PSV – Club Brugge: the Club Facts

THE HISTORY
Club and PSV share a rich history and are the second most successful clubs in terms of national titles in their respective countries. While Club was founded in 1891 as team number 3, Philips Sport Vereniging Eindhoven was established in 1913 as a multi-sport team for the employees of the light bulb factory. With 15 and 24 titles respectively, both teams have always achieved good national results. In contrast to the two European finals of Blue-Black, the Dutch side has two European trophies: in 1988, they won the European Cup I against SL Benfica, and in 1978, the UEFA Cup against Bastia.

Last season was also a fantastic year for Club and PSV. Under Ivan Leko, Blue-Black clinched its fifteenth national title in May. PSV achieved this without Play-Offs already in April, by winning 3-0 at home against their big-rival Ajax.

THIS SEASON
At the winter break, Club Brugge is only behind KRC Genk by 7 points in the standings. When the competition resumes on the weekend of January 18-20, Club has 9 matches to chip away at the deficit. Afterward, the points are halved, and Club can try to extend its title.

PSV Eindhoven is almost untouchable in the Eredivisie. It was not until the 14th matchday that the club lost its first game on the field of Feyenoord. It would be the only match in the first half of the season that was not won. Just like last season, Ajax is the only club that can keep pace with the light bulb club.

In the Champions League, Club had a better run than PSV. Both teams faced tough groups; Club met Europa League and UEFA Super Cup winner Atlético Madrid, German league leader Borussia Dortmund, and French runner-up AS Monaco, while PSV was drawn against FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Tottenham Hotspur. Leko led his men to a stunning victory over Monaco and draws in Dortmund and at home against Atlético and Monaco. Mark Van Bommel, in his first season, secured 2 points with draws at home against Tottenham and away at Inter. Often, PSV was close to earning points but had to acknowledge the superiority of its opponents in the end. The light bulb club finished last in its group and was thus eliminated from Europe.

THE MATCH

Club and PSV have never played against each other in an official match.

The last time both teams played a friendly against each other was on September 2, 2010. In a behind-closed-doors match during an international break, PSV won 2-0 thanks to goals from Marcelo and Koevermans.

PSV has visited Bruges for the Brugse Metten on four occasions in the more distant past. In the first edition (in 1976), the Dutch won the match for third place against Club with a score of 0-3. Also in 1983, both teams competed for third place, resulting in a 2-6 score. In 1989, Club and PSV faced each other in the first round, ending in a 1-1 draw for Club. PSV advanced to the final after penalties. The most recent Brugse Metten took place in 2000, when Club was much stronger than the Eindhoven team; the score was 4-0.

In the 1980s and 1990s, four additional friendly matches were scheduled between the two teams. PSV won one, Club won two, and the teams drew once.

Fourteen players have played for both Club and PSV, including well-known names such as Eric Addo, Kenneth Brylle, Marc Degryse, René Eykelkamp, Ruud Geels, Timmy Simons, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Maxime Lestienne. From the current Club squad, Hans Vanaken and Arnaut Danjuma have a history with the youth teams of PSV.

Eric Gerets is also a legend at both clubs. As a coach, he made the move from Club to PSV in 1999.

THE OPPONENT

PSV strengthened their squad last summer with defenders Denzel Dumfries (from Heerenveen), Angelino (from Manchester City), Nick Viergever (from Ajax), Ziz Behich (from Bursaspor), and Trent Sainsbury (from Suning), as well as midfielders Erick Gutierrez (from Pachuca) and Ryan Thomas (from PEC).

It bid farewell to defenders Santiago Arias (to Atlético Madrid), Joshua Brenet (to Hoffenheim), Jordy de Wijs (to Hull City), and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin (to Besiktas), midfielder Marco Van Ginkel (back to Chelsea), and forward Albert Gudmundsson (to AZ Alkmaar).

The attacking trio Bergwijn - de Jong - Lozano is once again in excellent form this season. Together, the trio has already scored 43 goals and provided 25 assists. The most frequently used players are:

Jeroen Zoet – Denzel Dumfries, Nick Viergever, Daniel Schwaab, Agelino – Jorrit Hendrix, Pablo Rosario, Gaston Pereiro – Hirving Lozano, Luuk de Jong, Steven Bergwijn.

From the current squad, Club will only be missing Mexican player Hirving Lozano on Friday. The winger stayed in Mexico longer due to a personal situation and is training individually in the Netherlands.

THE PLAYERS

Club has quite a few players with a Dutch football background. Stefano Denswil and Mats Rits previously played at Ajax, Vormer and Amrabat among others at Feyenoord, Vanaken and Danjuma were part of the youth setup at PSV, and Marvelous Nakamba transferred to Club from Vitesse.