as tempting as joining the dutch man utd would be, Zwolle has some magic going on - think he should stay a hero.
Yeah seriously what the fuck are they doing right? And can they please share some of that knowledge with the nix. Well and truly hitting above their weight.
Fans must be ecstatic.
Zwolle representative will be at Ole U16 tournament - see the topic in the regional thread.
PEC manager Ron Jans is the key - charisma and motivational skills backed up with intelligence and tactical nous - a combination sometimes hard to find.
If you watch his press conferences on PEC Zwolle TV channel on You Tube, even if you don't understand Dutch, he's like a tornado of good humour and down-to-earth positivity which really wins you over.
This sums him up (on Wikipedia):
"Ron Jans joined FC Groningen on 2002, and was the longest-serving head coach in the whole Eredivisie, being instrumental in the club's recent successes, including two consecutive UEFA Cup qualifications in 2005 and 2006. During his time at Groningen, Jans was known for his witty comments during press conferences and his positive attitude towards the press. He was formerly active as a German language teacher. He also appeared regularly in the Dutch television channel Nederland 3 as a UEFA Champions Leagueanalyst for the 2009–10 season."
Dutch coaches have often been school teachers or professionals in other fields. This helps produce intelligent coaches I think.
This is true of many figures like Van Gaal who worked as a high school gymnastics teacher and with handicapped kids.
This is due to the less pronounced class system in the Netherlands compared to say, Britain where British managers are almost entirely uneducated working class types who move straight from playing to coaching. Middle class British kids rarely become pro footballers.
In Holland, Germany and other countries on the Continent, there are more professional players from middle class families (e.g. Arsene Wenger, Oliver Bierhoff, Joachim Löw, Robin Van Persie). Bierhoff, Wenger and Löw all have university degrees. Van Persie's dad is a prominent Dutch artist. Oliver Bierhoff's dad is a wealthy industrialist. Former Italian international Gianluca Vialli is the son of a millionaire with a university education, whose childhood home was a 15th-century castle in Lombardy with more than 60 rooms.
Vialli: "My father did not mind me being a footballer, but he insisted that I study and get my A-levels at the same time."
Of the four semi-finalists at the recent World Cup in Brazil, all four managers had tertiary educational qualifications or attended university:
Löw (Germany): Business Studies degree.
Sabella (Argentina): Started studying to be a lawyer but dropped out to play football. Very intelligent, politically aware man from a wealthy family who has had a life-long involvement in left-wing politics and social work with the poor.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/6/20/ar...
Van Gaal: Qualified high school gymnastics teacher with teaching diploma.
Scolari: Completed Physical Education qualifications. Son of a footballer who operated a warehouse on retirement, Big Phil's life has been spent entirely in football as a player and coach.