Ad Zonderland (2 October 1940 – 15 August 2007) was a Dutch

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and football administrator. He worked for several Dutch football clubs, most notably

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

(as assistant and interim manager) and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

(as coordinator of their Ghana and South Africa academies).

Managerial career

Zonderland started his managerial career with

JOS Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

and then moved to

De Graafschap Vereniging Betaald Voetbal De Graafschap, simply known as De Graafschap () is a professional association football club based in Doetinchem, Netherlands. The team competes in the , the second level of the Dutch football league system. Founded o ...

, where he became first team manager in 1967. Here, he would become known for "discovering"

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

as a player, convincing him to switch from youth coach to professional footballer. He also led the club to promotion to the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

by winning the

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

in the 1968–69 season. In 1971, he was contracted by

as assistant manager. On two occasions, he acted as interim manager: in 1973, after

Ernst Happel Ernst Franz Hermann Happel (29 November 1925 – 14 November 1992) was an Austrian football player and manager. Happel is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, winning both league and domestic cup titles in the Netherlands, Bel ...

left the club, and in 1976, when Antoni Brzeżańczyk departed. Zonderland then became manager of Eerste Divisie club

FC Den Bosch FC Den Bosch () is a professional football club from 's-Hertogenbosch, They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie. They were founded 18 August 1965, as FC Den Bosch/BVV. They are the successor of BVV (1906) and Wilhelmina (1890). Their stadiu ...

, a post he fulfilled for two seasons between 1976 and 1978. He subsequently became general director, a position he would hold for nine years aside from a temporary return as manager from 1980 to 1981.

Later career

In 1990, Zonderland was hired as director of

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

. Between 1992 and 1995, he served

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

in the same capacity. Subsequently, Zonderland was appointed by

to coordinate their new football academy in Ghana. As such, he appeared in the 2000 documentary Ajax: Hark the Herald Angel Sings. After four years in Ghana, in 2002, Zonderland was appointed "director of the coaches" at

Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and ma ...

in South Africa. Zonderland died in Borne on 15 August 2007, aged 66, of a terminal illness.

Managerial honours

;De Graafschap *

winners: 1968–69

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zonderland, Ad 1940 births 2007 deaths Footballers from Haarlem Dutch football managers Eredivisie managers Eerste Divisie managers JOS Watergraafsmeer managers De Graafschap managers Feyenoord managers FC Den Bosch managers Dutch expatriates in Ghana Dutch expatriates in South Africa Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality