Feyenoord mourn former coach Wiel Coerver

Distinguised Dutch coach Wiel Coerver died aged 86 in his home town of Kerkrade on Friday morning.

Coerver, who was born on 3 December 1924, played at VV Bleijerheide and Rapid JC (now Roda JC), with whom he won the Dutch championship in 1956. He began coaching at SVN three years later before going on to enjoy spells at Roda, Sparta Rotterdam, NEC Nijmegen, the Indonesian national team and Go Ahead Eagles.

His biggest success as a coach, however, came when he won the Eredivisie crown and UEFA Cup – courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate success against Tottenham Hotspur FC – with Feyenoord in 1974. "Every coach relies on his material, but when you win a big prize like that, as a coach you obviously play a huge part," Gerard Meijer, Feyenoord physio for 50 years, said. "Coerver was a man with enormous drive. From the first day he was with us he taught the players technique and some of them really improved."

Passing on that knowledge became Coerver's passion as he went on to develop a range of respected methods. Dutch trainers such as René Meulensteen, now coaching at Manchester United FC, and Ricardo Moniz of FC Salzburg are renowned followers of the 'Coerver Method'.

In 2008, Coerver was rewarded with the 'Oeuvre Award' for his contribution as a coach. As a mark of respect, Feyenoord's players will wear black armbands for their Eredivisie fixture against league leaders PSV Eindhoven on Sunday.