 2-0 in the 27th. After the break Adrian Olah took the final score to 3-0 with a diagonal shot.

Heerenveen's UEFA Cup opponent

19 Sep 2002

Heerenveen have had a disastrous start to the season and could use a good result against their Romanian UEFA Cup opponents tonight to give themselves a boost. Coach Foppe de Haan has a complete squad at his disposal in Bucharest with even Tieme Klompe back from a long-term injury. "The 'right stuff' can return at any moment", said de Haan, "There's always a moment when a team can get in the groove again although the departure of Allbäck (Aston Villa) and Lurling (http://www.footballnl.com) has affected us more than we thought. But that's all in hindsight, and we still have a good team, so I remain confident." National Bucharest will have sharpened knives at the ready with a team mostly made up of homegrown talent, of whom former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu is the best known. Their trainer is Walter Zenga, the former Inter Milan and Italian national team keeper and National ended last season in 2nd place behind rivals Dynamo Bucharest. Romanian football has been blemished by corruption scandals in recent years while the national team has failed to impress since the 1994 World Cup in the United States. If National, and rivals Rapid Bucharest (Vitesse's opponent), get as far as the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup it would be a welcome shot-in-the-arm for Romanian football.

Disastrous season-start for Heerenveen

16 Sep 2002

Foppe de Haan may (on the surface) seem calm, and in front of the press even rather nonchalant, but his team Heerenveen are having their worst start to the Ere Divisie season ever. After their 0-2 defeat by NAC, in the Abe Lenstra stadium on Saturday, they are currently in 16th place with only one point to show for their efforts after 4 matches. The Frieslanders have been playing in Holland's top-flight for the last 10 seasons and have always managed to win at least one of theirng 4 matches. The last time they got off to a similarly unimpressive start was in the 1990/1991 and 1999/2000 seasons, when they at least managed 3 points from 4 games.  A player who is clearly sorely missed in Heerenveen is 'Mighty Swede' Marcus Allbäck, who's now gracing the fields of England for Aston Villa. His departure has left a (goal-scoring) hole which has yet to be filled by a suitable candidate. Romano Denneboom and Stefan Selakovic are so far unable to fill his shoes/boots and the absence of a deep-and-deadly striker has disrupted the usual style of play that characterises Heerenveen. De Haan's attempt to try something different by getting Deeneboom and Selakovic to swap positions in Saturday's match failed to deliver the desired effect. Still, the coach is not a man to evidence signs of panic and he's preaching the virtues of calm to those who'll listen ahead of Thursday's UEFA Cup clash with Romanian team National Bucharest. The tough away match is an opportune moment that his team can use to revenge themselves for their poor start in the Ere Divisie and give themselves a much needed morale-booster.

Weak Heerenveen lose 0-2 to NAC

14 Sep 2002

Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Bakkati, De Nooijer, Hansson, Edman - Radomski, Barsom, Jensen - Nurmela, Denneboom, Samardzic. NAC lineup: Babos - Fehér, Penders, Schenning, Gudelj - Schreuder, Engelaar, Colin - Boussaboun, Van den Eede, Bobson. Heerenveen continue their poor start to the season and are still waiting to win a match. The Frieslanders put in another disappointing performance against NAC, having their chances to net some goals but missing them all while the Breda side were simply in better form. Orlando Engelaar put away NAC's 1600th Ere Divisie goal in the 12th minute and added a 2nd in the 23rd in a fine perfomance to give the visitors the points in the Abe Lenstra stadium.

RBC beat Heerenveen 3-0

01 Sep 2002

RBC lineup: Aerts - Keller, Nascimento, Oliseh, Fleur - De Graaf, Heije, Tininho - Wooter, Vos, Sillah. Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Bakkati, Hansson, De Nooijer, Ebbinge - Radomski, Hansma, Jensen - Nurmela, Denneboom, Samardzic. In a suprising result RBC beat a hopelessly weak operating Heerenveen while also managing themselves to not concede any goals-against for the first time in their Ere Divisie record, thanks in part to Maikel Aerts good-goalkeeping! After their defeat by RKC last weekend Foppe de Haan's team seem to have lost their way while Henk Vos has seen the most balls hit the back-of-his-net (8 in total) than any other keeper in the Ere Divisie this season. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Frieslanders and even the appearance of latest signing Abgar Barsom didn't help to swing things their way. First half goals by Henk Vos (a header in the 2nd minute) and former Ajax forward and new signing Nordin Wooter in the 38th, pouncing on a blunder by the usually dependable Gerárd de Nooijer, gave the home team a comfortable half-time lead. RBC were often as shaky in defence as the visitors but Heerenveen just couldn't find a way to profit from the home team's weaknesses and another of the Roosendaalers' new signings, Ebou Sillah, picked up a pass from Nordin Wooter to take the final-score to 3-0 in the 66th. The win takes RBC to 7th place while Heerenveen sink to 17th with only one point from 3 games!

Heerenveen sign new Swedish forward

29 Aug 2002

Heerenveen have signed yet another Swedish player, this time it's Abgar Barsom who becomes the 4th Swede at the Abe Lenstra stadium, the others being Erik Edman, Petter Hansson and Stefan Selakovic. The 24 year-old left-footer was being targeted by the Frieslanders for some time and joins them from Djurgarden IF. The forward, who's equally at home on the wing as behind the strikers, will tomorrow sign a deal for two years, once he's passed the obligatory medical that is. Before joining Djurgarden in 2000, Barsom played for BK Forward. His contract at Djurgarden runs out in November but the two clubs have already agreed on a payoff for the rest of his current deal. Heerenveen are saying nothing regarding the fee they've paid for their new acquisition who arrives just in time to be eligible for UEFA Cup football.

Heerenveen lose to RKC 1 - 2

24 Aug 2002

Heerenveen lineup: Vonk - Bakkati, Hansson, De Nooijer, Edman - Selakovic, Hansma, Jensen, Nurmela - Denneboom, Samardzic. RKC lineup: Sinouh - Van Diemen, Nikiforov, Van den Berg, De Graef - Molhoek, Boulahrouz, Fuchs, Hoogendorp - Janssen, Cornelisse. RKC Waalwijk can enjoy the luxury of being top of the Eredivisie for at least another week after a surprising away win against Heerenveen with a 1-2 result. After going down 1-0 early on in the match Martin Jol's men managed to turn the match around and book their first away since December 8th last year. Foppe de Haan's men began the match convincingly enough and Gérard de Nooijer put them ahead in the 11th minute which set the Abe Lenstra Stadion alight. Heerenveen went into the dressing room with their half-time 1-0 advantage but RKC came out after the break and displayed the gutsy style they're renowned for. A quarter of an hour into the 2nd half Yuri Cornelisse drew them level and, nine minutes later, the club's top scorer Rick Hoogendorp put the final 1-2 result on the board.

Thomas Holm to sign for Vålerengen

22 Aug 2002

Thomas Holm has in principle reached agreement with Vålerengen and his departure for Scandinavia looks certain. Heerenveen and his new employer had already agreed on the move after Holm had asked to be allowed to leave Friesland due to the lack of match-play he was getting with the Abe Lenstra side. Last season he was on loan to Eerste Divisie Veendam.

AZ and Heerenveen draw 3-3

17 Aug 2002

AZ lineup: Moens, Reini, Wijker, Opdam, Lindenbergh, Meerdink, Robbemond, Buskermolen, Van Galen, Perez and Nelisse. Heerenveen lineup: Vonk, Venema, Hansma, De Nooijer, Edman, Nurmela, Jensen, Hansson, Samardzic, Selakovic and Denneboom. AZ and Heerenveen treated the fans to a goal-filled match tonight in Alkmaar. The visitors went ahead 3 times during the 90 minutes but the Alkmaarders, who've yet to win an Ere Divisie meeting with the Frieslanders, fought back each time to draw level. Romano Denneboom played a prominent role for the visitors and his trainer Foppe de Haan clearly sees him as the successor to 'Mighty Swede' Marcus Allbäck who departed for Aston Villa at the end of last season. The 21 year-old striker repaid the faith shown in him by scoring twice tonight in the 12th and 54th minutes, defender Ronnie Venema putting away the 3rd in the 28th. Barry van Galen (26th), that man Ali Elkhattabi (48th) and Kenneth Perez (69th) scored for trainer Henk van Stee's side.Van Galen's was his 75th professional goal.

Heerenveen target yet another Swede

07 Aug 2002

Heerenveen are targeting yet another Swedish player, this time it's midfielder Abgar Barsom who is currently playing for Djurgårdens IF. The Frieslanders have already made an offer for him but are facing competition from Italian side Perugia and Barsom has asked for time to consider his options. If Heerenveen succeed in signing him it will be the fourth Swedish player to join their squad, after the most recent addition Petter Hansson, although it's as yet unclear whether the Swede will make an immediate move to Friesland this summer as he becomes transfer-free in January 2003.

Heerenveen beat Mannheim 4-1

06 Aug 2002

SV Waldhof Mannheim proved to be a weak opponent for Heerenveen in their friendly last night which also saw the debut of their latest signing Petter Hansson. The German second division side were beaten 4-1 and could have seen even more goals in-the-back-of-their-net. Romano Denneboom was in top form again, scoring twice before the break while a penalty area foul on him gave the Frieslanders a penalty for the 3-1 which Radoslav Samrdzic put away. Arjan Ebbinge added a 4th after the break with a fine header from a Samardzic free-kick and goalie Hans Vonk saved a penalty in the last mnute of the match. Debutant Petter Hansson played the whole 90 minutes and looked solid enough in defence alongside Gérard de Nooijer but was unfortunate enougth to see a shot deflected in off his hip for the loan Mannheim goal.

Heerenveen sign Petter Hansson

03 Aug 2002

Heerenveen have signed Halmstad's BK's Petter Hansson on a contract for 4 years. The 25 year-old Swedish defender is equally at home in the backline as in midfield and will be reporting for duty at the Abe Lenstra stadium on Monday. Heerenveen and Halmstads reached agreement on the move earlier this week but the Swedish side wanted to hang on to him till the end of their season while the Frieslanders wanted him immediately as they prepare for the coming season.

Heerenveen sell Holm to Vålerenga

03 Aug 2002

Heerenveen are selling their Norwegian player Thomas Holm. The Frieslanders have already agreed a move to Norwegian side Vålerenga and it only remains for the midfielder to agree terms with the Oslo club. Holm is still under contract for a year with Heerenveen and has played 45 matches for them while at the Abe Lenstra stadium, scoring no goals.

Heerenveen set to sign Swedish defender

30 July 2002

Heerenveen are set to sign their second player in the last 6 months from Swedish side Halmstad BK, with the arrival of defender Petter Hansson, after signing striker Stefan Selakovic during the winter break. It's expected that Hansson's move will be sealed this Thursday. The 25-year-old  is equally at home in defence as in midfield and is the only real reinforcement the Frieslanders have added to their squad this summer after losing Marcus Allbäck to Aston Villa and Anthony Lurling to Feyenoord, Radoslav Samardzic simply returning from a loan-spell with the Kuip side.

Heerenveen's Pre-season Friendlies

08 July 2002

Date Opponent Where? Kickoff 10/07 Geel Wit Away 19:00  13/07 Comb. Gaasterlân/Sleat Away 19:00  17/07 selectie Langweer Away 19:00  20/07 Comb. SEH/vv Heerde Away 18:00  27/07 Helders Elftal Away 19:30 30/07 BV Veendam Home 19:00  03/08 VV Buitenpost Away 19:00  04/08 VfL Wolfsburg (Dui) Away Unknown 11/08 Real Zaragoza (Spa) Home 17:00

Santi Kolk stays with Heerenveen

05 July 2002

Santi Kolk has put an end to all the speculation by deciding to stay with Heerenveen. The striker had been on loan to RKC who were interested in signing him permanently but talks between the clubs came to nothing. Kolk joined the Frieslanders in 2000 from ADO Den Haag but never managed more than appearances as a substitute with the team. In order to get more match action he went to Waalwijk but experienced the same problem there, starting in only two of the 14 Ere Divisie matches he played.  Two other Heerenveen players have extended their deals with the club: Said Bakkati and reserve keeper Jacob de Vries are now under contract till 2004.

Heerenveen sign Danish duo

30 Jun 2002

Heerenveen have added two Danish youngsters to their ranks in the shape of B1913's Sailih Kaya and Lyngby's Lasse Schone and both players have signed contracts for 3 years. Kaya in particular was delighted with the move to Holland, explaining to Danish newspaper the "Horsens Vokleblad" that he was following in the footsteps of several other Danes who'd gone before and he'd already spoken to Jesper Hakansson and Daniel Jensen at his new club.

De Nooijer one more year with Heerenveen

05 Jun 2002

Gerard de Nooijer has extended his contract with Heerenveen for another year to go into his 5th season with the club after Foppe de Haan made him the offer. The 33 year-old former Sparta midfielder played an important role in helping the team to their end of season 4th place ranking. Injuries to Johan Hansma and Tieme Klompe meant he got more playing minutes than he might have expected but he made good use of them and looks certain to end his career with the Frieslanders.

Heerenveen lose youth players to Cambuur

30 May 2002

Heerenveen are losing two of their youth players to Eerste Divisie rivals  Cambuur Leeuwarden. Lionel Lord and Harvey Bisschop, whose contracts at the Abe Lenstra stadium run out this summer, have both signed contracts for 2 years.

Heerenveen hire out Van Eijk to Veendam

30 May 2002

Heerenveen are hiring out Mark van Eijk to Eerste Divisie Veendam next season. The 20 year-old forward was also being targeted by RBC Roosendaal, Cambuur Leeuwarden and English Premiership side Ipswich Town. Van Eijk has only made 6 Ere Divisie appearances, during the 1998/1999 season, since arriving at Heerenveen 5 years ago and his contract with the Frieslanders runs till 2005.

Marcus Allbäck signs for Aston Villa

19 May 2002

"Mighty Swede" Marcus Allbäck has decided to sign for Aston Villa, ending months of speculation that the striker was soon to make the move across the channel to the English Premiership. If he passes the obligatory medical examination he'll be getting a contract for 3 years. The Swedish international is very excited about the prospect of joining fellow Swede Olof Mellberg. "It's a big club, proud of its traditions and I'll be certain to get a good chance of playing", he said. Villa have paid in the region of €3.15 million Euros for the Swedish international who's hungry to show what he can do in this summer's World Cup as well as for his new club.

Lurling to sign for Feyenoord

18 May 2002

Feyenoord have agreed terms with Heerenveen concerning the fee for the transfer of Anthony Lurling. If the 25 year-old forward agrees to the deal he'll sign a contract for 4 years.  Lurling, who arrived at Heerenveen in 1999 from Den Bosch, recently told Dutch provincial newspaper the "Brabants Dagblad" that it's always been his dream to play for the Rotterdammers.

Heerenveen trial for Runar Normann

17 May 2002

Heerenveen have invited Coventry City's Runar Normann for a trial after the Norwegian midfielder was told he could leave the English Division One side transfer-free. The 24 year-old arrived at the West Midlands club in 1997 from Lillestrom but has failed to create the desired impact, making only 40 appearances in 6 years.

Emmen sign Heerenveen's Ditewig

17 May 2002

Emmen have signed Heerenveen's Barry Ditewig on a contract for 2 years and the 24 year-old replaces Jelle ten Rouwelaar who's moved to PSV. Ditewig has been with the Frieslanders for the last 3 years and was the no.2 choice behind Hans Vonk, playing only 7 Ere Divisie matches in his time with the club.

Heerenveen trial for Vladimir Gluscevic

08 May 2002

Heerenveen have invited Yugoslavian player Vladimir Gluscevic for a trial this week. The younger brother of Utrecht's striker Igor Gluscevic currently plays for Montenegro side Mogren. The Frieslanders have also offered Slovenian player Dominique Brzjec a chance to prove himself during the coming week.

Heerenveen want Bruggink?

07 May 2002

According to a report in Dutch provincial newspaper, the "Leeuwarder Courant", Heerenveen are interested in signing PSV's Arnold Bruggink! Foppe de Haan sees the 24 year-old as the ideal replacement for Anthony Lurling, who's reportedly close to signing a deal with Feyenoord. The 24 year-old forward arrived in Eindhoven in 1997 but has never been sure of a regular place in the lineup, although he recently made some appearances at the expense of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. He's scored 84 goals for Twente and PSV during 229 appearances!

Anthony Lurling close to Feyenoord move

06 May 2002

According to a Dutch provincial newspaper, the "Brabants Dagblad", Heerenveen's Anthony Lurling is close to signing a contract with Feyenoord . The two clubs have agreed terms and the transfer fee for the 25 year-old forward, whose contract at the Abe Lenstra stadium runs till the summer of 2003, is said to be €5 million Euros. It's possible that the Swedish forward John Elmander will be part of the deal but whether he'll be sold or hired out to Heerenveen remains unclear. For Lurling it's a dream come true to play for Rotterdam's finest and, according to the newspaper report, he's going to be rounding off the deal during talks with Feyenoord in 2 weeks time.