2023–24 Willem II season

Willem II
2023–24 season
Manager	Peter Maes; (from 16 September); Reinier Robbemond; (until 5 September)
Stadium	Koning Willem II Stadion
Eerste Divisie	1st
KNVB Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Jeredy Hilterman (16); All: ; Jeredy Hilterman (17)
Highest home attendance	13,888; (16 February 2024 v. ADO Den Haag
Lowest home attendance	10,594; (15 October 2023 v. FC Den Bosch
Average home league attendance	12,437
Biggest win	0-5; (12 January 2024 at TOP Oss)
Biggest defeat	1-4; (3 September 2023 v. Roda JC)
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →
	All statistics correct as of 10 May 2024.

The 2023–24 season is Willem II's 128th season in existence and second consecutive in the Eerste Divisie. They also competed in the KNVB Cup.

After a slow start to the season which saw the club fall to 15th position in the Eerste Divisie, with only one win in four games, culminating in a 4–1 loss to arch-rival NAC Breda, manager Reinier Robbemond was fired by the club on 5 September 2023.^[1]

On 16 September 2023, the club introduced Peter Maes as their new head coach, succeeding Robbemond.^[2] The appointment of Maes marked the club's first-ever Belgian head coach and his first coaching venture outside of Belgium. Under Maes' guidance, the team secured victories in their initial six matches and on Matchday 14, following a 2-1 home victory over Jong FC Utrecht, Willem II took over the 1st position in the Eerste Divisie.

The run of good play continued under Maes and on Matchday 37 late substitute Michael de Leeuw scored in the 93rd minute to earn a 1-1 draw on the road against FC Dordrecht.^[3] The draw earned Willem II enough points on the season to secure promotion back to the Eredivisie for the 2024-25 season.^[4] To finish off the season, on the final match day, Willem II came back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 on a stoppage-time goal by midfielder Ringo Meerveld to secure the Eerste Divisie championship.^[5]

Players

First-team squad

As of 21 December 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
6	MF	BEL	Matthias Verreth
10	MF	NED	Max de Waal
16	MF	NED	Ringo Meerveld
27	MF	NED	Dani Mathieu
29	MF	NED	Thijs Oosting
32	MF	NED	Jesse Bosch
7	FW	NED	Nick Doodeman
9	FW	SUR	Jeredy Hilterman (on loan from Almere City)
11	FW	SWE	Max Svensson
17	FW	NED	Patrick Joosten
18	FW	COD	Jeremy Bokila
23	FW	NED	Michael de Leeuw
35	FW	NED	Khaled Razak

Transfers

In

Date	Position	No.	Player	From club	Notes	Ref.
12 July 2023	MF	10	Max de Waal	Ajax U21	Free Transfer	^[6]
28 July 2023	DF	30	Raffael Behounek	WSG Tirol	Transfer	^[7]
31 July 2023	FW	17	Patrick Joosten	Apollon Limassol FC	Free Transfer	^[8]
24 August 2023	FW	9	Jeredy Hilterman	Almere City FC	Loan	^[9]
28 August 2023	DF	5	Rúnar Thór Sigurgeirsson	Östers IF	Transfer	^[10]
1 September 2023	DF	33	Tommy St. Jago	FC Utrecht	Free Transfer	^[11]
24 October 2023	GK	41	Maarten Schut	Willem II youth team	Transfer	^[12]
24 October 2023	FW	35	Khaled Razak	Willem II youth team	Transfer	^[13]
20 January 2024	DF	22	Rob Nizet	K.F.C. Lommel S.K.	Free Transfer	^[14]

Out

Date	Position	No.	Player	From club	Notes	Ref.
31 May 2023	MF	13	Leeroy Owusu	Odense Boldklub	Free Transfer	^[15]
9 June 2023	FW	7	Elton Kabangu	Royale Union Saint-Gilloise	Free Transfer	^[16]
24 June 2023	DF	6	Wessel Dammers	Randers FC	Transfer	^[17]
3 July 2023	FW	9	Jizz Hornkamp	Heracles Almelo	Transfer	^[18]
4 July 2023	MF	22	Wesley Spieringhs	Roda JC Kerkrade	Free Transfer	^[19]
4 August 2023	GK	1	Kostas Lamprou	Feyenoord	Free Transfer	^[20]
4 August 2023	MF	8	Pol Llonch	SD Ponferradina	Free Transfer	^[21]
5 August 2023	DF	25	Lucas Woudenberg	Valenciennes FC	Transfer	^[22]
1 September 2023	FW	14	Joeri Schroijen	Helmond Sport	Free Transfer	^[23]
24 October 2023	FW	36	Jelte Pal	Without a team	Terminated	^[24]

Pre-season and friendlies

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

v

Eindhoven

15 July 2023 Friendly	Willem II	4–0	Eindhoven
13:00 CEST (UTC+2)

v

Willem II

22 July 2023 Friendly	Westerlo	2–1	Willem II
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)

v

RFC Liège

25 July 2023 Friendly	Willem II	0–1	RFC Liège
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)

v

Sparta Rotterdam

29 July 2023 Friendly	Willem II	0–3	Sparta Rotterdam
13:00 CEST (UTC+2)

v

Willem II

5 August 2023 Friendly	Beveren	2–3	Willem II
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Eerste Divisie	13 August 2023	10 May 2024	Matchday 1	1st	38	23	10	5	77	35	+42	060.53
KNVB Cup	2 November 2023	19 December 2023	First round	Second round	2	1	0	1	4	4	+0	050.00
Total					40	24	10	6	81	39	+42	060.00

Last updated: 10 May 2024
Source: Soccerway

Eerste Divisie

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or qualification
1	Willem II^[a] (C, P)	38	23	10	5	77	35	+42	79	Promotion to the Eredivisie
2	Groningen^[b] (P)	38	22	9	7	71	30	+41	75	Promotion to the Eredivisie
3	Roda JC Kerkrade^[c]	38	21	12	5	69	34	+35	75	Qualification for promotion play-offs
4	Dordrecht	38	18	15	5	74	51	+23	69
5	ADO Den Haag	38	17	12	9	72	50	+22	63

Source: Flashscore, Keuken Kampioen Divisie (in Dutch)
Rules for classification: Season in progress: 1) Most points won; 2) Less points lost; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Alphabetical order; End of season: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off if relevant for deciding champion, relegation or participating in a European league, otherwise by draw. 8) Penalty shoot-out (only after a play-off)^[25]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	23	10	5	77	35	+42	79	14	3	2	45	21	+24	9	7	3	32	14	+18

Last updated: 10 May 2024.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	D	W	D	L	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	D	D	W	W	L	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	D	D	W
Position	11	2	5	15	11	12	10	5	4	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2024. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 30 June 2023.^[26] '

13 August 2023 1	Eindhoven	1–1	Willem II	Eindhoven
12:15 CEST (UTC+2)	Van Doorm 56'	Report	Meerveld 19'	Stadium: Jan Louwers Stadion Attendance: 2,641 Referee: Erwin Blank

18 August 2023 2	Willem II	2–0	Dordrecht	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	De Leeuw 32' Svensson 49'	Report		Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 12,520 Referee: Robin Hensgens

27 August 2023 3	Groningen	0–0	Willem II	Groningen
14:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Rente 59' Bacuna 90+1'	Report	Bokila 43' Bosch 77'	Stadium: Euroborg Attendance: 20,721 Referee: Sander van der Eijk

5 September 2023 4	Willem II	1–4	NAC Breda	Tilburg
10:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Oosting 64'	Report	Sejdiu 4', 74' Haugen 29' Van den Bergh 49'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,836 Referee: Edwin van de Graaf

8 September 2023 5	Willem II	2–1	MVV Maastricht	Tilburg
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Bosch 34' Heerkens 69'	Report	Taşçı 29'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 12,260 Referee: Clay Ruperti

17 September 2023 6	Cambuur	1–0	Willem II	Leeuwarden
16:45 CEST (UTC+2)	El Hilali 29'	Report		Stadium: Cambuur Stadion Attendance: 9,852 Referee: Dennis Higler

3 October 2023 7	Willem II	2–1	TOP Oss	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Behounek 61' Bokila 82'		Van Eijma 39'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 12,679 Referee: Alex Bos
Note: The match was originally scheduled for 22 September 2023, but was postponed due to heavy rains making the field unplayable.^[27]

29 September 2023 8	Jong AZ	0–2	Willem II	Wijdewormer
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)			Svensson 5' Bosch 67'	Stadium: AFAS Trainingscomplex Attendance: 627 Referee: Stan Teuben

6 October 2023 9	Willem II	4–2	De Graafschap	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Hillen 28' (own) Bokila 77', 79' De Waal 83'		Önal 22' Colyn 58'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,515 Referee: Pol van Boekel

15 October 2023 10	Willem II	3–1	FC Den Bosch	Tilburg
14:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Hilterman 30' Bokila 68', 88' (pen)		Kostorz 11'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 10,594 Referee: Martijn Vos

21 October 2023 11	Roda	0–1	Willem II	Kerkrade
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)			Oosting 14'	Stadium: Parkstad Limburg Stadion Attendance: 10,631 Referee: Marc Nagtegaal

27 October 2023 12	Willem II	3–0	Jong PSV	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Oosting 44', 57' Hilterman 53'			Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,064 Referee: Kevin Puts

6 November 2023 13	Jong Ajax	1–0	Willem II	Ouder-Amstel
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Idumbo Muzambo 9'			Stadium: Sportpark De Toekomst Attendance: 946 Referee: Nick Smit

10 November 2023 14	Willem II	2–1	Jong FC Utrecht	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Svensson 67' Hilterman 77'		Nazjir Held 21' Mees Akkerman 65' 68'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 12,909 Referee: Jannick van der Laan

17 November 2023 15	VVV-Venlo	1–3	Willem II	Venlo
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Ketting 89' Robert Klaasen 44'		Oosting 57' Behounek 63' Herkens 80'	Stadium: De Koel Attendance: 5,715 Referee: Clay Ruperti

24 November 2023 16	SC Telstar	1–5	Willem II	Velsen
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Eddahchouri 60'		Doodeman 9', 74' Hilterman 33' Oosting 54' Bosch 59'	Stadium: 711 Stadion Attendance: 2,419 Referee: Marc Nagtegaal

1 December 2023 17	Willem II	3–0	FC Emmen	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Hilterman 50' Bokila 80', 84'			Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 12,639 Referee: Stan Teuben

8 December 2023 18	ADO Den Haag	1–1	Willem II	The Hague
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Absalem 21' 90+4', 30' Esajas 23' Asante 77'		Hilterman 90+5'	Stadium: ADO Den Haag Stadium Attendance: 7,658 Referee: Dennis Johan Higler

15 December 2023 19	Willem II	4–1	Helmond Sport	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Meerveld 31' Oosting 51' Hilterman 60' (pen.) Bokila 69' Schouten 75' Lachkar 83'	Report	Kaars 45+2' Van Vlerken 87'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,638 Referee: Sander van der Eijk

22 December 2023 20	NAC Breda	1–2	Willem II	Breda
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Lucassen 78' Marijnissen 90' Omgba 90+1' Vet 90+2' Troost 90+5'	Report	Hilterman 9', 33', 10' Behounek 72' Smits 90+6'	Stadium: Rat Verlegh Stadion Attendance: 18,638 Referee: Allard Lindhout

12 January 2024 21	TOP Oss	0–5	Willem II	Oss
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Meerveld 14', 71' Verreth 43' Bokila 61', 66' Rúnar Thór Sigurgeirsson 63'	Stadium: Frans Heesen Stadion Attendance: 2,678 Referee: Stan Teuben

19 January 2024 22	Willem II	1–1	Jong Ajax	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Meerveld 6', 34' de Leeuw 60'	Report	Misehouy 14' Sarfo 20' Chourak 56' Henry 73'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,860 Referee: Jesse Rozendal

27 October 2023 23	Jong PSV	1–1	Willem II	Eindhoven
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Babadi 66' Jimenez 77	Report	Khaled Razak 80 Sigurgeirsson 87'	Stadium: De Herdgang Attendance: 1,180 Referee: Luuk Timmer

2 February 2024 24	Willem II	1–1	SC Cambuur	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	St. Jago 19' Oosting 22'	Report	Smit 7' (pen.) Balk 17'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,579 Referee: Erwin Blank

9 February 2024 25	De Graafschap	0–2	Willem II	Doetinchem
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Büttner 83' Warmerdam 93' Önal 95'	Report	Oosting 9' Meerveld 49' Doodeman 61' Verreth 95'	Stadium: De Vijverberg Attendance: 11.756 Referee: Ingmaar Oostrom

16 February 2024 26	Willem II	2–1	ADO Den Haag	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Meerveld 11' Bosch 16' Behounek 38'	Report	Asante 55' Van der Sande 72' Esajas 77' Derijck 86'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,888 Referee: Alex Bos

23 February 2024 27	Willem II	2-3	Roda JC Kerkrade	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Hilterman 14' Schouten 22' Heerkens 85'	Report	Zauner 9' Sejk 65' Van der Heide 69' Daneels 85'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 14230 Referee: Danny Makkelie

8 March 2024 28	FC Emmen	0–2	Willem II	Emmen
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Besuijen 21' Schouten 38' Scholte 85' Bradley van Hoeven 89'	Report	Bosch 37' St. Jago 80'	Stadium: De Oude Meerdijk Attendance: 7475 Referee: Allard Lindhout

8 March 2024 29	Willem II	3-0	FC Eindhoven	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Oosting 7' St. Jago 52' Bokila 74'	Report	El Bouchataoui 79'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13.416 Referee: Marc Nagtegaal

15 March 2024 30	FC Den Bosch	1–4	Willem II	's-Hertogenbosch
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Oulad M'Hand 16' Ogbaidze 72' Yuya Ikeshita 77' Zelalem 85'	Report	Bosch 12' Hilterman 25' Hilterman 56' Vermeulen 77' St. Jago 90'	Stadium: De Vliert Attendance: 4956 Referee: Jannick van der Laan

23 March 2024 31	Willem II	2-0	VVV-Venlo	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Hilterman 19' St. Jago 45+1' Ketting 47' (own)	Report	Janssen 16'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,557 Referee: Dennis Johan Higler

29 March 2024 32	Helmond Sport	0-2	Willem II	Helmond
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Krätschmer 82'	Report	Meerveld 39' Oosting 45+2' Bosch 69'	Stadium: GS Staalwerken Stadion Attendance: 3325 Referee: Alex Bos

8 April 2024 33	Jong FC Utrecht	1-1	Willem II	Utrecht
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Held 63' Descotte 86'	Report	Bokila 71' Oosting 45+2'	Stadium: Stadion Galgenwaard Attendance: 876 Referee: Boyd van Kommer

12 April 2024 34	Willem II	4-1	Jong AZ	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Svensson 23', 43' Lachkar 30' 90' Nizet 34' Hilterman 52' De Leeuw 90+2'	Report	Stam 14'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Attendance: 13,684 Referee: Richard Martens

20 April 2024 35	MVV Maastricht	1-1	Willem II	Maastricht
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Livramento 11', 41'	Report	Razak 68' Hilterman 90'	Stadium: De Geusselt Attendance: 7,803 Referee: Jaanick van der Laan

26 April 2024 36	Willem II	1-1	FC Groningen	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Doodeman 57' Bosch 59'	Report	Duarte 6' Schreuders 62' Bacuna 81' Mendes 83'	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Referee: Rob Dieperink

3 May 2024 37	FC Dordrecht	1-1	Willem II	Dordrecht
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Receveur 25' 't Zand 28' 't Zand 43' Kluivert 79'	Report	De Leeuw 90+3'	Stadium: Stadion Krommedijk Attendance: 4018 Referee: Jeroen Manschot

10 May 2024 38	Willem II	3-2	SC Telstar	Tilburg
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Oosting 47' Nizet 81' Meerveld 90+3'	Report	Kruiver 33' Heerkens 45' (own)	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Referee: Marc Nagtegaal

KNVB Cup

2 November 2023 First round	VV SJC	1–3	Willem II	Noordwijk
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Martijn van Trigt 11'		Svensson 15' St. Jago 19' Hilterman 90+2'	Stadium: Gemeentelijk Sportpark SJC

19 December 2023 Second round	Willem II	1–3	FC Groningen	Tilburg
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Bosch 56'		Valente 21' Duarte 75' Postema 84' (pen.)	Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion Referee: Bas Nijhuis

Awards

Team Awards

Award	Competition	Ref.
Second Period Champions	Eerste Divisie	^[28]
Season Champions	Eerste Divisie	^[29]

Individual Awards

Award	Player	Competion	Ref.
Best Keeper	Joshua Smits	Eerste Divisie	^[30]

References

External links

Official website

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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[18]

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[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

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Search

2023–24 Willem II season

Contents

Players

First-team squad

Transfers

In

Out

Pre-season and friendlies

Competitions

Overall record

Eerste Divisie

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Results by round

Matches

KNVB Cup

Awards

Team Awards

Individual Awards

References

External links

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	23	10	5	77	35	+42	79	14	3	2	45	21	+24	9	7	3	32	14	+18

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	23	10	5	77	35	+42	79	14	3	2	45	21	+24	9	7	3	32	14	+18

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	23	10	5	77	35	+42	79	14	3	2	45	21	+24	9	7	3	32	14	+18