René Meulensteen
Encyclopedia
René Meulensteen is a Dutch
football coach. He holds both the UEFA
"A" and the Royal Dutch FA
"TCI" coaching licenses. Meulensteen played football himself in the Dutch lower leagues as a midfielder
but he retired from playing at the age of 29. He is currently employed by Manchester United
, serving as their first team coach.
While still playing, he became a youth coach at NEC Nijmegen. A keen admirer of the training methods of Wiel Coerver
, he went to Qatar
at age 29 to work with Coerver, and the national youth players of Qatar. He went on to coach both the Qatar national team
under 16's and under 17's youth sides. In 1999, he became manager of Qatar
i side Al-Etehad (now known as Al-Gharrafa
). While Manchester United were lifting the 1999 UEFA Champions League
trophy, Meulensteen was lifting the Middle East
equivalent Arab Cup trophy. In 2000 he moved to league rivals Al-Sadd
, where he managed the team to winning the domestic Emir Cup competition.
As Meulensteen objected to the team management's inclusion of particular foreign players in Al-Saad, he left the club. Having already showed interest in Meulensteen before he moved to Al-Saad, Sir Alex Ferguson
and academy director Les Kershaw
persuaded him to join Manchester United as "Skills Development Coach" in 2001, coaching all of the youngsters from age 9 to 21. In December 2005, Sir Alex Ferguson promoted him to manage Manchester United's reserve team, after the departure of Ricky Sbragia
who left to become first team coach with Sam Allardyce
and Sammy Lee
at Bolton Wanderers. Meulensteen retained his role as "Skills Development Coach".
In June 2006, he signed a three year contract with Danish
club Brøndby IF
to become first team coach of the club. Also in 2006, Meulensteen completed his UEFA Pro License
. His first half year as Brøndby coach turned out unsuccessful. In the winter break following the first half of the 2006-07 Danish Superliga
season, Brøndby were in 7th place, 19 points adrift the leading side, local rivals F.C. Copenhagen
. As Brøndby had finished as either champions or runners-up every year since the 1994-95 season
, on January 5, 2007, Meulensteen and Brøndby IF dissolved their cooperation. Meulensteen didn't share the same views in the way forward as members of the Brøndby IF board. Meulensteen returned to live in Manchester
, while Brøndby IF hired former head coach and then youth trainer Tom Køhlert
as head coach for 2½ years.
On 18 January 2007, Meulensteen rejoined Manchester United as technical skills development coach mainly to work with the first team. After the departure in July 2008 of their assistant manager, Carlos Queiroz
to Portugal
as their national team
manager, Meulensteen took over as first team coach, with Mike Phelan
being promoted to assistant manager. Both assumed their new roles on 13 August 2008.
Since his appointment as First Team Coach, Rene has helped Sir Alex Ferguson secure 3 more Premier League titles (2008/2009/2011), 1 Champions League (2008) 2 Carling Cups (2009/2010) A world cup for club teams (2008) and 3 Charity Shields (2008,2010,2011).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
football coach. He holds both the UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
"A" and the Royal Dutch FA
Royal Dutch Football Association
The Royal Dutch Football Association is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues , the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch national football team. It is based in the municipality of Zeist.The KNVB came into being on 8 December 1889...
"TCI" coaching licenses. Meulensteen played football himself in the Dutch lower leagues as a midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
but he retired from playing at the age of 29. He is currently employed by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, serving as their first team coach.
While still playing, he became a youth coach at NEC Nijmegen. A keen admirer of the training methods of Wiel Coerver
Wiel Coerver
Wiel Coerver was a football manager from the Netherlands and the developer of the Coerver Method, a soccer coaching technique. He won the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord Rotterdam in the 1973-1974 season....
, he went to Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
at age 29 to work with Coerver, and the national youth players of Qatar. He went on to coach both the Qatar national team
Qatar national football team
The Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...
under 16's and under 17's youth sides. In 1999, he became manager of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
i side Al-Etehad (now known as Al-Gharrafa
Al-Gharrafa
Al-Gharafa Sports Club is primarily a Qatari football club from Doha, although it also has teams for other sports. It was established on the 6 June 1979 as Al-Ittihad and later officially incorporated into the Qatar Football Association on the 23 September that same year...
). While Manchester United were lifting the 1999 UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
trophy, Meulensteen was lifting the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
equivalent Arab Cup trophy. In 2000 he moved to league rivals Al-Sadd
Al-Sadd
Sadd Sports Club known as Al-Sadd Club is a Qatari sports club, best known for its football team of the Qatar National First Division, from the city of Doha. The club goes with the Nickname "Al-Zaeem", which translates to "The Boss", and was founded by four students on the October 21, 1969 in...
, where he managed the team to winning the domestic Emir Cup competition.
As Meulensteen objected to the team management's inclusion of particular foreign players in Al-Saad, he left the club. Having already showed interest in Meulensteen before he moved to Al-Saad, Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
and academy director Les Kershaw
Les Kershaw
Les Kershaw is the former chief scout and Academy Director for Manchester United.Kershaw studied at Manchester Metropolitan University before being recruited by United manager Alex Ferguson...
persuaded him to join Manchester United as "Skills Development Coach" in 2001, coaching all of the youngsters from age 9 to 21. In December 2005, Sir Alex Ferguson promoted him to manage Manchester United's reserve team, after the departure of Ricky Sbragia
Ricky Sbragia
Richard "Ricky" Sbragia is a Scottish former footballer and manager. As a coach, he spent time at Manchester United and Bolton, before joining Roy Keane's backroom staff at Sunderland. Sbragia became manager of Sunderland following Keane's departure, although he himself resigned in 2009 after...
who left to become first team coach with Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
and Sammy Lee
Sammy Lee (footballer)
Samuel "Sammy" Lee is an English football coach and former player. He played most of his career for hometown club Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s as a midfielder, and also represented England fourteen times....
at Bolton Wanderers. Meulensteen retained his role as "Skills Development Coach".
In June 2006, he signed a three year contract with Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
club Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short...
to become first team coach of the club. Also in 2006, Meulensteen completed his UEFA Pro License
UEFA Pro License
The UEFA Pro Licence is a coaching licence from UEFA . The UEFA Pro Licence is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences....
. His first half year as Brøndby coach turned out unsuccessful. In the winter break following the first half of the 2006-07 Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga 2006-07
The 2006–07 Danish Superliga season was the 17th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, which determined the winners of the Danish football championship. It was governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 19, 2006 to the final match on May...
season, Brøndby were in 7th place, 19 points adrift the leading side, local rivals F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment....
. As Brøndby had finished as either champions or runners-up every year since the 1994-95 season
Danish Superliga 1994-95
The 1994-95 Danish Superliga season was the 5th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association....
, on January 5, 2007, Meulensteen and Brøndby IF dissolved their cooperation. Meulensteen didn't share the same views in the way forward as members of the Brøndby IF board. Meulensteen returned to live in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, while Brøndby IF hired former head coach and then youth trainer Tom Køhlert
Tom Køhlert
Tom Køhlert is a Danish former football player at, and former manager of, Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga.He started playing for Brøndby IF right from the beginning in 1964. He becam manager in 1981....
as head coach for 2½ years.
On 18 January 2007, Meulensteen rejoined Manchester United as technical skills development coach mainly to work with the first team. After the departure in July 2008 of their assistant manager, Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
as their national team
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
manager, Meulensteen took over as first team coach, with Mike Phelan
Mike Phelan
Michael Christopher "Mike" Phelan , also known as Mick Phelan or Micky Phelan, is an English football coach, former player, and current assistant manager of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson....
being promoted to assistant manager. Both assumed their new roles on 13 August 2008.
Since his appointment as First Team Coach, Rene has helped Sir Alex Ferguson secure 3 more Premier League titles (2008/2009/2011), 1 Champions League (2008) 2 Carling Cups (2009/2010) A world cup for club teams (2008) and 3 Charity Shields (2008,2010,2011).