Gerard Nijkamp is the new technical director of Sparta Rotterdam, the club reported on Friday. The 51-year-old Nijkamp previously worked as a technical director at PEC Zwolle. In addition to a period in Qatar, where he also had technical leadership at two clubs, Nijkamp also worked for the KNVB and FIFA. For the past 2.5 years, he was general manager of Cincinnati FC in United States Major League Soccer.
Nijkamp signs a contract with Sparta for 2.5 years. He is the successor of Henk van Stee, who left because he had a different vision of the future. He wanted to invest in players to boost the club, while general manager Manfred Laros was more in favor of a more reserved policy in financially difficult times.
“After my departure from America, I consciously took the time to orientate myself on my next step that I wanted to make. In recent days, contact with Sparta has been intensive and the challenge for me to become part of this beautiful club became very interesting,” he says via the official channels of the Rotterdam team. “In my opinion, Sparta is a unique club with a beautiful identity in an interesting catchment area.”
“What really appeals to me is the youth academy. Sparta has proven in the past to be able to let players move on from the youth academy themselves. I am therefore very much in favor of such a well-functioning ecosystem that starts with the youth academy. I am therefore happy to take up the challenge of working together with the technical staff, the youth academy and the entire organization to bring Sparta higher. In the conversations I had with the board, the ambition for both the short and medium term was discussed.”
“Of course, enforcement in the Eredivisie is the most important thing and we will work on that together to strengthen the selection during the winter break. Parallel to that goal, it is also important to work on the other goals of the club and in the coming period I will work on that with everyone.” Laros assures that Nijkamp was on the shortlist right from the start. “We were confirmed in our choice from conversations we had with Gerard himself and with other people involved in professional football. Besides the fact that he had a very successful period at PEC, his experience and ideas are in line with the culture of Sparta Rotterdam and his national and international scouting network is a very welcome addition.”