Johannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɟɔɱ vɑn ət ˈsxɪp]; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a winger, and is the current manager of Eredivisie club Ajax. Born in Canada, he played for the Netherlands national team for nine years. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a European Cup Winners Cup, as well as Genoa. He was also a member of the Dutch side which won the 1988 European Championships.

John van 't Schip
Van 't Schip in 2012
Personal information
Full name Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip[1]
Date of birth (1963-12-30) 30 December 1963 (age 60)
Place of birth Fort St. John, Canada
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
Ajax (Coach)
Youth career
1972–1976 NFC Amstelveen
1976–1981 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1992 Ajax 273 (29)
1992–1996 Genoa 107 (11)
Total 380 (40)
International career
1986–1995 Netherlands 41 (2)
Managerial career
1997–2000 Ajax Youth
2001–2002 Twente
2002–2004 Jong Ajax
2009 Ajax (caretaker)
2010–2012 Melbourne Heart
2012–2013 Guadalajara
2013–2017 Melbourne City[2]
2017–2018 PEC Zwolle
2019–2021 Greece
2023– Ajax
Medal record
Representing  Netherlands
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1988
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Van 't Schip started his managerial career at the Ajax Youth Academy, and his first senior managerial gig was with Twente. He previously was the manager of PEC Zwolle in his native Netherlands and Melbourne City in Australia among others. He managed the Greece national football team from 2019 to 2021. He was then appointed as the manager of Ajax in 2023.

Early life edit

Van 't Schip was born in Fort St. John, British Columbia, and was raised in Powell River, British Columbia, where he grew up playing youth football in the small community before his family moved back to the Netherlands in 1972.

Club career edit

Van 't Schip began his football journey at NFC where he played for four years. He then began his professional career at Ajax in its youth academy. Debuting for the first team on the sixth of December 1981 in a 4–1 win against Haarlem, he spent the next eleven seasons with the club. During this period, he won the Eredivisie in 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1990, as well as the KNVB Beker in 1983, 1986 and 1987. He also helped Ajax win the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 1992 UEFA Cup. After Ajax's UEFA Cup victory, he was transferred to Italian team Genoa, where he played four seasons before ending his career. He helped the club to lift the 1996 Anglo-Italian Cup.

International career edit

On the international level, Van 't Schip, a member of the Dutch squad at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship, was capped 41 times and scored two goals for the Dutch national team. His debut came against Scotland in April 1986, and his final match was a Euro qualifying match against Belarus in June 1995. Van 't Schip featured in the victorious Euro 1988 squad, as well as 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992 tournaments.

Coaching career edit

 
Van 't Schip in 2006

After retiring, Van 't Schip became a youth coach for Ajax and manager for Twente. From August 2004 he assisted Marco van Basten in coaching the Dutch national team, until Van Basten left the position of head coach following Euro 2008. Van 't Schip followed Van Basten to Ajax, becoming assistant coach with Rob Witschge, for the 2008–09 season.[3] On 6 May 2009, after Marco van Basten's resignation, he was named as the interim head coach of Ajax, and coached the club till the end of the season.

Melbourne Heart edit

He was signed by Australian A-League club Melbourne Heart on 12 October 2009, to be their inaugural coach for the 2010–11 season.[4] On 1 February 2012, Van 't Schip announced that he would be leaving the Melbourne Heart at the end of the 2011–12 season, citing personal reasons for his decision.[5] Van't Schip took Heart to their first finals appearance in their second season.[6] Van 't Schip had a major role in the development of Melbourne Heart.[7]

Guadalajara edit

In April 2012, Guadalajara announced, through its Twitter account, that Van 't Schip would be the new coach of the club. Van 't Schip was recommended by his fellow countryman Johan Cruyff, who was working at that moment on a project with the club. Van 't Schip's first competitive game was against Toluca, in which the Chivas lost 2–1.[8]

Van 't Schip was relieved of his duties as coach of Chivas a few days before the start of the Clausura 2013 Season. He was replaced by former Chivas coach Benjamin Galindo.

Return to Melbourne City edit

On 30 December 2013, following 17 winless games by Melbourne Heart and the early termination of John Aloisi's contract, Melbourne Heart re-appointed Van 't Schip as head coach until the end of the season.[9]

On 19 March 2014, after eleven matches coaching the club, including a seven-match unbeaten run, Van 't Schip signed a three-year contract with the club (who would be renamed Melbourne City in June 2014), through to the end of the 2016–17 season.[10]

On 3 January 2017, Van 't Schip resigned as Melbourne City manager to return to the Netherlands to help care for his terminally-ill father.[11]

Greece edit

In July 2019, he was hired as coach of Greece national football team.[12] On 26 November 2021, Van 't Schip resigned as Greece national football team coach.[13]

Return to Ajax edit

On 30 October 2023, Van 't Schip was appointed as head coach of Ajax until the end of the 2023–24 season.[14]

Personal life edit

In addition to his native Dutch, Van 't Schip can also speak English, Spanish and Italian.[15][16][17] His mother in law is Dutch singer and actress Willeke Alberti.[18]

Coaching record edit

As of match played 14 April 2024
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Twente 1 July 2001 10 July 2002 40 13 12 15 032.50
Ajax (interim) 6 May 2009 30 June 2009 1 1 0 0 100.00
Melbourne Heart 1 May 2009 5 April 2012 58 17 21 20 029.31
Guadalajara 1 July 2012 3 January 2013 23 8 6 9 034.78
Melbourne Heart / Melbourne City 14 August 2013 3 January 2017 96 43 22 31 044.79
PEC Zwolle 1 July 2017 19 December 2018 57 21 11 25 036.84
Greece 31 July 2019 31 December 2021 26 11 9 6 042.31
Ajax 30 October 2023 present 30 14 9 7 046.67
Total 331 128 90 113 038.67
  • 1.^ Includes League, Liguilla, Copa MX and CONCACAF Champions League.

Honours edit

 
Van 't Schip (right) with Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff at Ajax in 1985.

Player edit

Club edit

Ajax

 
Van 't Schip (top, second from right) with Ajax teammates celebrating victory in the 1986–87 KNVB Cup.

Genoa

International edit

Netherlands

Manager edit

Melbourne City

References edit

  1. ^ Pelayo, Alejandro (21 April 2012). "John van't Schip llegó al rebaño" [John van't Schip came to the flock]. ESPN. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. ^ the team was known as Melbourne Heart prior to 2014
  3. ^ Marco van Basten new coach Ajax Archived 1 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ajax.nl (22 February 2008)
  4. ^ Grant, Robert. (12 October 2009) Foxsports – Heart get their Dutchman. Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved on 4 January 2013.
  5. ^ Gatt, Ray (1 February 2012). "The Australian – Melbourne Heart coach John van't Schip to quit A-League club". The Australian.
  6. ^ Proud Heart coach John van't Schip sails into sunset. Herald Sun (2 April 2012)
  7. ^ "Van 't Schip leaves legacy of youth". The Age. 28 April 2012.
  8. ^ Van't Schip, nuevo técnico de Chivas | RÉCORD Archived 23 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Record.com.mx (21 April 2012). Retrieved on 4 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Melbourne Heart FC appoint John van't Schip as Head Coach". Football Federation Australia. 30 December 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  10. ^ "John van't Schip Reappointed Head Coach". Football Federation Australia. 19 March 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  11. ^ "John van't Schip resigns as Melbourne City coach". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Greece Hires John Van't Schip as National Team Coach". The National Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  13. ^ Kokkinidis, Tasos (26 November 2021). "Greece Looking for New Football Coach as Van 't Schip Resigns". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Ajax appoints John van 't Schip". AFC Ajax. 30 October 2023.
  15. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "John van't Schip - Press Conference 9/1/14". YouTube.
  16. ^ "Villa's no-fuss A-League arrival".
  17. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "John van't Schip torna a Genova dopo 18 anni: "L'ultima volta fu per Gianluca Signorini"". YouTube.
  18. ^ "Daniëlle van 't Schip, dochter van Willeke Alberti en partner van John van 't Schip, is op 55-jarige leeftijd overleden". The AD. Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

External links edit