2012–13 Eredivisie
# 2012–13 Eredivisie

The 2012–13 Eredivisie was the 57th season of Eredivisie, since its establishment in 1955. It began on 10 August 2012 with the first match of the season and ended on 26 May 2013, with the last matches of the European competition and relegation play-offs. This is the first time VAR has been used for testing.

## Teams

A total of 18 teams took part in the league: The best fifteen teams from the 2011–12 season, two promotion/relegation playoff winners and the 2011–12 Eerste Divisie champions.

| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| ADO Den Haag | The Hague | Kyocera Stadion | 15,000 |
| Ajax | Amsterdam | Amsterdam Arena | 52,651 |
| AZ | Alkmaar | AFAS Stadion | 17,023 |
| Feyenoord | Rotterdam | Stadion Feijenoord | 51,177 |
| Groningen | Groningen | Euroborg | 22,550 |
| Heerenveen | Heerenveen | Abe Lenstra Stadion | 26,100 |
| Heracles | Almelo | Polman Stadion | 8,500 |
| NAC | Breda | Rat Verlegh Stadion | 19,005 |
| NEC | Nijmegen | Stadion de Goffert | 12,500 |
| PEC Zwolle | Zwolle | IJsseldelta Stadion | 11,324 |
| PSV | Eindhoven | Philips Stadion | 35,000 |
| RKC Waalwijk | Waalwijk | Mandemakers Stadion | 7,508 |
| Roda JC | Kerkrade | Parkstad Limburg Stadion | 18,936 |
| Twente | Enschede | De Grolsch Veste | 30,014 |
| Utrecht | Utrecht | Stadion Galgenwaard | 23,750 |
| Vitesse Arnhem | Arnhem | GelreDome | 25,000 |
| VVV-Venlo | Venlo | De Koel | 8,000 |
| 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 | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| ADO Den Haag | Maurice Steijn | Danny Holla | Erreà | Basic-Fit Fitness |
| Ajax | Frank de Boer | Siem de Jong | adidas | Aegon |
| AZ | Gertjan Verbeek | Nick Viergever | Macron | AFAS software |
| Feyenoord | Ronald Koeman | Stefan de Vrij | Puma | ASR |
| Groningen | Robert Maaskant | Kees Kwakman | Klupp | Essent |
| Heerenveen | Marco van Basten | Ramon Zomer | Jako | Univé |
| Heracles | Peter Bosz | Kwame Quansah | Erima | TenCate |
| NAC | Nebojša Gudelj | Jelle ten Rouwelaar | Patrick | SunWeb |
| NEC | Alex Pastoor | Gábor Babos | Jako | Scholten Awater |
| PEC Zwolle | Art Langeler | Arne Slot | Patrick | Beaphar |
| PSV | Dick Advocaat | Mark van Bommel | Nike | Philips |
| RKC Waalwijk | Erwin Koeman | Ard van Peppen | Nike | Mandemakens Keukens |
| Roda JC | Ruud Brood | Sanharib Malki | Lotto | Toverland |
| Twente | Alfred Schreuder (caretaker) | Wout Brama | Nike | Arke |
| Utrecht | Jan Wouters | Nana Akwasi Asare | hummel | HealthCity |
| Vitesse | Fred Rutten | Guram Kashia | Nike | — |
| VVV-Venlo | Ton Lokhoff | Jeffrey Leiwakabessy | Masita | Seacon Logistics |
| Willem II | Jurgen Streppel | Hans Mulder | Macron | Pondres |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| SC Heerenveen | Ron Jans | End of contract | 1 July 2012 | Pre-season | Marco van Basten | 1 July 2012 |
| Roda JC Kerkrade | Harm van Veldhoven | End of contract | 1 July 2012 | Pre-season | Ruud Brood | 1 July 2012 |
| RKC Waalwijk | Ruud Brood | Signed by Roda JC Kerkrade | 1 July 2012 | Pre-season | Erwin Koeman | 1 July 2012 |
| PSV | Phillip Cocu | End of interim spell | 1 July 2012 | Pre-season | Dick Advocaat | 1 July 2012 |
| FC Groningen | Pieter Huistra | Sacked | 10 May 2012 | Pre-season | Robert Maaskant | 1 July 2012 |
| Vitesse Arnhem | John van den Brom | Signed by Anderlecht | 1 July 2012 | Pre-season | Fred Rutten | 1 July 2012 |
| NAC Breda | John Karelse | Sacked | 23 October 2012 | 17th | Adri Bogers (caretaker) | 23 October 2012 |
| NAC Breda | Adri Bogers | End of caretaker spell | 21 November 2012 | 15th | Nebojša Gudelj | 21 November 2012 |
| FC Twente | Steve McClaren | Resigned | 26 February 2013 | 5th | Alfred Schreuder (caretaker) | 26 February 2013 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ajax (C) | 34 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 83 | 31 | +52 | 76 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | PSV | 34 | 22 | 3 | 9 | 103 | 43 | +60 | 69 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 69 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Vitesse Arnhem | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 64 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Utrecht (O) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 63 | Qualification to European competition play-offs |
| 6 | Twente | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 62 | Qualification to European competition play-offs |
| 7 | Groningen | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 43 | Qualification to European competition play-offs |
| 8 | Heerenveen | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 50 | 63 | −13 | 42 | Qualification to European competition play-offs |
| 9 | ADO Den Haag | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 49 | 63 | −14 | 40 | |
| 10 | AZ | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 39 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 11 | PEC Zwolle | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 39 | |
| 12 | Heracles Almelo | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 71 | −13 | 38 | |
| 13 | NAC Breda | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 40 | 56 | −16 | 38 | |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 37 | |
| 15 | NEC Nijmegen | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 44 | 66 | −22 | 37 | |
| 16 | Roda JC (O) | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 51 | 69 | −18 | 33 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 17 | VVV-Venlo (R) | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 62 | −29 | 28 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 18 | Willem II (R) | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 33 | 76 | −43 | 23 | Relegation to the Eerste Divisie |

* ↑ AZ qualified for the play-off of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League after winning 2012–13 KNVB Cup.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ADO | AJX | AZ | FEY | GRO | HEE | HER | NAC | NEC | PEC | PSV | RKC | RJC | TWE | UTR | VIT | VVV | WIL |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ADO Den Haag | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–6 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Ajax | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| AZ | 1–1 | 2–3 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Feyenoord | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Groningen | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Heerenveen | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–4 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Heracles | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 6–3 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| NAC Breda | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–6 | 2–1 | 5–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| N.E.C. | 1–1 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| PEC Zwolle | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–4 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 7–0 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 1–3 | | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| RKC Waalwijk | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Roda JC | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Twente | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Utrecht | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Vitesse Arnhem | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| VVV-Venlo | 2–4 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | | 4–1 |
| Willem II | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–6 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |

## Play-offs

### European competition

The teams placed fifth through eighth competed in a play-off tournament for one spot in the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. Teams on the left played the first leg at home.

**Semi-finals**

The first legs were played on 16 May 2013, while the return legs were played on 19 May 2013.

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Groningen | 2–4 | Twente | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| SC Heerenveen | 1–3 | Utrecht | 0–1 | 1–2 |

**Finals**

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Twente | 2–3 | Utrecht | 0–2 | 2–1 |

### Relegation

Roda JC and VVV-Venlo joined the Eerste Divisie-teams for the play-offs, after finishing 16th and 17th in the Eredivisie.

**Round 1**

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| FC Dordrecht | 3–6 | Go Ahead Eagles | 3–3 | 0–3 |
| De Graafschap | 5–2 | Fortuna Sittard | 2–1 | 3–1 |

**Round 2**

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 4–0 | VVV-Venlo | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| MVV Maastricht | 1–4 | FC Volendam | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Helmond Sport | 3–5 | Sparta Rotterdam | 2–4 | 1–1 |
| De Graafschap | 2–7 | Roda JC | 1–1 | 1–6 |

**Round 3**

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 3–1 | FC Volendam | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Sparta Rotterdam | 1–2 | Roda JC | 0–0 | 1–2 |

## Season statistics

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Wilfried Bony | Vitesse Arnhem | 31 |
| 2 | Graziano Pellè | Feyenoord | 27 |
| 3 | Alfreð Finnbogason | Heerenveen | 24 |
| 4 | Jozy Altidore | AZ | 23 |
| 5 | Sanharib Malki | Roda JC | 17 |
| 6 | Dries Mertens | PSV | 16 |
| 7 | Jeremain Lens | PSV | 15 |
| 8 | Jacob Mulenga | Utrecht | 14 |
| 8 | Georginio Wijnaldum | PSV | 14 |
| 10 | Luc Castaignos | Twente | 13 |
