Leo Beenhakker
Encyclopedia
Leo Beenhakker (ˈleˑjoˑ ˈbeˑnˌɦɑkər ) (born 2 August 1942 in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, Zuid-Holland) is an international Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 coach, who is the current Sports Director of Újpest FC
Újpest FC
Újpest Football Club , earlier known as Újpesti TE and Újpesti Dózsa, is a Hungarian football club, based in Újpest, Budapest. The club's colours are purple and white...

.

Coaching career

He has been the coach of several prestigious clubs including Ajax
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...

, Feyenoord, Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

, Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish association football team from Zaragoza in Spain. Founded on 18 March 1932, Real Zaragoza have spent the majority of their 78 year history in the Spanish top-flight. Real Zaragoza are Spain's 9th highest ranked team in overall league points...

 and Club América
Club América
Club América is a Mexican Professional football club based in Mexico City. It competes in the Primera División, the top professional league in the country. The team's nickname is Las Águilas ....

. He has also coached the Saudi Arabian
Saudi Arabia national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...

 and Dutch
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

 national teams. He coached the national team of Trinidad and Tobago in the year leading up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

. Under Beenhakker's guidance the team managed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, where the team secured a (goalless) draw against Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...

 in its first match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and gave England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 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
Co Adriaanse
Jacobus "Co" Adriaanse is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who is currently the head coach of Eredivisie team FC Twente.-Playing career:...

 and replaced him with Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...

.

Because he has been active in Spanish football he has the nickname "Don Leo". He is famous for his fondness of cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...

s 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
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...

 – 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
Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. 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...

 by the Polish President
President of the Republic of Poland
The President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland....

 Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...

. 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.

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
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...

, he was named the sports director of the Dutch club, having signed a contract on 9 October 2009 up to 30 June 2011.

Újpest FC

Following his spell in the Netherlands, Beenhakker agreed on a three-year deal with Hungarian first division side Újpest FC
Újpest FC
Újpest Football Club , earlier known as Újpesti TE and Újpesti Dózsa, is a Hungarian football club, based in Újpest, Budapest. The club's colours are purple and white...

, and was officially introduced as the new sports director of the purple-whites in a press conference on 29 July 2011. 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.

Languages

Beenhakker is a polyglot who speaks several languages, including Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. He also learned a few words in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 during his time as national team manager.

Managerial honours

Ajax
  • Dutch Eredivisie (2): 1979-80, 1989–90


Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...


  • Spanish La Liga (3): 1986-87, 1987–88, 1988–89

  • Copa del Rey
    Copa del Rey
    The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....

     (1): 1988-89

  • Supercopa de Espana
    Supercopa de España
    The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...

     (1): 1988


Feyenoord
  • Dutch Eredivisie (1): 1998-99

  • Johan Cruijff-schaal
    Johan Cruijff-schaal
    The Johan Cruijff Schaal is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after legendary Dutch football player Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football league and the winner of the national...

    (1): 1999
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