Blind replaces Hiddink as Netherlands coach
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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Former AFC Ajax boss Danny Blind will step up from an assistant role to become Netherlands head coach after he was appointed Guus Hiddink's successor.
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Danny Blind has been announced as the new coach of the Netherlands after Guus Hiddink stepped down from the role on Monday.
The Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) had already confirmed that the former AFC Ajax boss would take charge after UEFA EURO 2016, but the appointment has been brought forward by a year after Hiddink's departure. With the Oranje lying third in qualifying Group A, Blind will officially take charge on 1 August after agreeing a contract until August 2018.
"Together with the staff and players I am going to work hard to qualify for next year's EURO," said the 53-year-old. "That is my only goal, to reach the European Championship."
A member of Ajax's 1995 UEFA Champions League-winning side, the 42-cap Dutchman started his coaching career with the Amsterdam club's youth team four years later. Before joining then national team trainer Louis van Gaal's coaching staff in 2012, Blind served Ajax in a variety of roles, namely as head of youth development, coach, technical director and assistant to Martin Jol and Frank de Boer.
