ADO Den Haag Closes Training Sessions for Tactical Protection
Head coach Peter has shut the gates. Literally.
After a leak from an open training session spread online within minutes, the ADO boss has moved to close practices to the public, sacrificing the club’s traditional openness in favour of tactical protection.
“I don't know who it was, but in any case someone, or a few people, posted information online immediately,” he told Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad. “That makes keeping training sessions open completely pointless for us.”
The frustration is clear. ADO want supporters close, but not at the expense of match preparation being laid bare for opponents to dissect.
“We want everyone to be able to come and watch training, but that information has to stay inside the complex,” Peter said. “That didn't happen, so we have to close the doors.”
Tactical lockdown, emotional release
The timing is far from ideal. ADO are about to walk out for their first Eredivisie home game in five years, a landmark afternoon that should be about noise, colour and a long-awaited top-flight return, not about who filmed what on their phone.
Peter, though, is trying to park the anger and focus on the football. He expects a game that suits the occasion.
“I don't expect any surprises and I'm hoping for an open game played at high intensity by both teams,” he outlined, framing Sunday as a straight, honest contest rather than a chess match.
That intensity will need to come with sharper edges than on the opening day. ADO started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to AZ, undone after the break by goals from Ro-Zangelo Daal and Calvin Stengs. The scoreline, and the way it unfolded in the second half, underlined how punishing the Eredivisie can be if you switch off for a spell.
Now comes FC Groningen on matchday two, and the margin for error shrinks again.
Selection headaches and small boosts
The squad news offers a mixed picture.
Jalen Hawkins remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, while Cameron Peupion is still a long-term absentee as he recovers from knee surgery. Both absences strip away attacking options and continuity for a side still adjusting to the pace of the division.
There is at least a glimmer of good news between the posts. Goalkeeper Niclas Thiede has returned to full training after an ankle injury and is back in the frame, restoring experience and stability at the back.
On the bench, Cagliari loanee Othniel Raterink could make an appearance as he builds match fitness. Even a short cameo would add a fresh dimension and another weapon for Peter to deploy if the game tightens.
Sold-out return, serious test
The stage itself could hardly be bigger for a club feeling its way back at this level. A sold-out home crowd will greet ADO on Sunday afternoon, the stands packed for a first Eredivisie home fixture in half a decade, and the demand for a response to that AZ defeat is obvious.
The opposition arrive in a very different mood. Groningen travel south carrying momentum after edging past FC Utrecht in their curtain-raiser, an early-season win that has already settled some nerves and sharpened belief.
For ADO, this is about more than just their first points of the 2026-27 campaign. It is about proving that the noise and emotion of their return can be matched by the control, discipline and secrecy their head coach now demands behind closed doors.
The doors are shut at training. On Sunday, in front of a full house, ADO have to show that what happens inside really is worth protecting.
