It is becoming a regular appointment. On Sunday night, for the fourth year in a row, the PSV Eindhoven squad toured the city in an open trailer pulled by a truck to the Stadhuisplein, where they mounted the City Hall balcony to be greeted by Mayor Rob van Gijzel before showing off the Dutch championship trophy to an estimated 40,000 fans.

Vergoossen magic
The Eredivisie triumph, which moved PSV to within eight of AFC Ajax's record tally of 29, was clinched with a 1-0 win at BV Vitesse, a happy ending to a turbulent season in which coach Ronald Koeman left for Valencia CF and Jan Wouters took over for two months before January when Sef Vergoossen was entrusted with leading the Eindhoven side to the title. Prior to Christmas, PSV had been distracted by their UEFA Champions League campaign, but in February wins at Feyenoord, Ajax and AZ Alkmaar proved that the 60-year-old Vergoossen was still able to work his magic in his last job before retirement.

'Convinced'
Vergoosen had never previously won the Eredivisie in his 30-year coaching career, and said: "I really was convinced we would make it. After beating Tottenham Hotspur [FC] in the UEFA Cup we knew it was going to be tough physically. We have taken this title because of our resilience. After our draw against FC Twente last week, I said: 'Do not doubt, the championship will come'." Not only is Vergoossen handing the reins to Huub Stevens for next season, but he could also lose his trademark moustache having promised to remove it if PSV finished top. "In the players' bus they tried to shave it off," Vergoossen said. "I have lost a small piece already, but the shaving equipment did not work properly – it was not produced by our sponsors!"