Leo Beenhakker
.jpg) Leo Beenhakker in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leo Beenhakker | ||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1942 | ||
| Place of birth | Rotterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Trinidad and Tobago (director of football) | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1965–1967 | SV Epe | ||
| 1967–1968 | Go Ahead Eagles (assistant) | ||
| 1968–1972 | BV Veendam | ||
| 1972–1975 | Cambuur | ||
| 1975–1976 | Go Ahead Eagles | ||
| 1976–1979 | Feyenoord (youth) | ||
| 1979–1981 | Ajax | ||
| 1981–1984 | Real Zaragoza | ||
| 1984–1985 | Volendam | ||
| 1985–1986 | Netherlands | ||
| 1986–1989 | Real Madrid | ||
| 1989–1991 | Ajax | ||
| 1990 | Netherlands | ||
| 1992 | Real Madrid | ||
| 1992–1993 | Grasshopper | ||
| 1993–1994 | Saudi Arabia | ||
| 1994–1995 | América | ||
| 1995 | İstanbulspor | ||
| 1996 | Guadalajara | ||
| 1996–1997 | Vitesse | ||
| 1997–2000 | Feyenoord | ||
| 2000–2003 | Ajax (technical director) | ||
| 2003–2004 | América | ||
| 2004–2005 | De Graafschap (technical advisor) | ||
| 2005–2006 | Trinidad and Tobago | ||
| 2006–2009 | Poland | ||
| 2007 | Feyenoord (ad interim) | ||
| 2009–2011 | Feyenoord (technical director) | ||
| 2011 | Újpest (technical director) | ||
| 2013– | Trinidad and Tobago (director of football) | ||
Leo Beenhakker (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈleːjoː ˈbeːnɦɑkər], born 2 August 1942 in Rotterdam, South Holland) is an international Dutch football coach. He has had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. He led both Ajax and Feyenoord to Dutch championships and also had domestic success with Real Madrid. At international level he led Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Poland to the 2008 UEFA European Championship, both firsts for each nation.
Coaching career
He has been the coach of several prestigious clubs including Ajax, Feyenoord, Real Madrid, Real Zaragoza and Club América. He has also coached the Saudi Arabian and Dutch national teams. He coached the national team of Trinidad and Tobago in the year leading up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Under Beenhakker's guidance the team managed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, where the team secured a (goalless) draw against Sweden in its first match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and gave England cause for concern in the second match.
From 2000 to 2003, Beenhakker was Director of Technical Affairs with Ajax. In that period he fired coach Co Adriaanse and replaced him with Ronald Koeman.
Because he has been active in Spanish football he has the nickname "Don Leo". He is famous for his fondness of cigars and his dry humour.
Poland
On 11 July 2006, Beenhakker was appointed as the manager of the Polish national team. Originally, he was appointed to manage Poland until the end of Euro 2008, however, his contract was prolonged until November 2009 and the end of World Cup 2010 qualifiers. On 17 November 2007, beating Belgium 2–0, he managed to qualify with Poland for the European championships – the first coach ever to do so; even in its golden years, the seventies and eighties, Poland never qualified to play in the Euros. On 20 February 2008, he was decorated with the Order of Polonia Restituta by the Polish President Lech Kaczyński. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries.
Upon Poland's failure to qualify for World Cup 2010, Beenhakker was sacked as coach.[1]
Feyenoord
While still in charge by Poland, Feyenoord hired him on 5 May 2007 as an interim coach to lead the team through the 2006–07 play-offs. After his departure from Poland, he was named the sports director of the Dutch club, having signed a contract on 9 October 2009 up to 30 June 2011.[2]
Újpest FC
Following his spell in the Netherlands, Beenhakker agreed on a three-year deal with Hungarian first division side Újpest FC, and was officially introduced as the new sports director of the purple-whites in a press conference on 29 July 2011.[3] As managing director Csaba Bartha unfolded in the event, Beenhakker's main duty is to work with the first team, however, they also plan to use his diverse and extensive personal relationships to establish a scouting network across Europe, which could be used in both directions.[4] His contract was terminated in October 2011, after Belgian businessman Roderick Duchatelet bought the club.
Languages
Beenhakker speaks several languages, including Dutch, English and Spanish. He also learned a few words in Polish during his time as national team manager.
Managerial honours
- Ajax
- Copa del Rey (1): 1988–89
- Supercopa de España (2): 1988, 1989*
- (* Won Copa del Rey and La Liga)
- Dutch Eredivisie (1): 1998–99
- Johan Cruijff-schaal (1): 1999
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leo Beenhakker. |
- ↑ Poland dismiss coach Beenhakker
- ↑ Feyenoord contrató a Leo Beenhakker como DT
- ↑ "Leo Benhakker az Újpest új sportigazgatója!" (in Hungarian). Újpest FC official website. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ↑ "Beenhakker már hivatalosan is az Újpest sportigazgatója" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport Online. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
External links
- BDFutbol coach profile (Spanish)
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Foppe de Haan |
Rinus Michels oeuvre award 2010 |
Succeeded by Most recent |
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