According to the Associated Press on Thursday, FC Cincinnati has named Jaap Stam of Kampen, Netherlands as their new head coach. Stam is joining a professional soccer team in the United States for the first time.
As a player, Stam played 16 seasons of professional soccer in Europe. He was with FC Zwolle in the Netherlands from 1992 to 1993, SC Cambuur in the Netherlands from 1993 to 1995, Willem II in the Netherlands from 1995 to 1996, PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands from 1996 to 1998, Manchester United in the English Premier League from 1998 to 2001, Lazio in Italy’s Serie A from 2001 to 2004, A.C. Milan in Italy from 2004 to 2006 and Ajax in the Netherlands from 2006 to 2007.
In 415 professional soccer games in Europe, Stam had 23 goals. He had his most success with PSV Eindhoven as he had 12 goals in 76 games. However, Stam had his most professional appearances with Manchester United as he played 79 games for England’s most famous soccer franchise.
On the international level, Stam scored three goals for the Netherlands. They came in a 3-1 Netherlands win over Belgium in World Cup qualification on September 6, 1997, in a 2-0 win over Peru in a friendly on October 10, 1998, and in a 1-1 tie with the Czech Republic in a friendly on November 13, 1999.
Stam has been a coach since 2014. He was previously with Ajax 2 from 2014 to 2016, Reading (second tier of English soccer) from 2016 to 2018, PEC Zwolle of the Netherlands in 2018 and 2019 and Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 2019. While coaching in the Netherlands’ top league over the last two seasons, Stam had a record of 14 wins, 12 losses, and nine draws.
Stam becomes the fourth coach since FC Cincinnati joined Major League Soccer. Last season, Cincinnati’s first in the MLS, they had three coaches. They were Alan Koch of Durban, South Africa, Yoann Damet of Marseilles, France, and Ron Jans of Zwolle, Netherlands. FC Cincinnati struggled as they only had a record of six wins, 22 losses, and six draws for 24 points.
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