National team coach Andries Jonker kicks off the World Cup with the Orange Women on Sunday. It is a new chapter in his rather colorful resume. Jonker has worked for prestigious clubs like Barcelona and Arsenal, as well as for MVV and Telstar.
"That's what I admire about him. He can adapt to all levels, including working with men and women. He doesn't consider himself too big for anything," says goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek, who got to know him in the 1990s when he was an intern at Ajax. "He absorbed everything he could. He was incredibly serious and consistent, always eager to learn and asked a lot of questions."
At that time, Louis van Gaal allowed him to join the team. "Van Gaal was a supporter of internships, not just for players like Jari Litmanen and Nwankwo Kanu but also for coaches. They had a connection."
Jonker may not have the same charisma as Van Gaal, but people often assume they have similar personalities. "That's a misunderstanding," Hoek clarifies. "You don't get more of the same. In that sense, Albert Stuivenberg (Van Gaal's assistant at Manchester United) is closer to Louis in character, but people misjudge that."
After his appointment as the coach of the Lionesses, Johan Derksen called him a dreamer who consistently worked above his level. Critics have always seen Jonker as a teacher who got lost in top football thanks to Van Gaal. "He has been unfairly criticized," says Hoek. "People are too quick to put others in boxes."
"Jonker has been in the game for over thirty years, holding almost every position from department head at the KNVB to the highest level. When will he shake off that label? Look at people's achievements. He didn't step into an easy situation after Mark Parsons' period. He took charge of a group that had gone through a lot and was divided. The focus is on the performance in the upcoming World Cup, but I have the impression that he has it under control."
