Monday, March 14, 2022 at 10:05 am• Tom Rofekamp • Last update: 10:10

Kevin Hofland is the new head coach of Willem II, reports The Telegraph† Sources within the club confirm to the newspaper. Zeljko Petrovic had long seemed the main candidate to replace Fred Grim who was fired last week, but the Montenegrin is opting for a job across the border in Qatar.

Hofland has been clubless since his dismissal from VfL Wolfsburg, where he acted as assistant to head coach Mark van Bommel. It was his second congé within a year, as Hofland had to pack his bags as coach of Fortuna Sittard in the autumn of 2020. The former defender starts his second job at Willem II as head coach in the Eredivisie.

The sounds went that Petrovic had to succeed Grim, who, like technical director Joris Mathijsen, had to leave the field in Tilburg. Petrovic was also at the helm at the end of last season the Tricolores after the resignation of Adrie Koster. However, the 55-year-old coach, who was recently fired as Iraq national coach, said on Monday that he had already accepted a job in Qatar and could not get out of the agreements made.

General director Martin van Geel, who temporarily takes over Mathijsen’s honours, was already talking to several potential head trainers at that time. Among them was John van den Brom, who declined the offer. The agreement with Hofland was reached on Sunday evening. The challenge for the new head coach is to guide his new club up out of the relegation zone: with 22 points from 16 matches, Willem II is currently in sixteenth place in the Eredivisie.


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