The transition from a 34-game regular season to a sudden-death playoff tournament requires a massive psychological shift. In his column for the first leg of the European playoffs against Vitesse on May 7, 2014, FC Groningen manager Erwin van de Looi masterfully navigates this pivot, demanding that his players forget their recent achievements and focus entirely on the brutal math of knockout football.
Van de Looi begins by acknowledging the historic high the club was riding. “With the sixth Eredivisie victory in a row, FC Groningen set a unique achievement last Saturday,” he writes, referencing the 3-1 win over Heracles Almelo. He proudly notes that the team finished with 51 points (eight more than the previous year) and scored 21 more goals. But under the blunt headline “Enige dat telt is winnen van play-offs” (The only thing that matters is winning the play-offs), he immediately kills the celebratory mood. “There is no prize for that. If you participate in the play-offs, there is only one goal and that is to win and get European football. Everything else must be put aside for the coming period.”
He warns against underestimating Vitesse, despite the Arnhem side failing to win their last seven matches. But the most crucial tactical insight comes under the “SCENARIO’S” header. Van de Looi explicitly prepares his team for the two-legged dynamic. “Playing according to the ‘European format’ of a home and away match is new this season. That requires a slightly different approach,” he explains. “We want to get a result today with possibilities and know that we can certainly score in Arnhem.” It is a masterclass in pragmatic, tournament management.
A Look into the Future
Erwin van de Looi‘s pragmatic approach to the “European format” worked flawlessly. FC Groningen navigated the intense pressure of the playoffs, defeating Vitesse over two legs and subsequently conquering AZ Alkmaar in the final to secure their ticket to the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. The mental toughness required to survive these knockout matches—the ability to grind out results over 180 minutes—became the defining characteristic of Van de Looi’s squad, directly paving the way for their legendary KNVB Cup run the very next season.