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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)
colours colours colours
← 2022–232024–25 →
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.

On 16 September 2023, the club introduced Peter Maes as their new head coach, succeeding Robbemond. 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. The draw earned Willem II enough points on the season to secure promotion back to the Eredivisie for the 2024-25 season. 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.

Players

First-team squad

As of 21 December 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 GK  NED Joshua Smits 24 GK  NED Connor van den Berg 41 GK  NED Maarten Schut 3 DF  NED Freek Heerkens (captain) 4 DF  NED Erik Schouten (2nd captain) 5 DF  ISL Rúnar Þór Sigurgeirsson 20 DF  NED Valentino Vermeulen 30 DF  AUT Raffael Behounek 33 DF  NED Tommy St. Jago 34 DF  NED Amine Lachkar 44 DF  NED Niels van Berkel 22 DF  NED Rob Nizet

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
28 July 2023	DF	30	Raffael Behounek	WSG Tirol	Transfer
31 July 2023	FW	17	Patrick Joosten	Apollon Limassol FC	Free Transfer
24 August 2023	FW	9	Jeredy Hilterman	Almere City FC	Loan
28 August 2023	DF	5	Rúnar Thór Sigurgeirsson	Östers IF	Transfer
1 September 2023	DF	33	Tommy St. Jago	FC Utrecht	Free Transfer
24 October 2023	GK	41	Maarten Schut	Willem II youth team	Transfer
24 October 2023	FW	35	Khaled Razak	Willem II youth team	Transfer
20 January 2024	DF	22	Rob Nizet	K.F.C. Lommel S.K.	Free Transfer

Out

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

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

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

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

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

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

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

Competitions

Overall record

Last updated: 10 May 2024
Source: Soccerway

Eerste Divisie

League table

1. Winner of the Second Period (Rounds 10–19)
2. Winner of the Third and Fourth Period (Rounds 20–29 and 30–38)
3. Winner of the First Period (Rounds 1–9)

Results summary

Last updated: 10 May 2024.
Source:

Results by round

Results by round

Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 30 June 2023. '

KNVB Cup

Awards

Team Awards

Individual Awards

Award	Player	Competition	Ref.
Best Keeper	Joshua Smits	Eerste Divisie

References

1. "Renier Robbemond en Willem II uit elkaar" [Reinier Robbemond and Willem II part ways] (in Dutch). Willem II. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
2. "Peter Maes nieuwe hoofdtrainer Willem II" [Peter Maes, new Willem II head trainer] (in Dutch). Willem II. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
3. "Gigantisch volksfeest barst los: De Leeuw kopt Willem II in krankzinnige slotfase naar de eredivisie" [Huge public party erupts: De Leeuw heads Willem II into the Eredivisie in insane finish] (in Dutch). Brabant Dagblad. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
4. "Willwm II Promoveert Naar De Eredivisie" [=Willem II promoted to the Eredivisie] (in Dutch). Keuken Kampeon Divisie. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
5. "Willem II maakt in de extra tijd 3-2 en is op eigen kracht kampioen" [Willem II scores in stoppage time and becomes champion] (in Dutch). Brabant Dagblad. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
6. "Welkom Max!" [Welcome, Max!]. Willem II. July 12, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
7. "Wilkommen Raffa!" [Welcome, Raffa!]. Willem II. July 28, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
8. "Patrick Joosten tekent voor twee jaar" [Patrick Joosten signs for two years]. Willem II. July 31, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
9. "Willem II huurt Jeredy Hilterman van Almere City" [Willem II receives Jeredy Hilterman on loan from Almere City]. Willem II. August 24, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
10. "Rúnar Thór Sigurgeirsson voor drie jaar naar Willem II" [Rúnar Thór Sigurgeirsson to Willem II for three years]. Willem II. August 28, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
11. "Tommy St. Jago tekent voor twee jaar" [Tommy St. Jago signs for two years]. Willem II. September 1, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
12. "Schut and Razak officieel overgeheveld haar het eerst elftal" [Schut and Razak officially transferred to the first team]. Willem II. October 24, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
13. "Schut and Razak officieel overgeheveld haar het eerst elftal" [Schut and Razak officially transferred to the first team]. Willem II. October 24, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
14. "Rob Nizet voor 1,5 jaar naar Willem II" [Rob Nizet signs with Willem II for a year and a half]. January 20, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
15. "Leeroy Owuss verlaat Willem II" [Leeroy Owusu leaves Willem II]. Willem II. May 31, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
16. "Kabangu near Union Saint Gilloise" [Kabangu to Union Saint Gilloise]. Willem II. June 9, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
17. "Wessel, bedankt!" [Thank you, Wessel!]. Willem II. June 24, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
18. "Jizz Hornkamp near Heracles Almelo" [Jizz Hornkamp to Heracles Almelo]. Willem II. July 3, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
19. "Wesley Spieringhs nieuwe aanwinst Roda JC Kerkrade" [Wesley Spieringhs , new signing for Roda JC Kerkrade]. 1 Limburg. July 4, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
20. "Kostas Lamprou vertrekt naar Fayenoord" [Kostas Lamprou departs for Feyenoord]. Willem II. August 4, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
21. "Pol Llonch verlaat Willem II" [Pol Llonch leaves Willem II]. Willem II. August 4, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
22. "Lucas Woudenberg vertrekt naar Valenciennes FC" [Lucas Woudenberg departs for Valenciennes FC]. Willem II. August 28, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
23. "Joeri Schroijen vertrekt naar Helmond Sport" [Joeri Schroijen departs for Helmond Sport]. Willem II. September 1, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
24. "Contract Jelte Pal ontbonden" [Jelte Pal's contract terminated]. Willem II. October 24, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
25. "Reglementen betaald voetbal seizoen 2020-21" [Regulations professional football season 2020-21] (PDF) (in Dutch). KNVB. 20 January 2021.
26. "Keuken Kampioen Divisie: Het laatste nieuws, uitslagen, standen en samenvattingen". 24 August 2023.
27. "Willem II en TOP Oss spelen niet door hevige regenval". 22 September 2023.
28. "Willem II wint tweede periode in Keuken Kampioen Divisie, ADO Den Haag dankzij wereldgoals te sterk voor NAC" [Willem II wins second period in Keuken Kampioen Divisie, ADO Den Haag too strong for NAC thanks to spectacular goals] (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
29. "Willem II keert op eigen kracht als kampioen terug in de Eredivisie" [Willem II returns to the Eredivisie as champion] (in Dutch). Keuken Kampioen Divisie. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
30. "Ould-Chikh Beste Speler & 't Zand Beste Talent van de Keuken Kampioen Divisie" [Ould-Chikh best player & ‘t Zand best talent in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie] (in Dutch). Keuken Kampioen Divisie. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

External links

• Official website

• Dutch football clubs 2023–24 season