Melbourne Heart FC advises Head Coach John van ‘t Schip will depart from the Club following the completion of his contract at the end of the current Hyundai A-League season.
Melbourne Heart FC advises Head Coach John van ‘t Schip will depart from the Club following the completion of his contract at the end of the current Hyundai A-League season.
The AFC Ajax legend yesterday informed Melbourne Heart FC-s board and management he has elected to return home to Europe.
Chairman Peter Sidwell expressed his gratitude to van ‘t Schip for his contribution to the foundation of Melbourne Heart FC, saying his values and ethos will forever remain part of the fabric of the Club.
“We wish to advise our inaugural Head Coach John van ‘t Schip will depart the Club following the completion of the current season,” Sidwell said.
“John arrived in Melbourne with a clear vision for the establishment of this Club, as a proponent of the fundamental belief in challenging the status quo by demonstrating the importance of developing youth and instilling an ethos underlined by playing attractive, attacking football.
“Drawing on the methods of former mentors Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal, John duly delivered on his promise, offering unparalleled opportunity for development and growth to some of our most exciting young talents, in addition to uncovering a number of diamonds in the rough.
“We are grateful to John for his on and off field contribution to our Club, and hope the end of his tenure doesn-t mark the end of a relationship, but simply an evolution of our current one.”
Appointed as Heart-s inaugural Head Coach in October 2009, van ‘t Schip arrived in Melbourne with a mandate to implement an overarching football philosophy, designing the blueprint which would ultimately be identified as integral to the Club-s identity.
Following a 14-year playing career, which saw van ‘t Schip earn over 41 caps for the Nethelands, including selection for the 1988 European Championships and 1990 FIFA World Cup, and make over 400 appearances for AFC Ajax, van ‘t Schip commenced the transition into management.
While van ‘t Schip was initially installed as a coach at AFC Ajax-s renowned youth academy, the former winger eventually progressed to the prestigious role of Head Coach of Jong Ajax, guiding future stars which included World Cup runners-up Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, John Heitinga and Nigel de Jong.
Van ‘t Schip was later appointed Assistant Coach of the Dutch national team, working alongside AC Milan legend and former team mate Marco van Basten during the Oranje-s 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign and 2008 European Championship.
Melbourne Heart FC will immediately commence its search for a new Head Coach, with a view to having a candidate in place for the next pre-season.
