Southampton will take on FC Twente in the second game of their pre-season tour of Holland.
Saints head out to Holland for the second consecutive season as they step up their preparations for the upcoming 2016/17 campaign, with three fixtures confirmed over the course of eight days.
First up is PEC Zwolle, with the game against FC Twente coming before a clash with FC Groningen on the final day of the tour.
FC Twente, who will compete in the Eredivisie next season after successfully winning their appeal against financial irregularities that would have seen them relegated, despite finishing 13th last season, will provide a stern test ahead of the new campaign.
Here, we provide an in-depth profile of the Tukkers ahead of the friendly, which takes place on Wednesday 27th July.
Stadium
The game will take place at Quick '20's Q20 Stadium. Saints played there a year ago, beating Quick '20 10-0 as part of their pre-season tour ahead of the 2015/16 campaign. The ground has a capacity of 6,500.
History
Formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys, FC Twente are based in the city of Enschede and compete in the Dutch Eredivisie.
After a relatively successful spell during the 1970s, FC Twente had to wait until 2010 to lift their first Eredivisie title. Under the stewardship of former England manager Steve McClaren, they pipped Ajax to the trophy, having finished runners-up for only the second time the previous season.
Their third KNVB Cup trophy arrived the following season, as well as a second-placed finish in the league under new manager Michel Preud’homme.
Their best run in Europe came in 1974/75, as they finished runners-up in the UEFA Cup, losing out to Borussia Monchengladbach in the final.
Saints links
Current Saints winger Dušan Tadić will be returning to the club he played for before making the move to England. The Serbia international spent two seasons with FC Twente after moving from FC Groningen in 2012. He made 85 appearances in total, contributing 32 goals, and finishing top of the Eredivisie assist charts during the 2013/14 campaign.
Another man to have joined Saints from FC Twente is Cuco Martina. The defender made 56 appearances for the Dutch club, scoring once.
Former Saints winger Eljero Elia also played for FC Twente. The Dutchman spent two seasons with the Tukkers before moving to German club Hamburger SV in 2009.
Manager
44-year-old René Hake is currently in interim charge of FC Twente. After taking over from Alfred Schreuder in August 2015.
After spells manager the youth teams of FC Emmen and FC Twente, Hake’s first real management job came at FC Emmen when he took charge in 2010.
Two years later and he took the assistant manager role at PEC Zwolle, which he held for three years, before moving into the same position at FC Twente. It wasn’t long before he took charge of the Dutch club in August 2015.
Last season
After a poor start to the season, Alfred Schreuder was sacked and replaced by René Hake. Their disappointing form continued before a 3-1 win against FC Utrecht in January helped turn their season around. A run of five straight wins lifted them up the table, as they lost just three of their last 14 fixtures to finish the season in 13th. They were also deducted three points for financial issues.
Despite their mid-table finish, they were set to be demoted to the Juplier League by the KNVB for financial irregularities, but they won an appeal to ensure they will compete in the Eredivisie again next season.
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