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Career FC Volendam- Het Andere Oranje


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FC Volendam has a reputation as a “Heen-en-weer” club- up and down between the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Yet, Volendam is a staple of Dutch football. My save with the “Other Orange” began with an overachievment, a season which placed FC Volendam in 7th, qualifying for the Europa Conference League. The biggest additions to the squad were all on Bosmers, which included ST Silvere Ganvoula, CM Heinz Morschel and RB Fran Karacic. Other reinforcements to the attack included ST Kelvin Arase, who was brought in for 775k. 

The vast majority of the youth academy was sold, as FC Volendam has rather poor facilities. My tactic is a narrow 4-4-2 which pushes 5 players in attack. Because of this, the squad needs two things: Unwavering defense when we are countered, and blistering pace up front. 

This tactic has proven valuable in Continental play, but has yet to produce fantastic results in league play. FC Volendam finished 9th in my second season with the club. However, they won the KNVB Cup for the first time in club history and shockingly made it to the Quarter Finals of Europa Conference League. Losing ground in the League was a result of two things: rotating players more frequently for the sake of the KNVB Cup, while not having quality options and the bench- and, the Eredivisie is tremendously top heavy. For instance, AFC Ajax’s star player Jurrien Timber has a transfer value (36m) that was worth more than my entire team combined. This was highlighted by losing to Ajax 0-6 TWICE during the domestic campaign. However, none of the traditional top 3 Dutch clubs made a run at the Cup, and as a result my squad was able to sneak by. 

As the third season starts, even more focus has been put on Bosmer transfers. CM Mateusz Praszelik, LM Christian Conteh and CB Jack Simpson have all been brought in on frees. What’s more important however, is that 2024 marks FC Volendam’s first year of signing wonderkids- Ukrainian RM Aluisio Bidenko, Columbian RB Hugo Hernandez, and Senegalese CB Aliou Niang were all brought in for cheap, and will quickly be rotational options to potential bloom into world class players. The future is certainly bright for The Other Orange!

 

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Manager Profile

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IMG_8051.png2024 Starting XI

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2024/25 Season-

Guided by the goal scoring prowess of Dana Scarlett (28) and the Playmaking abilities of Aluisio Bidenko (13 Goals, 9 Assists), FC Volendam finished in 4th place in the Eridivisie, failing miserably in the third round of the Dutch Cup but making a miraculous run to the Europa League Final, losing to LOSC 2-1 in extra time. 

 

The dissapointment of losing the Final carried over into the next season, and in 2025/2026 a fatigued FC Volendam finished 6th while failing to match their previous Europa success, this time crashing out in the round of 16. 

 

While no doubt now a top club in the Eredivisie- even serving Ajax a 3-0 drubbing at the start of the 2026-2027 season- the rebuild continues to slow in terms of silverware. The 2024 KNVB Cup remains the only trophy in the cabinet, and the first batch of wonderkids have begun to grow weary. two of our most important players in the Ukrainian Bidenko has seen his professionalism spiral as he looks to move to a top club, and Miguel Calero looks for a move back to Spain. However, both are under contract until at least 2029, and the future is yet to be determined if they will be sold and a new 'rebuild' will occur, or if Volendam will force them to play out their contracts in hope of more silverware before they leave. 

 

 

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2027/2028

 

The club was delivered a blow when star Ukranian Midfielder Aluisio Bidenko forced a move to Leicester- however, Spanish starlett Miguel Calero signed an extension through the year 2032 and was immediately given the captain’s arm band. 

 

Other promising wonderkids like Hugo Hernandez and Aliou Niang were sold or included in swap deals, and 2028 featured what may have been the most extensive overhaul of the club yet. Davie Selke was brought in on a free, and despite only starting a handful of games he contributed 11 goals off the bench. Calero provided plenty of attacking prowess with a whopping 16 assists, and Daniele Rugani was the leader of the back line al lyear long, putting in solid performance after solid performance. It was the third year as a starter for Costa Rican wonderkid GK Julio Salinas, who seemed to finally realize most of his potential. Dana Scarlett again featured on loan for The Other Orange, his 4th year with the club. His career goal total at Volendam is now 91, and it’s frankly a shock that Tottenham has kept loaning him out. 

 

27/28 was disappointing in terms of European competition, as FC Volendam was bounced by Eredivisie rivals AZ on aggregate 4-3, only reaching the round of 16. More disappointing was a 3-2 loss to Fortuna Sittard that ended our KNVB Cup run, a side that should have easily been beaten. However, 27/28 was FINALLY the year that FC Volendam claimed the Eredivisie title, with a 25 win season that saw them narrowly beating out Ajax. 
 

Now with international recognition, how would manager Franck Lemstrom convince his young group of starts to stay? On to 2028/2029…IMG_9116.png

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