ROTTERDAM, April 21 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - PSV Eindhoven were crowned champions on Sunday although their 21st Dutch title came without the glamour of previous triumphs after a turbulent season.
They clinched their fourth successive title with a 1-0 win at Vitesse Arnhem after a campaign with three coaches in which they were only convincing in the first six weeks of this year.
Serbian Danko Lazovic struck two minutes after the break to leave PSV top with 72 points, three above Ajax Amsterdam.
They started the season with Ronald Koeman as coach but the former Netherlands defender left in October to join Valencia and his assistant Jan Wouters took over temporarily.
The management wanted a strong successor but the three main candidates -- Martin Jol, Fred Rutten and Huub Stevens -- did not step into the breach so Sef Vergoossen was appointed in January to steer the team to the end of the campaign.
Next season former PSV defender Huub Stevens, who has worked in Germany with Schalke 04, Hertha Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg SV, will be in charge and hoping for a more settled season.
PSV consolidated their lead at the top in the first few weeks of this year with six victories and a draw, including convincing wins at Feyenoord and their main rivals Ajax.
EUROPEAN FAILURE
But while PSV maintained their supremacy on the domestic stage, they failed to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase for the first time in four years after finishing third in their group behind Inter Milan and Fenerbahce.
They dropped into the UEFA Cup and made the quarter-finals but lost to Fiorentina while their Dutch Cup hopes ended in farcical circumstances following an administrative blunder.
PSV comfortably beat Heerenveen's reserves in September but were thrown out of the competition because they fielded suspended Portuguese defender Manuel da Costa.
The main job for PSV now will be holding on to world class Brazilian goalkeeper Gomes, who kept Tottenham Hotspur at bay in the second leg of their last 16 UEFA Cup match in March.
With Gomes and Belgium midfielder Timmy Simons leading the team, Stevens must create the right climate for talented players like Ibrahim Afellay, Otman Bakkal and Dirk Marcelis.
Afellay has developed this season by becoming physically stronger and after making his debut for the Netherlands is expected to be in the Euro 2008 squad for the finals in June.
Midfielder Bakkal and central defender Marcelis, 23 and 19 respectively, should play for the Netherlands in the near future but will more likely turn out at this year's Beijing Olympics.
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