The 2023–24 season is Willem II's 128th season in existence and second consecutive in the Eerste Divisie. They also competed in the KNVB Cup.
After a slow start to the season which saw the club fall to 15th position in the Eerste Divisie, with only one win in four games, culminating in a 4–1 loss to arch-rival NAC Breda, manager Reinier Robbemond was fired by the club on 5 September 2023.[1]
On 16 September 2023, the club introduced Peter Maes as their new head coach, succeeding Robbemond.[2] The appointment of Maes marked the club's first-ever Belgian head coach and his first coaching venture outside of Belgium. Under Maes' guidance, the team secured victories in their initial six matches and on Matchday 14, following a 2-1 home victory over Jong FC Utrecht, Willem II took over the 1st position in the Eerste Divisie.
The run of good play continued under Maes and on Matchday 37 late substitute Michael de Leeuw scored in the 93rd minute to earn a 1-1 draw on the road against FC Dordrecht.[3] The draw earned Willem II enough points on the season to secure promotion back to the Eredivisie for the 2024-25 season.[4] To finish off the season, on the final match day, Willem II came back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 on a stoppage-time goal by midfielder Ringo Meerveld to secure the Eerste Divisie championship.[5]
Players
First-team squad
As of 21 December 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Source: Flashscore, Keuken Kampioen Divisie (in Dutch) Rules for classification: Season in progress: 1) Most points won; 2) Less points lost; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Alphabetical order; End of season: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off if relevant for deciding champion, relegation or participating in a European league, otherwise by draw. 8) Penalty shoot-out (only after a play-off)[25] (C) Champions; (P) Promoted Notes:
