Sparta Rotterdam has reached an agreement with Maurice Steijn about a two-year contract for the position of head coach, reports the Castle Club through official routes. Steijn previously coached VVV-Venlo, Al-Wahda and NAC Breda. Steijn is the successor of Henk Fraser, who leaves Sparta despite a permanent contract. “I’m really looking forward to starting July 1st,” said Steijn.
Sparta is currently seventeenth in the Eredivisie and it is therefore questionable whether Steijn will be active at the highest level next season. “The priority of the entire club must now lie with the current team and the current staff”, Steijn emphasizes. “They must be able to focus optimally on the end of this season.” Sparta won its last game against Willem II (1-0) ten days ago, after nine league matches in a row were not converted into a win.
In any case, Steijn is looking forward to his new adventure. “We have recently started talking to each other. We have had long conversations about many different matters, from the identity of the club, the structure, to the possibilities and objectives. We have started very constructively and energetically and that ultimately led to a two-year deal.”
General director Manfred Laros, together with technical director Gerard Nijkamp, carefully searched for a successor to Fraser. “Part of that process is making it clear to each candidate what the club stands for, what we want from a head coach and also what the head coach can expect at the club,” said Laros. “With this appointment, Sparta Rotterdam wants to provide clarity to our supporters, sponsors and organization. Please note; the focus, attention and facilitation in the coming months will solely be devoted to sporting support for Henk Fraser, his staff and of course the player group. have worked together for almost four years and that has been very successful so far. Everyone wants to close this on a good way in May.”
Nijkamp is satisfied with Steijn’s appointment. “He was on our shortlist of possible candidates that we discussed,” said the technical director. “I have spoken with Maurice more than once in the past and I had already gotten a good impression in those conversations. That feeling has only gotten better in the conversations we have had with him. A healthy dose of pressure is appropriate at a club like Sparta. , but that can sometimes also be increased. Maurice has experience with that and does not run away from a challenge. Of course, we also discussed all other matters that are important to Sparta. In those conversations you also talk about all facets that belong to the head coach, but also scouting, the youth academy, the promises in the Second Division and the influx of talented youth players in the A-selection are topics of discussion. We are convinced that Maurice is the right man to become head coach of Sparta from next season.”
Steijn himself played in professional football for ADO Den Haag and NAC Breda. Steijn also started his trainer career at the club from his hometown, first as an assistant at ADO and through the youth academy and an interim period, he became responsible for the first team in the period from 2011 to 2014. From 2014 to 2019, Maurice Steijn worked as head coach at VVV. , with which he became champion of the Kitchen Champion Division in 2017. In the same year he also received the Golden Bull for best trainer and the Rinus Michels Award. After two successful Eredivisie years in Venlo, he left for a foreign adventure to the United Arab Emirates, where he succeeded Henk ten Cate at Al-Wahda. Last season he was briefly trainer of NAC, where he left because of threats.