Beenhakker announces departure, signs contract at Mexican side America
02 June: Unexpected news from the Amsterdam ArenA this
morning: Leo Beenhakker, Ajax's 60 year-old technical director,
has asked the Ajax board to accept his resignation due to
personal circumstances. A few hours later, the website of Dutch
football weekly Voetbal International announced that
Beenhakker has signed a contract at Mexican club America.
Beenhakker was America's head-coach in the 1994-1995
season.
It is a remarkable series of events. In a press release on
Ajax.nl, the club announced Beenhakker's departure. In the
release, the technical director stresses the fact that he
decided to leave Ajax for strictly personal, non-professional
reasons: "Let one thing be clear: I've always had and I am
still having a great time at Ajax. The club is doing well and
the future looks good. However, I've had several pretty heavy
set-backs in my private life and I have trouble coming to terms
with that over here."
The press-release suggests that Beenhakker wants to move
abroad, leaving the rough times he's had in The Netherlands
behind. Ajax's general director, Arie van Eijden, states that
Ajax will accept Beenhakker's resignation. The club, says Van
Eijden, can fully understand Beenhakker's situation: "Ajax is
very well organized at the moment. Therefore, I deeply regret
that Leo is leaving us, as his contributions to the club's
building-process have been of great importance."
Van Eijden did not want to comment on possible successors of
Beenhakker. "We will think about this in the upcoming months.
There's no rush. For now, Leo is still in office." Beenhakker
and Ajax agreed on the dissolving of the latter's contract per
31 July, or - according to the press release - 'as early as
Beenhakker's activities allow'.
More surprising news followed several hours later on VI.nl,
the website of Dutch football weekly Voetbal
International, after Mexican television network Televisa
Chapultepec had reportedly announced that Beenhakker is about
to sign a two year contract at Mexican side América. The
club, nicknamed Las Aguilas ('The Eagles'), just fired
its head-coach, Manuel Lapuente, due to poor results and low
attendances due to negative football. América is said to
have offered Beenhakker a salary of two million U.S. dollars
per season.
Beenhakker coached Las Aguilas in 1994-1995. Under
his lead the team played offensive, highly attractive football
and seemed to be on its way to the Mexican championship.
However, Beenhakker was fired under mysterious circumstances in
April of 1995. According to stories in the Mexican press, he
had sent a board member away from the dressing room. Other
media claimed that the club president wanted Beenhakker to play
certain players, which he refused.
In spite of Beenhakker's personal problems and Ajax's
obliging press release, the succession of events is similar to
what happened at Ajax in the fall of 1990, when Beenhakker
unexpectedly resigned as Ajax's head-coach to sign a contract
at Real Madrid with immediate effect. Later in his career he
made himself an unpopular figure in his native city of
Rotterdam by resigning as Feyenoord's head-coach before the
season had ended.
Leo Beenhakker (born in Rotterdam, 02 August 1942) became a
prominent coach and director in global football without having
had a professional career himself. He only played for Dutch
amateur sides Terido, Xerxes and Zwart-Wit '28 before he
started his professional coaching career at Go Ahead Eagles. He
moved on to coach SC Veendam, SC Cambuur, Feyenoord, Ajax, FC
Volendam, Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid (Spain), Grasshoppers Club
Zürich (Switzerland), América (Mexico),
Istanbulspor (Turkey), Guadalajara (Mexico), Vitesse and the
national teams of The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Beenhakker joined and left several of these employers twice
(Feyenoord, Real Madrid, Go Ahead Eagles and the Dutch national
team). He even served three contracts at Ajax: two as a
head-coach and one as a technical director. On three occasions,
his tenure at Ajax co-incided with the Dutch championship: in
1980, 1990 and 2002, respectively. Beenhakker was also champion
of Holland with Feyenoord. He clinched three Spanish titles
with Real Madrid.
Beenhakker will comment on his departure during a special
press-conference at the Amsterdam ArenA on Tuesday 03 June. He
was unavailable for comment today. (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl and VI.nl
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