Ebullient Been gets new NEC terms

Mario Been has been handed a two-year extension to his contract at NEC Nijmegen, with the 45-year-old coach having led the Dutch side to the UEFA Cup Round of 32 with a 2-0 victory over Udinese Calcio on Thursday night.

Third place
Been, who won the 2001/02 UEFA Cup as assistant to Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk, is now committed to NEC until 2012, with his side having prevailed against the Italian side to finish third in Group D. "This feeling is impossible to describe," Been, hired by NEC in 2006, said last night. "But it's a compliment to everyone at his club that in the end we still accomplished it."

'Usually suicide'
NEC looked to be out of the competition at half-time, with the scores level at the De Goffert Stadium and FC Spartak Moskva winning 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur FC, but Been's men went for broke after the interval. "In second half it was all or nothing for us, and against an Italian side that is usually suicide," said Been, who was a midfielder in Italy with Pisa Calcio from 1988 to 1991.