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NEC Nijmegen

Heartbreak#15411.1

Nijmegen, Arnhem-Nijmegen · Netherlands · Eredivisie

Top-4 finishes
3
WikipediaQ318348

Power-ranking history

Hover a season for its rank and score
Rank (1 = best)1524Score (per-season normalised)0.00.51.069/7074/7579/8084/8589/9094/9599/0004/0509/1014/1519/2024/25

Against expectation

Every Dutch top-flight match this club has played in the Eredivisie, scored against the odds an Elo rating gave it before kick-off. Over 44 seasons from 1967-68 to 2024-25 it has fallen short of them by 7.5 match points.

NEC Nijmegen: surplus against expectation, 1967-68 to 2024-251967-68: −0.5 league points vs expected (31 on 31.5, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.3 match points1968-69: −3.8 league points vs expected (27 on 30.8, 2 for a win) · bar height −1.9 match points1969-70: +0.7 league points vs expected (31 on 30.3, 2 for a win) · bar height +0.4 match points1970-71: +3.7 league points vs expected (34 on 30.3, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.8 match points1971-72: +5.5 league points vs expected (38 on 32.5, 2 for a win) · bar height +2.8 match points1972-73: −1.9 league points vs expected (31 on 32.9, 2 for a win) · bar height −1.0 match points1973-74: −8.7 league points vs expected (21 on 29.7, 2 for a win) · bar height −4.3 match points1975-76: +5.1 league points vs expected (37 on 31.9, 2 for a win) · bar height +2.6 match points1976-77: −7.1 league points vs expected (24 on 31.1, 2 for a win) · bar height −3.6 match points1977-78: −2.3 league points vs expected (28 on 30.3, 2 for a win) · bar height −1.1 match points1978-79: −0.0 league points vs expected (28 on 28.0, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.0 match points1979-80: −0.3 league points vs expected (27 on 27.3, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.2 match points1980-81: −1.3 league points vs expected (25 on 26.3, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.6 match points1981-82: +3.6 league points vs expected (30 on 26.4, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.8 match points1982-83: −4.6 league points vs expected (22 on 26.6, 2 for a win) · bar height −2.3 match points1985-86: −1.3 league points vs expected (23 on 24.3, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.6 match points1989-90: −1.5 league points vs expected (26 on 27.5, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.7 match points1990-91: −3.3 league points vs expected (23 on 26.3, 2 for a win) · bar height −1.6 match points1994-95: −1.7 league points vs expected (25 on 26.7, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.9 match points1995-96: −8.4 league points vs expected (25 on 33.4, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.1 match points1996-97: +0.8 league points vs expected (32 on 31.2, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.7 match points1997-98: +10.9 league points vs expected (44 on 33.0, 3 for a win) · bar height +2.6 match points1998-99: −0.1 league points vs expected (39 on 39.1, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.1 match points1999-00: −8.2 league points vs expected (27 on 35.2, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.1 match points2000-01: +3.2 league points vs expected (40 on 36.8, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.9 match points2001-02: +8.1 league points vs expected (45 on 36.9, 3 for a win) · bar height +2.4 match points2002-03: +9.4 league points vs expected (51 on 41.6, 3 for a win) · bar height +3.3 match points2003-04: −7.6 league points vs expected (34 on 41.6, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.2 match points2004-05: −2.3 league points vs expected (37 on 39.3, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.4 match points2005-06: +5.2 league points vs expected (47 on 41.8, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.7 match points2006-07: +1.6 league points vs expected (44 on 42.4, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.6 match points2007-08: +7.9 league points vs expected (49 on 41.1, 3 for a win) · bar height +2.6 match points2008-09: −7.2 league points vs expected (42 on 49.2, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.1 match points2009-10: −9.8 league points vs expected (33 on 42.8, 3 for a win) · bar height −3.0 match points2010-11: +2.5 league points vs expected (43 on 40.5, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.8 match points2011-12: +2.8 league points vs expected (45 on 42.3, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.6 match points2012-13: −7.9 league points vs expected (37 on 44.9, 3 for a win) · bar height −2.7 match points2013-14: −5.6 league points vs expected (30 on 35.6, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.6 match points2015-16: +5.1 league points vs expected (46 on 40.9, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.5 match points2016-17: −5.0 league points vs expected (34 on 39.0, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.9 match points2021-22: −2.7 league points vs expected (38 on 40.7, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.8 match points2022-23: −2.7 league points vs expected (39 on 41.7, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.4 match points2023-24: +9.7 league points vs expected (53 on 43.3, 3 for a win) · bar height +3.8 match points2024-25: −4.0 league points vs expected (43 on 47.0, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.5 match points
1967-68one bar per season · height in match points · hover for that season2024-25
Best season against expectation
1997-98 +10.9 league pts
44 points on 33.0 expected as NEC Nijmegen
Worst season against expectation
2009-10 9.8 league pts
33 points on 42.8 expected as NEC Nijmegen

Season points use that season’s own scoring, two for a win before 1995-96 and three from it; the bars use match points so the whole series is comparable.

Arnhem-Nijmegen against expectation →How this is measured →

What the squad was worth

Total market value of the squad, EUR millions, by month; the player count beside it is the size of the priced squad.

How this is measured

Drawn as a step, not a curve: Transfermarkt reprices every squad in December and June (marked with a small tick on the axis) and revalues continuously between, so the line only moves when a real valuation changed, never by interpolation.

A month renders no value at all once the priced squad falls below 15 players, so a thin squad is never shown as a cheap one. The series is floored at July 2012on purpose: earlier Transfermarkt totals reflect which players happened to be priced yet rather than the squad’s real worth, and are excluded rather than shown misleadingly low.

Upstream (dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets) has been paused since July 2026, so the series ends where the source ends rather than where the season does.

Player valuations from Transfermarkt via github.com/dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets (CC0).

What the squad was worth€62m
NEC Nijmegen: squad value by month, 2012-07 to 2026-060336712-1314-1516-1718-1920-2122-2324-25
Peak
€62m in May 2026 · 29 players valued
Most recent
€62m in Jun 2026 · 29 players valued

Arnhem-Nijmegenon the rankings →

The money ledger

Fees paid and received each season, and what the squad was worth once the trading is netted out.

How this is measured

Spent is the fees paid for players arriving, received the fees for players leaving, both in EUR millions by the July-to-June season of the move. A move with no fee on record (a free, a loan, an undisclosed sum) is counted, never priced: the small figure beside each total is the moves with a fee, plus those without (so 4+3 is four priced arrivals and three unpriced), and a quiet window is not mistaken for a cheap one. Wages are not here: they are estimates nobody licenses, and fees are documented.

Appreciationis the season’s change in squad value with the net spend taken out: buy 100m of players and finish 100m higher is zero; finish 120m higher and the club made 20m of players better, or the market repriced them. It needs a priced squad at both ends of the season (the same 15-player floor as the value chart), so it is blank rather than guessed for a season that lacks one.

The source has been paused since 6 July 2026, so the final row holds only the opening days of its window.

Transfer fees and player valuations from Transfermarkt via github.com/dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets (CC0).

The money ledger+€41m
Spent
€12m
18 arrivals with a fee
Received
€53m
21 departures with a fee
Net
+€41m
189 moves with no fee
Appreciation
+€93m
14 seasons with a priced squad

Grown or bought: in 2026-27, trading €0m and appreciation . Over the last 5 seasons (2022-232026-27), trading +€24m and appreciation unpriced.

The director’s ledger: 69 arrivals graded since 2022-23, 94% EV-positive. €10m deployed for a 4.0× multiplier.

2026-27 spent received to 6 July 2026
4 moves, no fee on record
unpriced
2025-26 spent €5m received €23m
in: Willum Thór Willumsson €2m
+€43m
squad gain
2024-25 spent €3m received €2m
in: Rober González €1m
−€1m
squad gain
2023-24 spent €2m received €9m
in: Sami Ouaissa €1m
+€21m
squad gain
2022-23 spent €1m received
in: Jasper Cillessen €1m
+€10m
squad gain
2021-22 spent €1m received
in: Magnus Mattsson €1m
+€6m
squad gain
2020-21 spent €0m received €3m
in: Elayis Tavsan €0m
+€1m
squad gain
2019-20 spent received
16 moves, no fee on record
+€4m
squad gain
Show all 15 seasons
2018-19 spent received €7m
out: Ferdi Kadıoğlu €4m
+€2m
squad gain
2017-18 spent received €2m
out: Jay-Roy Grot €2m
€0m
squad gain
2016-17 spent €0m received €2m
in: Jordan Larsson €0m
+€1m
squad gain
2015-16 spent received €2m
out: Alireza Jahanbakhsh €2m
+€13m
squad gain
2014-15 spent €0m received
in: Anthony Limbombe €0m
−€9m
squad gain
2013-14 spent €1m received
in: Lasse Nielsen €0m
+€0m
squad gain
2012-13 spent received €2m
out: Bram Nuytinck €2m
+€2m
squad gain

Money against football

Every priced club-season in the six leagues: points against expectation across, squad value gained beyond the net spend up. This club’s seasons are joined.

Tap or drag on the plot: the nearest club-season, its points and its money.

the frontier: no other club-season beat it on both axes · this club, season by season, the largest dot the latest

Every club’s return on the transfer window →

Greatest games

NEC Nijmegen's top matches by the club Game Score: closeness, stakes, quality and upset over one unified rating of league and European play.All-time board.

#DateStageResultScore
11994-03-20KNVB Beker · SemifinalsAW 2-1 v Ajaxgame score 68.5
21994-05-12KNVB Beker · FinalAL 1-2 v Feyenoordgame score 60.0
32012-02-02KNVB Beker · QuarterfinalsAL 2-3 v PSV Eindhovengame score 55.3
42000-04-11KNVB Beker · SemifinalsAD 1-1 v AZ Alkmaar(pens 1 / 4)game score 54.6
52014-03-26KNVB Beker · SemifinalsAL 1-2 v PEC Zwollegame score 54.3
62010-01-27KNVB Beker · QuarterfinalsAL 2-3 v Ajaxgame score 54.1
72021-02-17KNVB Beker · QuarterfinalsHL 1-2 v VVV Venlogame score 53.8
81981-06-06EredivisieHL 2-3 v Go Ahead Eaglesgame score 53.5
92023-02-08KNVB Beker · Round of 16AD 4-4 v Feyenoord(pens 5 / 3)game score 52.3
102003-12-17KNVB Beker · Round of 16AW 1-0 v SC Heerenveengame score 51.1

Footprint

Tiers played
L1
Top-flight (L1) seasons
49
First season
1939
Most recent season
2026
RivalriesDe Gelderse Derbyvs Vitesse Arnhemtwo-way

The Heartbreak Index11.1 · #154

The Tortured · Never won it, waiting since 1939

11.1
Heartbreak
#154
of 1,139 clubs
#82
in Football
11.1
agony
The clocks
  • First major trophy since 193912.6
Heaviest wounds

relegated from the top flight, 2014 · lost the national cup final, 2026 · relegated from the top flight, 2017 · lost the national cup final, 2000

One formula, every club the site covers. See the whole board →

Season-by-season

Most recent season first. Covers Eredivisie only. Rows tagged "national playoff" are pre-modern formats where the workbook records only playoff participants, not round-robin standings.

2027
Eredivisie (1) · P10● live
6 P · 2-1-3 · 11:12 · -1
7
pts
2026
Eredivisie (1) · P3
34 P · 16-11-7 · 77:53 · +24
59
pts
KNVBCL
2025
Eredivisie (1) · P8
34 P · 12-7-15 · 51:46 · +5
43
pts
2024
Eredivisie (1) · P6
34 P · 14-11-9 · 68:51 · +17
53
pts
2023
Eredivisie (1) · P12
34 P · 8-15-11 · 42:45 · -3
39
pts
2022
Eredivisie (1) · P11
34 P · 10-8-16 · 38:52 · -14
38
pts
2017
Eredivisie (1) · P16
34 P · 9-7-18 · 32:59 · -27
34
pts
2016
Eredivisie (1) · P10
34 P · 13-7-14 · 37:42 · -5
46
pts
2014
Eredivisie (1) · P17
34 P · 5-15-14 · 54:82 · -28
30
pts
2013
Eredivisie (1) · P15
34 P · 10-7-17 · 44:66 · -22
37
pts
2012
Eredivisie (1) · P8
34 P · 13-6-15 · 42:45 · -3
45
pts
2011
Eredivisie (1) · P11
34 P · 10-13-11 · 57:56 · +1
43
pts
Show all 49 seasons
2010
Eredivisie (1) · P13
34 P · 8-9-17 · 35:59 · -24
33
pts
2009
Eredivisie (1) · P11
34 P · 9-15-10 · 41:40 · +1
42
pts
UC
2008
Eredivisie (1) · P8
34 P · 14-7-13 · 49:50 · -1
49
pts
UC
2007
Eredivisie (1) · P10
34 P · 12-8-14 · 36:44 · -8
44
pts
2006
Eredivisie (1) · P10
34 P · 13-8-13 · 43:43 · 0
47
pts
2005
Eredivisie (1) · P13
34 P · 9-10-15 · 41:47 · -6
37
pts
2004
Eredivisie (1) · P14
34 P · 10-4-20 · 44:62 · -18
34
pts
UC
2003
Eredivisie (1) · P5
34 P · 14-9-11 · 41:40 · +1
51
pts
UC
2002
Eredivisie (1) · P9
34 P · 13-6-15 · 38:59 · -21
45
pts
2001
Eredivisie (1) · P12
34 P · 9-13-12 · 42:53 · -11
40
pts
2000
Eredivisie (1) · P15
34 P · 7-6-21 · 35:62 · -27
27
pts
KNVB
1999
Eredivisie (1) · P11
34 P · 10-9-15 · 42:56 · -14
39
pts
1998
Eredivisie (1) · P8
34 P · 14-2-18 · 40:57 · -17
44
pts
1997
Eredivisie (1) · P17PO
34 P · 7-11-16 · 35:61 · -26
32
pts
1996
Eredivisie (1) · P17PO
34 P · 6-7-21 · 33:73 · -40
25
pts
1995
Eredivisie (1) · P15
34 P · 9-7-18 · 48:60 · -12
25
pts
1991
Eredivisie (1) · P18
34 P · 6-11-17 · 27:62 · -35
23
pts
1990
Eredivisie (1) · P16PO
34 P · 5-16-13 · 32:55 · -23
26
pts
1986
Eredivisie (1) · P17
34 P · 9-5-20 · 33:59 · -26
23
pts
1983
Eredivisie (1) · P18
34 P · 4-14-16 · 34:61 · -27
22
pts
KNVBCWC
1982
Eredivisie (1) · P13
34 P · 11-8-15 · 41:62 · -21
30
pts
1981
Eredivisie (1) · P16
34 P · 6-13-15 · 38:63 · -25
25
pts
1980
Eredivisie (1) · P15
34 P · 11-5-18 · 33:50 · -17
27
pts
1979
Eredivisie (1) · P15
34 P · 7-14-13 · 35:49 · -14
28
pts
1978
Eredivisie (1) · P15
34 P · 10-8-16 · 39:59 · -20
28
pts
1977
Eredivisie (1) · P16
34 P · 6-12-16 · 41:54 · -13
24
pts
1976
Eredivisie (1) · P7
34 P · 11-15-8 · 43:38 · +5
37
pts
1974
Eredivisie (1) · P17
34 P · 6-9-19 · 33:51 · -18
21
pts
1973
Eredivisie (1) · P9
34 P · 10-11-13 · 40:46 · -6
31
pts
KNVB
1972
Eredivisie (1) · P7
34 P · 15-8-11 · 43:43 · 0
38
pts
1971
Eredivisie (1) · P8
34 P · 12-10-12 · 43:36 · +7
34
pts
1970
Eredivisie (1) · P11
34 P · 8-15-11 · 31:39 · -8
31
pts
1969
Eredivisie (1) · P12
34 P · 9-9-16 · 29:38 · -9
27
pts
1968
Eredivisie (1) · P10
34 P · 9-13-12 · 41:51 · -10
31
pts
1947
Landskampioenschap (1) · P3
10 P · 3-3-4 · 21:32 · -11
9
pts
1946
Landskampioenschap (1) · P5
10 P · 3-1-6 · 22:32 · -10
7
pts
1939
Landskampioenschap (1) · P3
8 P · 4-0-4 · 21:21 · 0
8
pts
Domestic Cup Finals

Most recent first. Every domestic cup final the club has played, including losses. Scheduled finals (date not yet passed) are flagged.

2026
KNVB Beker
Runner-up
2000
KNVB Beker
Runner-up
1994
KNVB Beker
Runner-up
1983
KNVB Beker
Runner-up
1973
KNVB Beker
Runner-up
European competition appearances

Most recent first. One row per entry showing the deepest round reached. A Cup Winner badge marks tournaments the club won: gold for the European Cup / Champions League, silver for every other UEFA or Intercontinental trophy.

2008-09
UEFA Cup(UC)
Group stage
2003-04
UEFA Cup(UC)
Qualifying
1983-84
Cup Winners Cup(CWC)
Round of 16