captain, with Jordy Clasie, who because of his good play and tenacity soon became one of the most popular players among the supporters, becoming vice-captain. On 7 August, Feyenoord was eliminated by Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round of the Champions League following losses in both legs. Feyenoord was therefore demoted to the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League. Koeman said that Feyenoord was the better side over the two legs but had missed a scoring striker, referring to John Guidetti, who had rejoined Manchester City following the end of his loan. On 10 August 2012, Dutch international and Málaga defender Joris Mathijsen joined Feyenoord on a three-year contract. Málaga had made clear to Mathijsen that he needed to find a new club to generate income for the financially suffering Málaga after Sheikh Al Thani left. Stefan de Vrij remained captain, despite Mathijsen being more experienced at both international and club level. After drawing the first leg of the Europa League qualifier at home 2–2 against Sparta Prague, Feyenoord was eliminated following a 2–0 loss in the second leg, meaning Feyenoord would not be playing European football in 2012–13. Following these events, Feyenoord loaned Parma and former AZ striker Graziano Pellè and exchanged Jerson Cabral for Twente striker Wesley Verhoek in a straight player swap. Feyenoord ended the season in third, behind champions Ajax and second-placed PSV. Pellè surprised many after scoring 27 goals in 29 matches, prompting Feyenoord to sign him permanently from Parma on a contract lasting until summer 2017. In the 2013–14 season, Feyenoord recorded the worst start in its history, losing its first three matches to PEC Zwolle, Twente and Ajax respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=194575 |title='Feyenoord beleeft slechtste seizoenstart ooit: 'Het is niet dramatisch |language=nl |publisher=Voetbalzone.nl |date=18 August 2013}}</ref> Feyenoord would recover, but its performances were unstable throughout the season. However, because the Eredivisie's other top teams also played inconsistently, Feyenoord remained in the title race, although it eventually finished second, four points behind Ajax. In the UEFA Europa League, Feyenoord was eliminated in the third qualifying round by Kuban Krasnodar, making it Feyenoord's fifth consecutive season without European football. On 1 February 2014, Ronald Koeman announced he would be resigning at the end of the season. On 3 March 2014, Fred Rutten was named the new manager for the 2014–15 season. During the summer of the 2014–15 season, Feyenoord lost four of its best