ADO Den Haag have been promoted to the Dutch Eredivisie ahead of schedule. This is primarily thanks to German coach Robin Peter.
The time had come on Tuesday evening. Thanks to a 1-0 win against Jong FC Utrecht, the second team of the first division club, the return to the top division is perfect, as ADO Den Haag, with 74 points after 32 match days, can no longer be displaced from one of the top two places. In the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, it was the seventh win from the last eight games for the team from the North Sea coast.
Even more impressive, however, was the start to the season. Under new coach Robin Peter, Den Haag lost just one of their first 18 games of the season, with the Erlabrunn-born coach setting a new record in the Dutch lower division.
Peter began his coaching career at RB Leipzig and was also assistant coach of the German U-18 national team. After twelve years, he left the Saxons and joined FC Emmen – another Dutch second division club – as head coach in June 2024. In January 2025, after a two-month dry spell without a win, it was the end for the now 38-year-old, who two months later became assistant coach to head coach Jimmy de Wulf at first division club Cercle Brugge, where he remained for five months.
Learned from Rangnick
“I wouldn’t want to miss either position. I’m someone who wants to influence things, who has a clear idea. It was important to gain experience,” he said in an interview with Bild. Peter then took over Den Haag last summer, with promotion already a clear goal when he took office. “This club deserves more than the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. The club has much more potential,” said Peter, who has learned a lot from Ralf Rangnick in Leipzig in particular. “With the possibilities we have and the size we have, we have to look upwards. And we have to take responsibility for the higher goal, which in our case is promotion.”
The Hague were relegated from the Eredivisie at the bottom of the table in the 2021 season and were deducted six points the following season for financial violations. Nevertheless, the team reached the play-offs and only lost to Excelsior Rotterdam on penalties in the final third round. The team also reached the play-offs in the past two years without being able to achieve promotion. Now they will go straight to the Dutch top flight without any detours.