Co Adriaanse

Co Adriaanse

Adriaanse in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth	(1947-07-21) 21 July 1947 (age 77)
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Position(s)	Centre-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1970	De Volewijckers
1970–1976	Utrecht	176	(0)
Managerial career
1984–1988	PEC Zwolle
1988–1992	FC Den Haag
1992–1997	Jong Ajax
1997–2000	Willem II
2000–2001	Ajax
2002–2005	AZ
2005–2006	Porto
2006–2007	Metalurh Donetsk
2007–2008	Al-Sadd
2008–2009	Red Bull Salzburg
2010–2011	Qatar (olympic)
2011–2012	Twente
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Co Adriaanse (born 21 July 1947) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a centre-back.

Playing career

As a professional player, Adriaanse played for six seasons with De Volewijckers (from 1964 until 1970) and a further six seasons with Utrecht (1970 until 1976), retiring from football at age 29.

Managerial career

Early career

Adriaanse began his managing career with Zilvermeeuwen in 1979, and after four years he joined AZ for the first time as scout and youth trainer. After a year, for the 1984–85 season he resumed his coaching career with two four-year stints with PEC Zwolle and FC Den Haag, where he would be sacked for the first time. He was then chosen to direct the youth side of Ajax, a position he would occupy for five seasons.

Willem II

In 1997, Adriaanse was appointed manager of Willem II. There, he implemented an – according to him – "compelling, aggressive style that can always be maintained". ^[1] In his first season, the team finished in fifth place and booked impressive wins over Feyenoord (2–0) and defending champions PSV (4–1). The fifth place meant that the club qualified for European football for the first time since 1963. ^[1]

In their run in the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, Willem II managed to knock out Dinamo Tbilisi in the first round 6–0 on aggregate, but lost to Real Betis in the second round. ^[2] The club had a weak start to their domestic season, and held an 11th place in the league table at the winter break. A strong second half of the season, however, saw them finishing in second place after beating eventual champions Feyenoord 4–1 and Ajax 3–1. ^[1] This meant that Willem II, a team better known for finishing in the bottom half of the Eredivisie, would be competing in the UEFA Champions League. The team, however, finished bottom of their 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League group stage, and after failing to achieve another European spot, Adriaanse resigned on 20 May 2000. ^[3]

Ajax

Adriaanse returned to Ajax as manager, but after a third place season he was released early in the next season, on 29 November 2001, after a string of poor results. ^[4] During his tenure, he made a number of controversial statements to the press – he called chairman of PSV, Harry van Raaij, a "talking lampshade", ^[5] and most famously said of Marco van Basten who was rumoured to join the Ajax staff at the time: "A good horse does not make a good jockey." ^[6]

AZ

After beginning the 2002–03 season without a club, Adriaanse was signed to AZ in November 2002. A tenth-place finish in the first season was followed by a fifth-placed finish, which allowed the Alkmaar team to join the UEFA Cup in the 2004–05 season. There, the club upset Spanish side and top contenders Villarreal in the quarter-finals before being knocked out on away goals in the semi-finals by Sporting CP, in the final minute of extra time. In the Eredivisie, AZ also performed above expectations, finishing third after topping the league for a week at the end of the first half and spending most of the second in second place. Adriaanse again coined a number of colourful phrases while at AZ, the best known being "Scoreboard journalism", "Cheese viewers", "Woonerf football" and "Evening footballer".

Porto

After much speculation and his stated desire to leave the club (he was succeeded by Louis van Gaal), on 24 May 2005, Adriaanse was presented as the new manager of Portuguese club Porto (replacing José Couceiro), and became the fourth manager to sign for the Portuguese side since the departure of José Mourinho. In the first season as Porto coach, he achieved the "Dobradinha" for the first time since the departure of Mourinho, winning the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal.

Metalurh Donetsk

On 9 August 2006, Adriaanse resigned as manager of Porto. Four months later, he became coach of Ukrainian club Metalurh Donetsk. On 17 May 2007, Adriaanse resigned as manager of Metalurh Donetsk with four games to play in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Al-Sadd Sports Club

On 27 August 2007, Adriaanse signed a one-year deal with Al-Sadd and resigned as coach on 28 January 2008.

Red Bull Salzburg

Adriaanse in 2009

On 13 March 2008, Adriaanse signed a two-year deal with the Austrian champion Red Bull Salzburg and he left the club after the end of his contract on 30 June 2009.

Qatar Olympic team

On 12 January 2010, it was confirmed Adriaanse's appointment at the helm of the Qatar Olympic team. ^[7] His Middle East stint, however, lasted only 14 months, as his contract was terminated by mutual consent in March 2011. ^{[8] [9]}

Twente

On 20 June 2011, Twente announced on their website to have appointed Adriaanse as new trainer in place of departing manager Michel Preud'homme. ^[10] In his first official match with the club, Adriaanse won the Johan Cruyff Shield against former team Ajax. On 3 January 2012, Adriaanse, halfway through a one-season contract, was terminated by Twente.

In the 2014–15 season, Adriaanse acted as technical advisor at Utrecht. He also decided to leave the club at the end of the season when manager Rob Alflen announced his resignation. ^[11]

Managerial style

Tactical approach

Adriaanse gained a lot of fame in the Netherlands after qualifying for the Champions League with a mediocre Willem II side. It was even more impressive due to the fact that Willem II often played attacking football, a style Adriaanse has adopted throughout his managerial career.

Training

Adriaanse is famous for his controversial training approach. At Willem II, he once ordered his whole squad to follow him by car, while they drove 13 km away from their training ground. At a remote spot, all players had to give their car keys to Adriaanse. Then he drove back to town, while the squad had to run in front of his car. Back at the training ground, the players got their car keys back. Since their cars were still parked far from the training ground, however, they all had to walk back another 13 km. ^[12] At AZ Alkmaar, he once ordered the whole squad to search for Easter eggs during a training session. They looked for an hour until Adriaanse finally revealed there were no eggs hidden. ^[13] Adriaanse already had these strange training methods at the start of his career, because when he was a youth trainer at Ajax, he sometimes ordered his players to lie on the ground. Then a teammate with football boots on would run over the bodies. ^[14] Because of all these infamous incidents, Adriaanse has been referred to as "Psycho Co". ^{[15] [16]}

Honours

As a manager

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2005–06
• Taça de Portugal: 2005–06

Red Bull Salzburg

• Austrian Football Bundesliga: 2008–09

Twente

• Johan Cruyff Shield: 2011

Individual

• Rinus Michels Award: 2004
• Primeira Liga's Manager of the Season: 2006

References

1. Nieuwenhof, Frans van den (11 August 2021). "Tiran, koning en martelaar". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 56 (32): 44–47.
2. "Betis-Willem II 1998 History | UEFA Europa League". UEFA. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
3. "Adriaanse ziet af van trainerschap bij FC Utrecht". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 4 February 2000.
4. "Ajax ontslaat Co Adriaanse". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 29 November 2001.
5. "Adriaanse heeft spijt van 'lampenkap'". NU (in Dutch). 20 March 2009.
6. "Pelé eens met Co: Goed paard nog geen goede ruiter". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 30 October 2008.
7. "Co Adriaanse coach Jong Qatar". NOS Sport (in Dutch). 12 January 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
8. "QFA part ways with Adriaanse". Qatar Football Association. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
9. "Adriaanse definitief weg bij voetbalbond Qatar". NU.nl (in Dutch). 25 March 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
10. "Co Adriaanse trainer FC Twente". FC Twente (in Dutch). 20 June 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
11. Alflen en Adriaanse verlaten FC Utrecht Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine – FC Utrecht (in Dutch)
12. Misset, Robert (14 February 2000). "Ajacieden tonen in Arena zowaar ongekende ijver". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
13. "'Succes zit 'm niet in de accommodatie'". Elsevier.nl. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
14. Mike Verweij, Kluivert Biography
15. "'Psycho Co' Adriaanse back in the Dutch big time". FourFourTwo. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
16. Taylor, Louise (9 December 2008). "Premier League: Sam Allardyce stakes claim to Sunderland job". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2022.