Ruud Hesp is going back to work as a goalkeeper coach. The former goalkeeper of Fortuna Sittard, Roda JC Kerkrade and Barcelona will join sc Heerenveen, the club announced on Thursday afternoon. After his active career, Hesp was a goalkeeper coach at Roda JC, Oranje, FC Groningen and PSV. His expiring contract in Eindhoven was not extended last year.
Hesp will work in Friesland with Erwin Mulder and Xavier Mous, who will compete with each other to become the first keeper. Last Friday, Heerenveen announced that Mous comes transfer-free from PEC Zwolle. The other goalkeepers in the selection are Jan Bekkema and Jaimy Kroesen. This week it became clear that Bekkema will extend his expiring contract, while Kroesen is under contract for another year in the Abe Lenstra Stadium.
Hesp was active in professional football for almost twenty years. He experienced his greatest successes at Barcelona, after he was brought to the top club by Louis van Gaal, became the first goalkeeper and became national champion of Spain twice. It never came to an official international debut for the Dutch, although he was part of the selection of the Dutch national team at the 1996 European Championship and 1998 World Cup. Between 2006 and 2012 he was active as a goalkeeper coach for the Dutch.
In his career as a goalkeeper coach, Hesp worked for Roda JC (2002 to 2007), FC Groningen (2007-2013) and PSV (2013-2020). “Ruud has earned his spurs nationally and internationally. As a goalkeeper himself, but also as a goalkeeper coach,” says technical manager Ferry de Haan van Heerenveen. “That someone with his track record chooses sc Heerenveen is a compliment for the club and the entire organization. It also says a lot about Ruud. He is ambitious and believes in our plans. With him we add a lot of knowledge and experience to our coaching staff.”
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