FC Twente to return at the first time of asking? 

Two weeks ago, I was at the Groslch Veste, home to FC Twente, as they closed out what was, in truth, a rather dull 1-0 win against Jong Utrecht. However, the victory maintained their charge back to the Eredivisie, the Dutch top tier of football, and solidified second spot in the table behind Den Bosch.

In 2010, FC Twente claimed the Eredivisie title under the coaching of Steve McClaren, himself on the road to redemption after a calamitous spell in charge of the England national team. Steve didn’t let England upset bother him though - he dusted himself down, took another club job and improbably guided the Tukkers to their first ever championship.

The good times didn’t last however and, after flirting with bankruptcy and a spat with the local council over the next few years, Twente were relegated at the end of the 2017-18 season ending an uninterrupted 34-year period in the top flight.

After relegation, there were wholesale changes: sixteen players left in the summer and nine were transferred in. However, most of these were free transfers and alongside four loan signings, including Rafik Zekhini (18 league appearances) from Fiorentina and Matt Smith (20 appearances) from Manchester City, Twente are looking good for an immediate return to the top flight. Wout Brama, a stalwart of the championship side of 2010, has also returned to the club and captains from just in front of defence. With an emphasis on possession from coach Marino Pusic, and Tom Boere leading the line with 10 goals, assisted by Spaniard Aitor, acquired from Seville, weighing in with six goals, there is much reason for optimism.

With continued excellent support from the good people of Enschede serving as their twelfth man, FC Twente have been setting divisional attendance records this season. Averaging over 25,000 the local derby in November against Go Ahead Eagles was just 500 seats short of a 30,000 sell out.

Tonight, 2nd February, they are up against Helmond Sport with whom they battled to a 2-2 standoff in August on match day two and today will be the first time this season that the Tukkers will start a game at the top of the league. Not that Pusic is getting carried away though despite Helmond slumping to 17th place recently. Of tonight’s match-up he commented: “Helmond Sport does not have much to lose and these are tough games for us."Focusing on each game as it comes is the standard mantra of a post-match footballer’s interview but with one eye on the promotion prize FC Twente must surely be able to smell success. However, promotion is only guaranteed to the club that finishes on top. For the remaining two spots there ensues a complicated series of playoffs involving low ranked clubs from the top flight. If need be, we’ll get on to that in May but for now, this particular Twente fan is hoping for a more straightforward season finale.