Today, on the first Friday of August, a new head coach started their new role at the KNVB (Dutch FA), his name? Arjan Veurink.
Fresh off the back of a successful Euro’s campaign with England, Veurink takes the reigns of a nation that only weeks ago he helped plot the major tournament demise of.
The Oranje Leeuwinnen had a disappointing Euro’s campaign which came to a pre-mature conclusion in the group stages. Granted, they had a very tough group but they failed to challenge their top opponents with 4-0 and 5-2 losses against England and France respectively. We analyzed their Euro’s performance before and we won’t go into much detail about it now. What we will do is much the same as Veurink will now seek to do, look forward to the future.
When the announcement came that Andries Jonker’s contract would not be extended after the Euros, Arjan Veurink was at the top of my list of favourite candidates to take over. So I was delighted to hear the news that he took the job of the Dutch National Team head coach. The general Dutch and English public will know Veurink as the man supporting the success pf head coach Sarina Wiegman. But what many people don’t know is that he already has a fair few years of experience as head coach.
Who is Arjan Veurink and what can Dutch fans expect from him?
Veurink started his coaching career in the youth teams at his local club OZC in Ommen. He got acquainted with women’s football in 2007 in the United States, and shortly after he became assistant coach for the women’s senior team at FC Twente. In 2010 Veurink gained his first experience as head coach at a pro club: he coached the FC Twente U23s. The team became champions under his guidance, and it wasn’t long before he was promoted to head coach for the FC Twente women’s senior team, at just 25 years old.
In his first season (2012-2013) Veurink and his team became champions of the BeNe League. I can already hear you thinking: “What in the world is the BeNe League, I only know the Eredivisie?!” I get that. So from 2012 until 2015, Belgium and the Netherlands had a joint competition, I know, it is a lot to take in.
He repeated the feat in the next season. And in the 2015-2016 season, the first season after the BeNe League was cancelled, Veurink and his team became Eredivisie’s first champions. Veurink and his FC Twente team have also won the cup and were the first Dutch team to make it to the quarter finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2015, after beating Bayern Munich on the way.
Wiegman and Veurink’s success story
So, we can call Veurink a successful head coach in his own right. And he didn’t do too bad as an assistant coach either. I probably don’t have to mention it, but as a Dutchie that watches a lot of English football, I feel proud to do it anyway. Together with Wiegman and their respective national teams he won the Euros three times (Netherlands 2017, England 2022 and 2025) and reached the final of the World Cup twice (Netherlands 2019, England 2023).
Out of him and Wiegman, Veurink is the tactical brain of the two. Before he started as assistant to Wiegman, he shortly coached the senior men’s team of non-league club OZC. To everyone’s initial surprise Veurink worked with video analyses of opponents’ play. Something that hadn’t been done before at all at the club nor in most non-league football teams. Veurink’s tactical brain is also praised by ex- FC Twente players. The NOS (Dutch equivalent to the BBC) asked a few players about their time working with Veurink. This is what Maud Roetgering had to say:
“Bayern were a top team, we were ‘only’ Twente. But Arjan is so tactically strong that he makes a plan and conveys it in a manner that the team believes in something that seems out of reach.”
“Very good at bonding with players” hails Dutch legend
It is not just his tactical insight that is applauded by the players. As a coach, you need the people skills too and according to Stefanie van der Gragt, who worked with Veurink for the Netherlands, he has those skills. “He is very good at bonding with players. I have always collaborated with him in an open manner”, van der Gragt said.
Roos Kwakkenbos, Martijn Reuser (assistant coaches), Iwan Redan (performance coach) and Eline Sol (goalkeeping coach) will make up the technical staff during Veurink’s tenure. Kwakkenbos is currently head coach of the U19s team and is known as a talented coach in the Netherlands, even to the extent that she was named by some as one of the potential candidates to take over from Andries Jonker.
The challenges facing Veurink
In Arjan Veurink, the Dutch FA is signing a proven winner with experience as a head coach. Yet I am very curious to see how he will deal with the pressure that comes with the job. With all due respect, women’s football wasn’t very much in the spotlight during his time at FC Twente. Furthermore, Wiegman carries the final responsibility in the crucial moments. Being a head coach to a national team in this time of growing popularity of women’s football, is a whole new experience for him.
Veurink has a couple of challenges to deal with. Jonker was criticized for relying too much on players like Sherida Spitse and Danielle van de Donk. On the other hand, Jonker has also done well in integrating younger players like Wieke Kaptein and Veerle Buurman into the team. It is up to Veurink to find that balance and hopefully win a couple of tournaments.
The team has also dealt with a lot of changes recently. The Leeuwinnen played in different systems and with a different back line in many of their recent games. On the pitch, we saw a team that played a lot of misplaced passes and poorly timed runs. So much so that Lynn Wilms criticized Jonker openly for it after the final group stage match in Switzerland. Stability is very much needed in the team, and it will be interesting to see how Veurink intends to change things around.
It will also be interesting to see how Veurink deals with the left back position. Esmee Brugts was moved there from the forward line by Andries Jonker and he persisted with this choice. It was clear to many that Brugts was played out of position. There are talented alternatives available in Janou Levels and Marisa Olislagers, but they haven’t been called up to visit the national team base in Zeist for a while.
A breath of fresh air
The Oranje Leeuwinnen need a breath of fresh air after Jonker’s tenure grew stale in recent months. Arjan Veurink will bring fresh perspectives and coaching techniques, and likely positive changes.
