Vitesse have had an excellent season, well above the rosiest expectations. They finished Eredivisie in fourth position, overtaking much more accredited teams such as Feyenoord and Utrecht, and therefore reached a historic qualification for the preliminary rounds of the new Conference League. They started the season well right away, battling Ajax for the top position until the winter, then between January and February had a dark period only snatching one point in five consecutive games. It seemed the beginning of a collapse, but the Arnhem team recovered and fought to the end for fourth place against Feyenoord.
Vitesse path in KNVB Beker was also brilliant, they eliminated Willem II, ADO Den Haag, Excelsior and VVV Venlo, before surrendering 2-1 to Ajax in the final.
What seemed to be a weak point at the beginning of the season, namely the new coach, German Thomas Letsch on his first experience in the Netherlands, turned out to be the greatest strength. Letsch set up the team with a 5-3-2, a little known and used system of play in the Netherlands, against which the opponents often failed to find counter moves.
As for individual players, it is difficult to find the best, as they all gave an excellent contribution, everyone played for the team. The two full-backs Eli Dasa and Maximilian Wittek were perfect on the flanks, as well as the three central defenders, Rasmussen, Doekhi and Bazoer. The latter had the dual task of defending and setting up the game. In midfield Tronstad and Bero made a notable filter, while Tannane helped the forwards. In attack, youngsters Openda and Broja went beyond expectations scoring 10 goals each, while the more experienced Darfalou was a little disappointing.
