Off the wire
• Brazilia's Rousseff approval rating sinks to 9 percent  • Twenty years on, Srebenica massacre weighs on int'l community's conscience: UN chief  • Top U.S. trade official hopes Asia-Pacific trade deal sent to Congress by year's end  • Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launches online shop in Brazil  • EU holds first discussion on first steps towards bloc's EMU  • Finland's entry ban of Russian officials harms relationship: FM  • Britain condemns attacks on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula  • UN Security Council welcomes Libyan political dialogue  • Iran gets back 13 tons of gold in sanction relief  • Roundup: U.S. stocks extend gains on upbeat data  
You are here: 　 Home

Blind new head coach Dutch national team

Xinhua, July 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Danny Blind has been named head coach of the Netherlands national team from August 1 on Wednesday, taking over from Guus Hiddink, under whom he served as assistant coach until recently.

Last Monday the Dutch football association KNVB had already announced that the 68-year-old Hiddink had left his position as head coach. The KNVB now reached an agreement with Blind about the change of position. Blind will also serve as head coach from 2016 until August 1, 2018, as already agreed last year, with a moment of evaluation scheduled after the 2015-16 season.

"We are pleased that we have quickly found a suitable successor to Guus Hiddink soon after his departure, and from within our own ranks as well. We wish Danny and his staff every success," said KNVB director Bert van Oostveen in a press release.

Blind, the father of current Dutch international Daley Blind, responded from his holiday address: "Together with the staff and players, I'll be working hard to ensure qualification for next year's European Championships,"

"That's my only goal, to reach next year's Euros. I'm not looking back, I'm not going to look beyond next year either, only reaching the European Championship counts," he added.

The only head coach experience of the 53-year-old former Dutch international Blind was at Ajax from March 2005 to May 2006. He was assistant coach of former Dutch national team coach Louis van Gaal from 2012 to 2014. Endit