# 2015–16 Eredivisie

The 2015–16 Eredivisie season was the 60th season of the Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. Defending champions PSV retained their title.

## Teams

A total of 18 teams took part in the league: the top 15 teams from the 2014–15 season, two promotion/relegation playoff winners and the 2014–15 Eerste Divisie champions.
NEC, the champion of the 2014–15 Eerste Divisie, and play-off winner Roda JC returned to the Eredivisie after just one season. De Graafschap, the other play-off winner, returned to the highest level for the first time since the 2011–12 season.
| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| ADO Den Haag | The Hague | Kyocera Stadion | 15,000 |
| Ajax | Amsterdam | Amsterdam ArenA | 53,490 |
| AZ | Alkmaar | AFAS Stadion | 17,023 |
| Cambuur | Leeuwarden | Cambuur Stadion | 10,500 |
| De Graafschap | Doetinchem | De Vijverberg | 12,600 |
| Excelsior | Rotterdam | Stadion Woudestein | 3,531 |
| Feyenoord | Rotterdam | De Kuip | 51,177 |
| Groningen | Groningen | Euroborg | 22,550 |
| Heerenveen | Heerenveen | Abe Lenstra Stadion | 26,100 |
| Heracles | Almelo | Polman Stadion | 13,500 |
| NEC | Nijmegen | Stadion de Goffert | 12,500 |
| PEC Zwolle | Zwolle | IJsseldelta Stadion | 12,500 |
| PSV | Eindhoven | Philips Stadion | 35,000 |
| Roda JC | Kerkrade | Parkstad Limburg Stadion | 19,979 |
| Twente | Enschede | De Grolsch Veste | 30,205 |
| Utrecht | Utrecht | Stadion Galgenwaard | 23,750 |
| Vitesse | Arnhem | GelreDome | 25,500 |
| Willem II | Tilburg | Koning Willem II Stadion | 14,500 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| ADO Den Haag | Henk Fraser | Erreà | Basic-Fit Fitness |
| Ajax | Frank de Boer | Adidas | Ziggo |
| AZ | John van den Brom | Under Armour | AFAS software |
| Cambuur | Marcel Keizer | Quick | Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma |
| De Graafschap | Jan Vreman | Quick | ATAG |
| Excelsior | Alfons Groenendijk | Quick | DSW Zorgverzekeraar |
| Feyenoord | Giovanni van Bronckhorst | Adidas | Opel |
| Groningen | Erwin van de Looi | Robey | Essent |
| Heerenveen | Foppe de Haan | Jako | Univé |
| Heracles | John Stegeman | Acerbis | TenCate |
| NEC | Ernest Faber | Patrick | Scholten Awater |
| PEC Zwolle | Ron Jans | Robey | Molecaten |
| PSV | Phillip Cocu | Umbro | Philips |
| Roda JC | Darije Kalezić | Robey | KLG |
| Twente | René Hake | Nike | Webprint.nl |
| Utrecht | Erik ten Hag | Hummel | Zorg van de Zaak |
| Vitesse | Rob Maas | Macron | Truphone |
| Willem II | Jurgen Streppel | Robey | Tricorp |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Utrecht | Rob Alflen | End of contract | 1 July 2015 | Pre-season | Erik ten Hag | 1 July 2015 |
| NEC | Ruud Brood | Mutual consent | 1 July 2015 | Pre-season | Ernest Faber | 1 July 2015 |
| Excelsior | Marinus Dijkhuizen | Signed by Brentford | 1 July 2015 | Pre-season | Alfons Groenendijk | 1 July 2015 |
| Roda JC | Rick Plum | End of interim spell | 1 July 2015 | Pre-season | Darije Kalezić | 1 July 2015 |
| Twente | Alfred Schreuder | Sacked | 30 August 2015 | 16th | René Hake | 30 August 2015 |
| Heerenveen | Dwight Lodeweges | Resigned | 20 October 2015 | 15th | Foppe de Haan | 20 October 2015 |
| Vitesse | Peter Bosz | Signed by Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4 January 2016 | 5th | Rob Maas | 4 January 2016 |
| Cambuur | Henk de Jong | Resigned | 9 February 2016 | 17th | Marcel Keizer | 13 February 2016 |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | PSV Eindhoven (C) | 34 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 88 | 32 | +56 | 84 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Ajax | 34 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 81 | 21 | +60 | 82 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 62 | 40 | +22 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 4 | AZ | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Utrecht | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 53 | Qualification for the European competition play-offs |
| 6 | Heracles Almelo (O) | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 51 | Qualification for the European competition play-offs |
| 7 | Groningen | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 50 | Qualification for the European competition play-offs |
| 8 | PEC Zwolle | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 48 | Qualification for the European competition play-offs |
| 9 | Vitesse | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 46 | |
| 10 | NEC | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 46 | |
| 11 | ADO Den Haag | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 48 | 49 | −1 | 43 | |
| 12 | Heerenveen | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 46 | 61 | −15 | 42 | |
| 13 | Twente | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 49 | 64 | −15 | 40 | |
| 14 | Roda JC Kerkrade | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 34 | |
| 15 | Excelsior | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 60 | −26 | 30 | |
| 16 | Willem II (O) | 34 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 29 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 17 | De Graafschap (R) | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 39 | 66 | −27 | 23 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 18 | Cambuur (R) | 34 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 33 | 79 | −46 | 18 | Relegation to Eerste Divisie |
* ↑ Feyenoord qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2015–16 KNVB Cup.
* ↑ Four teams played for one spot in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
* ↑ Twente were deducted three points for breaking the financial standards set by the Royal Dutch Football Association. In May 2016 Twente had their licence for the Eredivisie revoked by KNVB and was relegated to the Eerste Divisie, but they successfully appealed this decision and stayed in the league.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ADO | AJX | AZ | CAM | GRA | EXC | FEY | GRO | HEE | HER | NEC | PEC | PSV | RJC | TWE | UTR | VIT | WIL |
| ADO Den Haag | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Ajax | 4–0 | | 4–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 6–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| AZ | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Cambuur | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| De Graafschap | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–6 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Excelsior | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 |
| Feyenoord | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Groningen | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Heerenveen | 0–4 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Heracles | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–6 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| NEC | 4–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| PEC Zwolle | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 4–1 |
| PSV | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 6–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Roda JC | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–3 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Twente | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Utrecht | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Vitesse Arnhem | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1–3 | | 0–1 |
| Willem II | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |

## Number of teams by provinces

| Number of teams | Province | Team(s) |
| 3 | Gelderland | De Graafschap, NEC and Vitesse |
| 3 | Overijssel | Heracles, PEC Zwolle, and Twente |
| 3 | South Holland | ADO Den Haag, Excelsior, and Feyenoord |
| 2 | Friesland | Cambuur and Heerenveen |
| 2 | North Brabant | PSV and Willem II |
| 2 | North Holland | Ajax and AZ |
| 1 | Groningen | Groningen |
| 1 | Limburg | Roda JC |
| 1 | Utrecht | Utrecht |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Vincent Janssen | AZ | 27 |
| 2 | Luuk de Jong | PSV | 26 |
| 3 | Arkadiusz Milik | Ajax | 21 |
| 4 | Dirk Kuyt | Feyenoord | 19 |
| 5 | Sébastien Haller | Utrecht | 17 |
| 5 | Hakim Ziyech | Twente | 17 |
| 7 | Mike Havenaar | ADO Den Haag | 16 |
| 7 | Christian Santos | NEC | 16 |
| 9 | Michiel Kramer | Feyenoord | 14 |
| 9 | Lars Veldwijk | PEC Zwolle | 14 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Oussama Tannane$^4$ | Heracles | Cambuur | 6–1 | 22 August 2015 |
| Luuk de Jong | PSV | Cambuur | 6–0 | 12 September 2015 |
| Lars Veldwijk | PEC Zwolle | Excelsior | 3–0 | 12 September 2015 |
| Dirk Kuyt | Feyenoord | Heerenveen | 5–2 | 18 October 2015 |
| Dirk Kuyt | Feyenoord | AZ | 3–1 | 25 October 2015 |
| Michiel Kramer | Feyenoord | Excelsior | 4–2 | 28 November 2015 |
| Lucas Andersen | Willem II | Twente | 3–1 | 28 November 2015 |
| Vincent Janssen | AZ | Feyenoord | 4–2 | 24 January 2016 |
| Vincent Janssen$^4$ | AZ | PEC Zwolle | 5–1 | 16 April 2016 |

#### Note

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

### Assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Édouard Duplan | ADO Den Haag | 11 |
| 2 | Rick Karsdorp | Feyenoord | 10 |
| 2 | Jürgen Locadia | PSV | 10 |
| 2 | Lars Veldwijk | PEC Zwolle | 10 |
| 2 | Hakim Ziyech | Twente | 10 |
| 6 | Andrés Guardado | PSV | 9 |
| 6 | Joris van Overeem | AZ | 9 |
| 8 | Dabney dos Santos | AZ | 8 |
| 8 | Nemanja Gudelj | Ajax | 8 |
| 8 | Luuk de Jong | PSV | 8 |
| 8 | Davy Klaassen | Ajax | 8 |
| 8 | Sam Larsson | Heerenveen | 8 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 10
** Lucas Bijker (Heerenveen)
** Funso Ojo (Willem II)
* Most red cards: 2
** Joey van den Berg (Heerenveen)
** Ouasim Bouy (PEC Zwolle)
** Sander Fischer (Excelsior)
** Derrick Luckassen (AZ)
** Mark van der Maarel (Utrecht)
** Harm Zeinstra (Cambuur)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 65
** Heerenveen
* Most red cards: 5
** Cambuur
** Utrecht

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Ajax | 681,147 | 51,875 | 48,494 | 48,653 | −1.5%$^†$ |
| 2 | Feyenoord | 617,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | +4.6%$^†$ |
| 3 | PSV | 433,600 | 35,000 | 32,000 | 33,354 | +2.7%$^†$ |
| 4 | Twente | 334,300 | 24,900 | 24,900 | 24,900 | −12.7%$^†$ |
| 5 | Heerenveen | 300,051 | 24,645 | 20,100 | 22,373 | −8.0%$^†$ |
| 6 | Groningen | 271,765 | 21,241 | 19,277 | 20,259 | +0.3%$^†$ |
| 8 | Utrecht | 228,313 | 16,364 | 16,364 | 16,364 | −1.7%$^†$ |
| 9 | AZ | 207,862 | 16,673 | 14,144 | 15,409 | −0.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Roda JC | 202,624 | 13,472 | 13,130 | 13,301 | +24.2%$^1$ |
| 7 | Vitesse Arnhem | 233,393 | 13,212 | 13,212 | 13,212 | −23.2%$^†$ |
| 15 | ADO Den Haag | 155,929 | 13,125 | 12,293 | 12,709 | +6.1%$^†$ |
| 14 | Heracles | 157,095 | 12,084 | 12,084 | 12,084 | +45.1%$^†$ |
| 13 | PEC Zwolle | 158,608 | 12,123 | 11,650 | 11,887 | −2.7%$^†$ |
| 12 | NEC | 161,589 | 12,321 | 10,240 | 11,281 | +18.3%$^1$ |
| 11 | Willem II | 173,862 | 11,000 | 11,000 | 11,000 | −9.1%$^†$ |
| 17 | Cambuur | 126,874 | 10,000 | 9,630 | 9,815 | +1.1%$^†$ |
| 16 | De Graafschap | 146,477 | 8,100 | 8,100 | 8,100 | +64.4%$^1$ |
| 18 | Excelsior | 49,821 | 3,394 | 3,394 | 3,394 | −3.5%$^†$ |
| | League total | 498,612 | 48,494 | 3,394 | 18,467 | −1.5%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 23 August 2015 Source: World football Notes: Median attendances of the 2014–15 season will be shown until the league starts. 1: Team played last season in Eerste Divisie

## Play-offs
### European competition

Four teams played for a spot in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| PEC Zwolle | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Utrecht | 0 | 5 | 5 | | | | |
| Utrecht | 0 | 5 | 5 | Heracles* | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | Utrecht | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Groningen | 2 | 1 | 3 | Utrecht | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Heracles (e) | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | | |
Key: * = Play-off winners, (a) = Wins because of away goals rule, (e) = Wins after extra time in second leg, (p) = Wins after penalty shoot-out.

### Promotion/relegation play-offs

Ten teams, two from the Eredivisie and eight from the Eerste Divisie, played for two spots in the 2016–17 Eredivisie, the remaining eight teams play in the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie.
| First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round |
| MVV Maastricht | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | |
| Volendam | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| Volendam | 1 | 1 | 2 | MVV Maastricht | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | | De Graafschap | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | De Graafschap | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | Go Ahead Eagles* | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| | | | | Go Ahead Eagles | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | VVV-Venlo | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| Almere City | 4 | 4 | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| Emmen | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Emmen | 1 | 1 | 2 | Almere City | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | Willem II | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Willem II* | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | NAC Breda | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| | | | | FC Eindhoven | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | NAC Breda | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
Key: * = Play-off winners, (a) = Wins because of away goals rule, (e) = Wins after extra time in second leg, (p) = Wins after penalty shoot-out.