Aad de Mosĭe Mos hit the ground running when he first broke into management, winning three Eredivisie titles in his first job as Ajax boss in the 1980s. A league and cup double with Porto followed in 2006, before Adriaanse spent time managing in Ukraine and Qatar. Willem II may have finished bottom of their group, but the Amsterdam-born boss had greater success in Europe with AZ, whom he led to the last four of the UEFA Cup in 2005. He came to prominence with Willem II, though: Adriaanse led the unfashionable club to a second-place finish in the top flight, which saw them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history, while playing some fantastic attacking football. Co AdriaanseĪdriaanse coached in five different countries during his 28-year managerial career, which began with a four-season spell at PEC Zwolle in the mid-to-late-1980s. Van Marwijk’s pragmatic style of play was criticised by some Dutch supporters, but dragging an unfancied side that far in the tournament was an accomplishment worthy of respect. His most memorable moment came at the 2010 World Cup, though, with the Netherlands narrowly losing to Spain in extra time in the final.
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008 8.0 3 PROFESSIONAL
The Rotterdam-based outfit finished as runners-up in the Eredivisie in his first year at the helm, before winning the UEFA Cup in his second (Robin van Persie made his professional debut for the club that season). The former midfielder is nevertheless deserving of his place on this list for his achievements with Feyenoord and the national team, which began at the start of the millennium.
Van Marwijk has experienced plenty of downs as well as ups in his career, with the current Saudi Arabia boss having been dismissed by both Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg in the 2000s. It may seem a little strange that Barcelona hired Rijkaard less than a year after that demotion, but the ex-Netherlands international was a major success at Camp Nou, helping the Catalans – who included Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and a young Lionel Messi among their number – to their first La Liga crown in six seasons in 2005.īarca then went on to retain the title and win the Champions League the following season, although subsequent stints in charge of Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia proved rather less fruitful. The Dutch reached the semi-finals of Euro 2000 under his guidance, before an unsuccessful year at Sparta Rotterdam brought about De Kasteelheren’s relegation. Rijkaard’s first step in management came as Netherlands boss, as the former Ajax and Milan man took charge of his country after the 1998 World Cup.