Murphy's law haunts NEC as defender crisis deepens

A year after Dick Schreuder lamented a thin defensive line, NEC now faces the same shortage as it prepares for a Champions League qualifier against Olympiakos, hoping the injury toll will be manageable, a sentiment echoed by the coach’s ‘Hopen dat het meevalt’ under Murphy’s law.

Yesterday at 23:30, Sander Janssen, journalist at VIDe, reported that history repeats itself at NEC. The phrase "De wet van Murphy" was highlighted in the original headline.

Dick Schreuder made the press wait on Friday evening after the friendly against Sevilla. The match gave the coach new insights but also raised serious concerns about the squad.

In that friendly, Philippe Sandler left after half an hour with complaints, and young Yassin Moslih had to quit in the final phase due to injury. The back‑line depth at NEC was already described as thin.

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Schreuder said, "I had to see how the flag stands with the injured, hope it will be manageable." His exact words were "Hopen dat het meevalt".

The Nijmegenaren have been searching for defensive reinforcements for months. A recent attempt to sign Ahmetcan Kaplan from Ajax fell through after a injury disrupted the deal.

Bram Nuytinck and Perr Schuurs are still recovering from injuries, and on Friday Thomas Ouwejan sat on the bench with light complaints. The lack of options forced NEC to finish the friendly with Brayann Pereira, Jamiro Monteiro and Merijn van de Wiel as the back line.

It seems Murphy’s law in action: everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.