Thomas Didillon-Hödl named Eredivisie Player of the Month for October

The Tilburgers had a mixed month, winning against Almere City FC (0-1), drawing with Fortuna Sittard (0-0), and narrowly losing to Ajax (1-0). With twelve points from ten matches, coach Peter Maes' team is sitting at the top of the lower half of the table (10th place). Despite Willem II struggling to score, their defense remained solid, with only Davy Klaassen managing to breach the Tilburg defense in October, and that was from the penalty spot.

Thomas Didillon-Hödl joined from Cercle Brugge over the summer, having previously played for clubs such as FC Metz, Anderlecht, and AS Monaco. After spending two seasons on the bench, he hoped to rekindle his love for football over the summer. He succeeded: since the season began, he has been one of Tilburg’s standout players.

In October, Didillon-Hödl prevented three goals (with 4.0 expected goals against but only one goal conceded), outperforming any other goalkeeper in the Eredivisie. The 28-year-old saved 16 of the 17 shots on target, achieving an impressive 94% save percentage.

Offensively, the keeper also made a strong impact: 42% of his passes in the opposition’s half found their mark, the highest accuracy in opponent territory of any keeper in the past month. His impressive stats earned him the KPN Man of the Match award in the game against Fortuna Sittard.

After ten matches, the Frenchman has kept four clean sheets, putting him in a tie for second place with Remko Pasveer, Walter Benítez, and Lars Unnerstall. While those three goalkeepers have made between 15 and 20 saves this season, Didillon-Hödl has come to his team’s rescue with 34 saves.

First Monthly Award for Willem II
In the eight-year history of this award, Thomas Didillon-Hödl is the first Willem II player to be named Eredivisie Player of the Month. Previously, Alexander Isak (March 2019) and Kostas Tsimikas (March 2018) won the Eredivisie Talent of the Month award while playing for Tilburg. Additionally, he is only the fourth goalkeeper to earn a monthly award, joining Nick Olij (January 2023), Justin Bijlow (April 2021), and Thorsten Kirschbaum (February 2020).

In the eight-year history of the award, Thomas Didillon-Hödl is the first player from Willem II to be named Eredivisie Player of the Month. Previously, Alexander Isak (March 2019) and Kostas Tsimikas (March 2018) won the 'Eredivisie Talent of the Month' award while playing for Tilburg. Additionally, he is only the third goalkeeper to win a monthly award, following Nick Olij (January 2023) and Thorsten Kirschbaum (February 2020).

The selection of the Eredivisie Player of the Month, the Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month, and the Eredivisie Team of the Month is based on Opta statistics and votes from football fans (KPN Man of the Match). These criteria also contribute to the selection of the Eredivisie Player of the Year and the Johan Cruyff Talent of the Year. These awards are presented at the end of the season during the Eredivisie Awards. The monthly selections are an initiative of the Eredivisie CV in collaboration with ESPN, the Johan Cruyff Foundation, and VriendenLoterij.