The new European season will also start for the Netherlands on Wednesday evening. PSV start in the context of the second preliminary round of the Champions League with a home match against Galatasaray. It will be the first chance for Dutch clubs to get points for the UEFA coefficient. The Eredivisie participants must perform at least reasonably well this year, because the competition is on the heels of the Netherlands.
Last season, the Netherlands made a huge advance in the coefficient rankings. Mainly thanks to the points brought in from Ajax, the country rose from place twelve to seventh place in the five-year ranking. With effect from the 2021/22 season, the points from the 2016/17 season will be crossed out. This is unfavorable for the Netherlands, because it yields a coefficient score of 9,100 points. The chasing countries Austria (7.375), Scotland (4.375) and Ukraine (5.500) returned a lower score, and therefore automatically come closer to the Netherlands.
The current coefficient ranking
| COUNTRY | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | TOTAL | ACTIVE TEAMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. England | 20.071 | 22.642 | 18,571 | 24,357 | 2.285 | 87,926 | 7/7 |
| 2. Spain | 19.714 | 19.571 | 18,928 | 19,500 | 2,857 | 80,570 | 7/7 |
| 3. Italy | 17,333 | 12.642 | 14,928 | 16.285 | 2.285 | 63.473 | 7/7 |
| 4. Germany | 9.857 | 15.214 | 18,714 | 15.214 | 2.285 | 61.284 | 7/7 |
| 5. France | 11,500 | 10,583 | 11,666 | 7,916 | 1.333 | 42.998 | 6/6 |
| 6. Portugal | 9.666 | 10,900 | 10,300 | 9,600 | 1.333 | 41,799 | 6/6 |
| 7. Netherlands | 2,900 | 8,600 | 9,400 | 9,200 | 0.800 | 30,900 | 5/5 |
| 8. Russia | 12,600 | 7,583 | 4.666 | 4.333 | 0.800 | 29.982 | 5/5 |
| 9. Scotland | 4,000 | 6.750 | 9,750 | 8,500 | 0.100 | 29,100 | 5/5 |
| 10. Austria | 9,750 | 6,200 | 5,800 | 6,700 | 0.200 | 28,650 | 5/5 |
| 11. Ukraine | 8,000 | 5,600 | 7,200 | 6,800 | 0.800 | 28,400 | 5/5 |
| 12. Belgium | 2,600 | 7,800 | 7,600 | 6,000 | 0.800 | 24,800 | 5/5 |
| 13. Serbia | 6.375 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 5,500 | 0.000 | 23,875 | 4/4 |
| 14. Cyprus | 7,000 | 6.125 | 5.125 | 4,000 | 0.000 | 22,250 | 4/4 |
| 15. Switzerland | 6,500 | 3,900 | 6,400 | 5.125 | 0.000 | 21,925 | 4/4 |
The Netherlands is still in seventh place at the start of the season, but will have to perform well to maintain that position. Russia starts in eighth place with a slight deficit of less than one point, while Scotland, Austria and Ukraine are less than three points behind. Belgium lost a huge number of points with the 2016/17 season and has dropped to place twelve. The Belgians are no less than 6.100 points behind the Netherlands and therefore seem to pose no threat this season. For Belgium it is important to return to the top eleven this season, with which (probably) one direct Champions League ticket will be obtained. In the top ten, that ticket is 100% insured.
The place on the coefficient ranking at the end of the season determines which European tickets a country gets. Places seven through nine entitle you to the same entrance tickets, so it is important for the Netherlands to at least finish in the first nine countries. A huge hit could hit the Netherlands by rising from place seven to place six: then two tickets for the group stage of the Champions League are ready, plus a preliminary round ticket. Currently, the Netherlands is entitled to only one direct Champions League ticket plus one qualifying round ticket.
Ticket distribution
| TOURNAMENT | Place 6 | Place 7, 8 and 9 | Spot 10 | Seat 11* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions League | 2x direct, 1x Q3 | 1x direct, 1x Q3 | 1x direct, 1x Q2 | 1x direct, 1x Q2 |
| Europa League | 1x direct | 1x playoffs | 1x playoffs | 1x playoffs |
| Conference League | 1x Q3, 1x Q2 | 1x Q3, 1x Q2 | 1x Q3, 1x Q2 | 2x Q2 |
* The ticket distribution for place 11 applies if the Champions League winner directly qualifies for the same tournament via their own competition.
How realistic is the coveted sixth place for the Netherlands? For that, France or Portugal must be traced. This season, that is excluded for the Netherlands, because the deficit to the two countries is twelve and eleven points respectively. This is mainly due to the 2017/18 season, in which the Netherlands performed dramatically and only collected 2,900 points. From next year, that score will expire and the Netherlands could close a large part of the gap with the French and Portuguese. For that it is crucial to set a high score this season.
It is fair to say that the top scores of the Netherlands in the past three seasons are not enough to threaten France or Portugal: a point total per season of about 10 is needed, while the Netherlands has reached around 9 points in recent years. How can the Netherlands improve that? Disastrous for the number of points are European participating clubs that are already eliminated in the preliminary rounds. Last season Willem II was already eliminated from European football in August, as a result of which the Netherlands entered the group stages with four of the possible five clubs.
All club points obtained are divided by the number of European participants at the start of the season: five in the case of the Netherlands. This season, Feyenoord and Vitesse in particular have a long way to go to reach the group stage (of the Conference League), in which the Arnhem team also has no seeded status and clubs such as AS Roma and Tottenham Hotspur could encounter in the preliminary round. Once again, it will be difficult for the Netherlands to enter the group stage with five participants, something that seems crucial to claim sixth place.
The advance of the Netherlands in recent years is largely due to Ajax, which collected a huge part of the points. PSV has performed relatively disappointingly in recent years: last season the Eindhoven team were eliminated in the sixteenth final of the Europa League. The year before, the group stage was the final destination, and again a year earlier the Brabanters finished at the bottom of the group of death of the Champions League. Assuming that Ajax can maintain its good performance, PSV has a key in their hands for a further advance of the Netherlands on the coefficient ranking.