New Adelaide United coach Gertjan Verbeek must be given every chance to succeed at the Reds
Now Dutch football coach Gertjan Verbeek is officially in charge of Adelaide United, he must begin the task of maintaining and improving on the Reds’ last manager.
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Adelaide United fans will be wishing new coach Gertjan Verbeek all the best in his new role but club chairman Piet van Der Pol will be hoping his new coach can successfully replace the much-respected Marco Kurz.
The Reds’ chairman must now lead by example both publicly and privately, and display unrivalled support for Verbeek, something that wasn’t evident with Kurz.
Verbeek must be given every chance to keep the club banging towards titles after Kurz was just a couple of penalty kicks short of the A-League championship game against Perth Glory.
Locking in Verbeek for at least two-years will be a huge test not only for the 56-year-old coach but also for the chairman and his safely-guarded vision.
One thing that appears clear is that van der Pol wants Adelaide’s sister club Qingdao Red Lions to work in unison with the Chinese.
At least one of its players has been earmarked for an A-League contract with a view to being on-sold to a Chinese Super League club.
Stating publicly he wanted Adelaide to be a top three club in an extensive interview with The Advertiser in March, the chairman also said budget wasn’t a key.
“Budgets have nothing to do with the quality of players,’’ van der Pol said.
“That is a stupid misunderstanding that fortunately has been proven wrong by Ajax recently beating Real Madrid (in the UEFA Champions League) with six times the budget.”
The Dutch giant may not have the same fiscal power of Real Madrid.
However Ajax was the biggest spending club in the Netherlands this season, having 15 foreigners with a squad valued at $600 million on the transfer market.
The club is ranked 11th on the European market for spending money ($36 million in transfer this off season already).
The Reds according to its officials said “the player salary spend was in excess of $3.9 million,” about $4.5 million less than the reigning A-League champion Sydney FC.
And this passionate sporting state won’t tolerate an outfit with no ambition of winning trophies.
Verbeek will be expected to be presented with a side which can keep pace with big spending Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Sydney FC - that’s been in place since day one of the A-League.
The club must also invest in its development structure.
It must also ensure Verbeek has the perfect training grounds, the Reds were dealt a complete lemon at the back end of last season when they became nomadic after its home base Playford had unplayable pitches for training.
The there’s other issues of players wanting to leave and those the club want to sign, a normal thing in football.
The balance must be perfect.
Verbeek must be given every opportunity to start work without hindrance.
What positions Verbeek needs to fill
A fullback, centre-back stopper, attacking midfielder/playmaker and striker.
Contracted players he may lose
Isaias to a Qatari club
Craig Goodwin - to a potential English club or one of East Asia’s three big leagues
Australians players that Verbeek can sign
Playmaker: SA’s James Troisi - off contract at Victory but not contact made by the Reds
Centre back: SA’s Ryan McGowan - off contract at Bradford City in June but unlikely to move from the UK for family reasons
Centre midfielder: SA’s Bradden Inman - off contract with Rochdale in June.
Gertjan Verbeek
(Pronounced: Hert-yan Ver-baik)
Age: 56
Born: Deventer, Netherlands
Coaching record
Matches: 537
Wins: 228
Draws: 121
Losses: 188
Goals: 925
Goals Against: 784
Total Points: 805
Points Per Match: 1.5
Trophies: Dutch Cup Winner with AZ Alkmaar in 2012/13 season
Clubs coached
Heracles Almelo, Heerenveen, Feyenoord, AZ Alkmaar, Nürnberg, Bochum, FC Twente
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