FC Cincinnati appoint ex-Man Utd player as manager

Former Manchester United star Jaap Stam has been named as the new manager of FC Cincinnati, the MLS club confirmed the news on Thursday.

The Dutchman had been unemployed since leaving his role at Feyenoord Rotterdam in October 2019 following a 0-4 hammering at the hands of rivals Ajax.

Stam also has managerial experience with both Reading FC in England and PEC Zwolle in his homeland.

It was at the latter where Stam first partnered with current Cincinnati general manager Gerard Nijkamp.

FC Cincinnati confirmed the news on Twitter:

In his day Jaap Stam was a dominating centre-back who played for several Dutch clubs before joining Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven in 1996 and world football giants Manchester United in 1998.

It was in England where he would accomplish his greatest honor as a player, winning the 1999 UEFA Champions League, as part of a defense that beat Bayern Munich of Germany 2-1 in the final.

He was also a three-time EPL winner before falling out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson and subsequently leaving for Italian Serie A side Lazio in 2001. Stam finished his playing career with Ajax in 2007 after earning 67 caps for the Netherlands national team, playing at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and European Championships in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

FC Cincinnati have already gone through three coaches since joining the MLS last year. Alan Koch was dismissed less than three months into the 2019 campaign. His replacement, Ron Jans, resigned on 17 February amid an investigation into his alleged use of a racial slur, and Yoann Damet had been the club’s interim coach before Thursday’s announcement.