Noppert has surgery on groin – ‘Ajax nears agreement with Mislintat’

Cocu misses Vitesse- Go Ahead Eagles due to surgery

Vitesse coach Phillip Cocu will be missing from the bench for his team’s home match against Go Ahead Eagles on Sunday. Cocu (52) had to undergo surgery this week due to appendicitis.

His assistant Chris van der Weerden is therefore sitting by the side as the person in charge at the end. “The operation went well,” van der Weerden said. “Hopefully Phillip will come out well and be back on his feet within a few days. We are just doing our job and preparing as best we can for this important match.”

Vitesse, which is only just above the relegation zone, do have midfielder Matus Bero and defender Maximilian Wittek available again, who were missing from last week’s lost away game with RKC.

Noppert has to undergo surgery on groin

Andries Noppert will also be out of action for sc Heerenveen in the coming weeks. The goalkeeper initially hoped to recover from his groin injury without surgery, but now it appears an operation is necessary.

Heerenveen reports that it is unclear whether Noppert will be in action this season. Xavier Mous has been first goalkeeper in coach Kees van Wonderen’s team since Noppert’s absence. Heerenveen, which is in ninth place in the Eredivisie, plays a home match against FC Volendam on Saturday.

Benítez kicks off against Excelsior, Drommel in cup final

Ruud van Nistelrooij can again have goalkeeper Walter Benítez at his disposal this weekend, who was injured in his knee at the beginning of March. The Argentine will start tomorrow against Excelsior at the expense of Joël Drommel.

‘We know that Joël has done very well and he will play again in the cup final,” Van Nistelrooij said at the press conference ahead of the game with Excelsior. “But now Benítez is fit again and so we can expect him to be under the crossbar again Saturday. He is back from injury and will play again.”

Olivier Boscagli and Anwar El Ghazi are also fit enough to be in action tomorrow.

Depay backs Lukaku, who was treated racially

Memphis Depay has expressed his support on social media for Internazionale striker Romelu Lukaku, who was repeatedly treated racially by Juve fans during the cup game with Juventus. The Oranje international updated his profile picture on Twitter to an image of Lukaku and called fellow footballers to action on Instagram.

“If we take action together we can really change this,” Depay wrote. “Then we can tackle this disease the way we should.”

Degradation looms for FC Groningen: ‘This club doesn’t belong in first division’

After 23 years, there seems to be an end to premier league soccer in the city and province of Groningen. The local FC is experiencing a disaster season and with seven games to go is in seventeenth place. A position that leads to relegation to the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. The difference with place sixteen, which still obliges to play nacompetitie, is already seven points.

It seems a difficult task to close that gap, especially when you consider that four of the seven opponents Groningen still has to face are in the left row. Still, there are fans with hope, as evidenced by the optimistic letter that supporter Wiebe handed to Groningen coach Dennis van der Ree: “I have to help the boys.”

Interim coach Van der Ree, who is leaving after this season to make room for new head coach Dick Lukkien, appreciates the gesture.

But he also realizes that it is code red in Groningen: “Degradation is a disaster, this club does not belong in the first division. It is a big club that should play at least middle or higher in the premier league. For the people who put all the work into it and the supporters who are always there, away or at home, it would be a disaster.”

VI: ‘Ajax approaching agreement with Mislintat’

Ajax appears to be finally set to appoint a new technical director after a search of some 14 months. According to Voetbal International the Amsterdam club is close to an agreement with Sven Mislintat.

The 50-year-old German, formerly active in technical positions at Stuttgart, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, among others, will be Marc Overmars’ successor. Jan van Halst was already nominated yesterday as soccer commissioner for the rvc.