PSV In Profile – Analysing The Former European Champions
A mouth-watering last-eight tie awaits in the UEFA Europa Conference League against a side who are bidding to lift their 25th Eredivisie title. PSV are four points behind Ajax in the Dutch first division and are set to provide a stern test for the Foxes on the continent later this week.
Ahead of that clash on Filbert Way, here's a closer look at Boeren's talents and history...
The manager – Roger Schmidt
After spending his playing career in the German lower leagues, Roger Schmidt took his first head coaching role at Delbrücker SC in the German sixth tier, while holding down a job at engineering giant Benteler, where he helped to supply parts to car manufacturers.
After guiding Delbrücker to promotion in 2007, Schmidt took the plunge into full-time coaching and quit his job at Benteler to take the hot seat at Preussen Münster (also in the fifth tier), where he achieved promotion in his first season, and also won two regional cups.
Following a short break from the game, he was approached to take over at Bundesliga 2. side SC Paderborn 07, where he had briefly played earlier in his career. His notable work on a small budget at Paderborn attracted the attention of then-Red Bull Salzburg's sporting director Ralf Rangnick, and he was named as the club’s head coach in 2012.
His time in Austria, where he won the league with a record number of goals and impressed with his high-pressing style, gained plaudits back in his homeland. As such, just two years later, he would return to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen.
During his time at Leverkusen, Schmidt reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League twice, and helped his side achieve a club-record 588 minutes without conceding a goal.
After parting ways with Leverkusen, Schmidt headed to Chinese side Beijing Guoan, leading them to the 2018 Chinese FA Cup title, which was the club’s first major trophy in 15 years. In 2020, the 55-year-old headed back to Europe and took up his current role at PSV, where he has since guided the team to a record-12th Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch Super Cup). It was recently announced that Schmidt would leave PSV at the end of this season.
Players to look out for – including Germany's World Cup winner
Famous for scoring Germany's World Cup winning goal in 2014, Mario Götze has reinvigorated himself at PSV since arriving in October 2020. He is most often deployed in the no.10 role, which brings the most out of his excellent technique and vision.
The 29-year-old has been in fine form this season and is in double figures for both assists and goals. Meanwhile, the German international has also demonstrated his leadership skills in Eindhoven, captaining the side several times since the turn of the year.
Noni Madueke, on the other hand, is one of several English players to have headed over to the continent in a bid to play first team games at the top level. The England U21 international came to PSV in the summer of June 2018 after spending time in the Tottenham Hotspur academy.
The 20-year-old is a creative and physically strong left-footed midfielder, who has been used on the right-hand side by manager Roger Schmidt – allowing him to cut in onto his stronger left foot.
Elsewhere, Cody Gakpo is the latest Dutch youngster catching the eye of the football world. The PSV academy graduate is a native of Eindhoven and has already taken the Dutch league by storm in his short career to date. A right-footer operating off the left-hand side, the 22-year-old has already registered double figures for goals and assists this season.
Used sparingly during the Netherlands’ UEFA EURO 2020 campaign, Gakpo is now striving to be a regular in the national side and there is a lot of excitement to see what the forward can do at this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
European pedigree – Silverware on the continent
PSV have a rich history on the European stage and have been competing in continental football since 1955, when they became the first Dutch club to take part in the European Cup. Boeren fell short in the first round, losing 6-2 on aggregate to Austrian outfit Rapid Wien.
The Eindhoven side then went through a barren patch and only had one season in Europe over the next 15 years. However, the tide quickly turned and PSV found themselves as regular participants in both the European Cup and UEFA Cup in the 1970s – the heyday of Dutch football.
Under the guidance of Kees Rijvers, PSV were proving to be heavy hitters and reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1975/76, losing to French champions, Saint-Étienne. Better times were ahead though, and the potential PSV were showing finally bore fruit in 1978 when they beat French side SC Bastia 3-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup final.
Following their triumph against Bastia, along with Dutch football in general, PSV suffered a decline in the early-to-mid 1980s and they did not make it beyond the second round of any European competition for another nine years.
In an attempt to get back to winning ways, the club promoted their assistant coach Guus Hiddink to the top job in March 1987. This proved to be a masterstroke, as he led them to the European Cup title thanks to a win over Portuguese giants Benfica on penalties in the final in Stuttgart, Germany.
PSV have been striving for a repeat of that special day ever since, but have struggled to make it beyond the UEFA Champions League group stages since the competition’s rebrand in 1992. However, the Dutch side now regularly compete in the UEFA Europa League and will be hoping to lift silverware in the maiden UEFA Europa Conference League this season.