The Eagles beat AZ 4-2 on penalties after drawing 1-1 over 120 minutes. The two sides kicked off the game with a fast pace, but Simonis noticed that his team ended up defending the most and even got lucky with some missed chances by AZ. "We were very lucky a couple of times today. I thought they were just a bit better. We started nervously, and they were more direct."
Simonis joined Go Ahead Eagles in July 2024, following Rene Hake's departure from the club to join Erik ten Hag's backroom staff in Manchester. After working as a youth coach at Sparta Rotterdam for 15 years and assistant manager at Go Ahead Eagles and sc Heerenveen, this was his first time becoming a manager.
The fact he won the club its first major trophy since 1933 means a lot to the 40-year-old boss. "Really magnificent, (winning it) like this with each other and with the crowd. They really deserved this.
"This is the crowning glory of this season. Maarten (Martens) said it nicely: based on this season, our guys deserve this the most."
Read more about the KNVB Beker final in our match report here