Gerald Mervin Vanenburg (born 5 March 1964) is a Dutch professional

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 former player who is currently serving as the assistant coach of the Indonesia national team and the head coach of the Indonesia under-23 national team. He amassed

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

totals of 372 games and 112 goals for

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 ...

and PSV combined, winning fifteen major titles between the two clubs, including the 1988 European Cup with the latter. Subsequently he played in Japan, France and Germany, in a 20-year professional career. Vanenburg earned more than 40

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, appearing at the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

and Euro 1988 and winning the latter tournament.

Club career

Ajax

Born in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

se descent, Vanenburg finished his football formation with

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

, and made his

debuts exactly one month after his 17th birthday, against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

. He finished his first season with 11 games and three goals, being soon dubbed ''Vaantje'' and ''Geraldinho'' for his above-average skills. Vanenburg became an undisputed starter for the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

side shortly after, providing countless assists for strikers

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

and

Wim Kieft Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show '' Voetbal Inside'' A prolific ...

and adding 30 himself in two seasons combined as the club won back-to-back national championships; before leaving in June 1986, he scored in double digits in two more seasons. Himself, van Basten, Kieft were amongst a steady stream of talented youngsters that also included Frank Rijkaard that helped to the conquest of three league titles between 1982 and 1985.

PSV

Vanenburg signed for

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

for 1986–87, netting nine goals in 34 matches in his first season, which ended in league conquest. He was part of the team that won the treble the following campaign, with the player appearing in the final of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

and converting his

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

attempt against S.L. Benfica. The backbone of this treble winning team was formed by many of his former teammates at Ajax, including Frank Arnesen, Kieft,

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

and

Søren Lerby Søren Lerby (born 1 February 1958) is a Danish former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent most of his career in Dutch football, winning five Eredivisie championships with Ajax Amsterdam and two with PSV Eindho ...

. Having rejected a lucrative move to

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

, Vanenburg played and scored regularly for PSV in the following five seasons, winning a further three leagues and two Dutch Cups. He appeared in nearly 500 official games between the two clubs, scoring almost 150 goals. He was also one of five European players to ever achieve the feat of winning four competitions – three with their club and one with the national team – in the same year, the others being teammates Berry van Aerle,

Hans van Breukelen Johannes Franciscus "Hans" van Breukelen (; born 4 October 1956) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the technical director of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) from 2017 until 2018. Van Breuk ...

, Kieft and Koeman.

Abroad

Aged 29, Vanenburg had his first abroad experience, helping

Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...

promote to the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

in his first year then playing a further two seasons with them. He finished the 1996–97 campaign back in his country, still being relatively played as hometown's

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 ...

ranked in 12th position. Until his retirement in 2000 at the age of 36, Vanenburg played three more years of top flight football, with

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

(France) and

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...

(Germany), where he began appearing regularly as a sweeper.

International career

Vanenburg made his debut for the

on 14 April 1982 at only 18, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 friendly win with

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. Vanenburg was a member of the Dutch squad at the

1983 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship was the fourth edition FIFA World Youth Championship tournament, hosted from 2 June to 19 June 1983 in seven venues in Mexico — Guadalajara, Irapuato, León, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca — w ...

. He was selected for the

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. France national football team, Fr ...

tournament in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, appearing in all the games as the ''Oranje'' won the competition. Vanenburg was also picked by manager Leo Beenhakker for his

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

squad, but his contribution consisted of 45 minutes against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(1–1 group stage draw), in an eventual round-of-16 exit in Italy. His last international appearance came as a substitute in a 2–2 draw to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 14 October 1992, in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

in a 1994 World Cup qualification match.

Coaching career

After leaving 1860 Munich, Vanenburg immediately returned to PSV where he was appointed the youth team's manager but, during that timeframe, also managed former club TSV during three months, starting in April 2004, with the team eventually being relegated from the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. In 2006–07, Vanenburg coached

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport () is a Dutch professional football club based in Helmond, North Brabant. Founded in 1967 following the acquisition of the professional license of , the club achieved promotion to the top-tier Eredivisie in 1982. After two seasons ...

in 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 ...

, being fired on 17 February 2007. On 1 January of the following year he was appointed at another club in the category,

FC Eindhoven Football Club Eindhoven, commonly known as FC Eindhoven, is a professional association football, football club based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football ...

. On 24 January 2025,

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia (; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of Football soccer, football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930. The PSSI joined FIFA in 1952 and the Asian F ...

officially appointed Vanenburg as the new coach of the Indonesia under-23 national team and the assistant coach for the Indonesia national team under

Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indonesia national team. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national te ...

. In addition, Vanenburg will work closely with the under-20 and under-17 teams to ensure continuity at all levels.

Personal life

Vanenburg was the nephew of former Surinamese international player and manager Roy Vanenburg. The latter was considered one of the greatest footballers in the country's history, having won the

SVB Hoofdklasse The SVB Eerste Divisie is the second highest football championship for clubs run by the Surinaamse Voetbal Bond. The league currently comprises twelve teams and operates a system of promotion and relegation. Seasons run from November to June, w ...

title six times and the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

twice with S.V. Transvaal.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vanenburg goal.''

Honours

Ajax *

: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 1982–83, 1985–86 PSV *

: 1987–88 *Eredivisie: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92 *KNVB Cup: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90 * Johan Cruijff Shield: 1992 Netherlands *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

: 1988 Individual * Dutch Golden Boot: 1988, 1989

References

External links

* * * *
Beijen profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanenburg, Gerald 1964 births Living people Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Footballers from Utrecht (city) Dutch men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football wingers Men's association football utility players Eredivisie players USV Elinkwijk players AFC Ajax players PSV Eindhoven players UEFA Champions League–winning players FC Utrecht players J1 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Júbilo Iwata players Ligue 1 players AS Cannes players Bundesliga players TSV 1860 Munich players Netherlands men's youth international footballers Netherlands men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1988 players 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA European Championship–winning players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Japan Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany Dutch football managers Bundesliga managers TSV 1860 Munich managers Helmond Sport managers FC Eindhoven managers Dutch expatriate football managers Willem II Tilburg non-playing staff 20th-century Dutch sportsmen