Australian soccer’s infatuation with the Dutch has intensified with John van’t Schip appointed the inaugural coach of A-League club-in-waiting Melbourne Heart.
The Ajax Amsterdam assistant coach has agreed to a two-year deal with the Heart, who enter the A-League next season.
And the 45-year-old is convinced the new franchise can be competitive from the first kick-off.
“Already in the first season we want to be competitive,” van’t Schip said on Wednesday.
“And I think that’s possible.
“We’re willing to have good players, as good as we can get with the salary cap and all the restrictions you have.
“When we start next season we will be competitive. Gold Coast started this year as a newcomer and they are already competitive.
“Normally you don’t have 23 new players, you start a season with a squad that’s used to each other, so that will be a big challenge.
“We will need the time to become a team but it’s important that we don’t just focus on one year, we focus on the coming years to become a stable organisation.”
The job of building the playing list will fall to van’t Schip and recently appointed football manager John Didiluca.
Van’t Schip said the new club would target a high-profile marquee player in a bid to garner an instant following in a city where reigning champions Melbourne Victory have dominated the market since the league’s inception.
“If you want to attract the people you need a big name so that will be a discussion in the coming months,” he said.
“We would like to have a good player, maybe a player who comes from here or is an Australian player.”
He says Heart officials have begun discussions with 40 A-League players, describing their reaction as “very positive.”
“Yes, for sure, it’s difficult but very challenging,” he said.
Van’t Schip played 41 internationals for the Netherlands from 1986-95.
The winger’s impressive playing pedigree also included stints with Ajax and Italian club Genoa.
He was the Dutch assistant coach under Marco van Basten from 2004-08.
He follows in the tracks of several prominent countrymen who have worked in Australia, including former national coach Guus Hiddink, his successor Pim Verbeek, current national technical director Han Berger and Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen.
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