Famous Dutch football coach Leo Beenhakker died at the age of 82, the press service of the country’s Football Federation reported, citing a call from the family of the legendary coach.
The official cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
“The world football community has lost one of its most influential strategists. On April 10, Leo Beenhakker’s family confirmed the death of the famous coach at the age of 82. The Dutch coach, known for his attacking style of play, left a deep mark in both European and Latin American football,” the KNVB statement said.
Leo Beenhakker was born in Rotterdam on August 2, 1942. He managed the clubs “Veendam”, “Cambuur Leeuwarden”, “Go Ahead Eagles”, “Ajax”, “Feyenoord”. He also worked in Switzerland, Mexico, Turkey, Hungary, Spain, where he led Madrid’s “Real” and won La Liga three times.
He also left a significant mark as a national coach - he managed the Netherlands national team, as well as teams from Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Poland, where he was the initiator of the revival of Polish football, leading the team to Euro 2008. For this achievement, he was awarded a high state order of Poland.