Original Umbro football shirt NAC Breda 2006/07

NAC Breda played in the Premier League in the 2006/07 season. The team finished 11th in the regular competition, after which it participated in the play-offs for the Intertoto Cup. In the KNVB Cup, the team was eliminated in the semi-finals by AZ (6-0).

NAC Breda started the 2006/07 season as a relegation candidate. This is because the team had finished 15th and 16th respectively in the Premier League in previous years.

In the hope of breaking the bad streak of previous years, the board opted for a completely different approach. Both the technical staff and the selection were significantly adjusted. Former player Earnest Stewart was appointed as technical director, Ernie Brandts came over from FC Volendam as the new head coach and Leon Vlemmings from FC Eindhoven became his assistant. The selection was strengthened with Edwin de Graaf, Patrick Mtiliga (both Feyenoord), Edwin Zoetebier (PSV) and Gertjan Tamerus (Heracles Almelo). Shortly after the start of the season, Brian Pinas (Cercle Brugge) and Danny Mathijssen (rented from AZ) were added.

NAC had a dramatic start to the season. The first game against AZ was lost 8-1. This was followed by a home defeat against Ajax (1-2). However, the team managed to recover with a huge negative goal difference. In the three subsequent games, the team collected 7 points. Over the course of the season, the team started to function better and it slowly but surely became clear that NAC did not have to worry about relegation in any way. The team even started the winter break with the prospect of a ranking in the top nine of the rankings.

During the winter break, Leonardo left for Ajax for 750,000 euros. To fill the vacancy in the striker, Glen Salmon was hired from FC Groningen. With Salmon in the ranks, NAC started to perform better and better. For example, arch-rival Willem II was beaten 0-2, a historic 4-1 victory over Feyenoord was achieved and the team reached the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup by beating PSV 3-0 in their own stadium.

After this, however, the cake turned out to be over and NAC underperformed. In the last eight competition matches, the team only picked up two points, putting the club in 11th place in the final standings. Moreover, AZ proved far too strong in the semi-final of the cup. NAC lost no less than 6-0 in Alkmaar, meaning the dreamed cup final was not achieved.

Eleventh place in the rankings meant qualification for the play-offs for the Intertoto Cup. In the first round, NAC had to compete against Vitesse. However, the team proved unable to perform well and lost both matches (3-2 away, 0-1 at home) and thus the 2006/07 season finally came to an end.