RIP Leo Beenhakker (82) great guy and one of the best people managers in Football !
In 1980 and 1990 he became champion with Ajax. In 1999 he won the national title with Feyenoord. 'Don Leo' became legendary as head coach of Real Madrid, where he became champion of Spain three years in a row (1987-1989).
Beenhakker was known for his sharp and sometimes humorous statements.
Official Announcement: Leo Beenhakker passes away OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.10/04/2025 Real Madrid C. F., its president and board of directors, are deeply saddened by the death of Leo Beenhakker, the legendary Real Madrid coach who led the Whites between 1986 and 1989, and in 1992.
Real Madrid would like to express their condolences and affection to his family, clubs, and loved ones.
During the four seasons that he managed Real Madrid, Leo Beenhakker won 3 LaLiga titles, 1 Copa del Rey, and 2 Spanish Super Cups.
Leo Beenhakker had a long career managing numerous clubs in Europe and Mexico, along with several national teams. With Ajax Amsterdam, he won 2 Dutch leagues, and with Feyenoord, 2 Dutch Leagues and 2 Dutch Super Cups. He managed the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia, and Poland as a national coach.
Leo Beenhakker has passed away at the age of 82. Real Madrid extends its condolences to all Madridistas. May he rest in peace.
Because Ajax could use a bit of ponum , technical director Leo Beenhakker brought a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Ajax in the summer of 2001. The Amsterdammers did indeed get some color from the tall Swede, who admired and frustrated, but then there was always house psychologist Don Leo. Two decades later he looks back.
Following the passing of Beenhakker, VI is bringing this story about him and Zlatan Ibrahimovic back into the spotlight. To commemorate Don Leo, we are offering this story to everyone for free. Leo Beenhakker: 'In the autumn of 2000 I got a phone call from John Steen Olsen. “I've seen one now, Leo”, he said. Well, if he comes up with it… Steen Olsen is a legendary scout, I took him very seriously. He told me that a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic was going to play a preparatory tournament with Malmö in La Manga, like many teams in Scandinavia do. I asked John van 't Schip to go and have a look, you never know. He called that same evening. “I would come quickly”, he said. Together with Co Adriaanse, then coach at Ajax, I got on the first plane. We saw Zlatan play and train and I was convinced right away: we had to have him.'
Leo Beenhakker explains that he did not immediately see a top player on the pitches in La Manga. He recognised a talent with the potential to become a top player. 'I learned from Riemer van der Velde that you should not look at what it is, but at what it could become. With Zlatan I had a feeling that it could become something, indeed. We then went to talk to him. He had already been to Arsenal, but that club did not give him the feeling that he could play there straight away. “Well”, I said, “at Ajax we don't really look at age, you know”. That's what he wanted to hear. Then financial director Jeroen Slop concluded an agreement with Malmö and we had that tall one on board.'
PONUM Zlatan already had the reputation of Bad Boy , but Beenhakker was not impressed. “Ajax could use a bit of ponum ”, he said at the time in Voetbal International, because in addition to the headstrong Swede, an equally headstrong Egyptian also came to Amsterdam that summer: Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam. 'Yeah, well', laughs Beenhakker, 'we had a nice group together, you know. Van der Vaart had broken through, Sneijder and Nigel de Jong were coming, those two guys too… But I always said: Give me eleven headstrong guys and I'll be champion . The only problem is that those guys are still young with everything that comes with it. We got Zlatan from Malmö and he ended up in a flat in Diemen all by himself. Like: just manage. If you're not grown up and you haven't had such a nice childhood… Then things can sometimes clash. Personally, I don't think that's so strange.'
It clashed, and hard too. The trainers, Co Adriaanse and later Ronald Koeman, could not get a grip on the tall Swede who in turn had difficulty adapting to the laws of top-level football. The best plays, not the player who thinks he is the best. Beenhakker: 'Zlatan had difficulty with it. He immediately thought he was good enough. I looked at it and secretly thought it was nice too. Those are the characters, aren't they, the real winners who pull other players along. The problem is that you first have to force it. A trainer is busy with today, I as technical director also looked to tomorrow and when I did that I saw so much potential in that guy, so much drive for assertiveness, it was almost unbelievable. You would like to grab a boy like that by his hair, but that is not possible. He had to get through it, he had to do it himself.'
STRONG BOND During that time, a close bond developed between the tall Swede and the experienced technical director. After yet another disappointment, Zlatan sought out Don Leo. That happened more and more often. Beenhakker always had a listening ear. 'If you can get Hugo Sánchez and Bernd Schuster to play football, it should also work with Zlatan, I thought. But that was not easy at first. I could understand that guy because I had understood from Hasse Borg, the sports director of Malmö, how difficult it must have been for Zlatan in the past. In addition, I could not challenge the authority of the head coach. And to make matters even more complicated, Zlatan did not hit a single marble in his first half season. We had paid almost 7.5 million for a striker who turned out not to be a killer. Those weeks, after every match, I felt more and more eyes pricking in my back, like: What has Beenhakker achieved now? Director Arie van Eijden did not look too happy either. Patience, patience , was all I could say.'
'My part wasn't big, I just never wanted to drop it, while there were people who thought it was a good idea'
Zlatan kept knocking on Beenhakker's door. That's how those conversations went. Beenhakker: '"Hey Boss", he would say and then he started complaining about everything and anything. As soon as he had calmed down we started talking seriously. I said that I understood him, that I knew what it must be like, alone in a flat in Diemen. I had experienced it all myself in Zaragoza, Madrid, Mexico and everywhere else in the world. Even later, when I was the national coach of Poland and had been working in this profession for forty years, I had trouble being alone abroad. Let alone a twenty-year-old boy. In the end it's all about one thing: trust. They have to feel that. And then you need a moment, a good move, a goal. That's how it went with Zlatan. He scored, then again, then he started playing good football and then he was over it. My part wasn't big, I just never wanted to let him down, while there were people who thought that was a good idea.'
IMPRESSIVE The rest is history. Zlatan Ibrahimovic became so good at Ajax that Juventus bought him. After that, he became champion at Internazionale, Barcelona, ??AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and played for Manchester United, LA Galaxy and AC Milan again. 'That says something, doesn't it', Beenhakker knows. 'His body functioned for a long time, because he took care of it and because he is just a total athlete. He is tall and strong, reasonably fast. And don't forget that he has had to endure a lot in his position. But that body... When we first saw him in La Manga, twenty years ago, he was not yet fully grown, he had just had a growth spurt. But at the time he looked impressive with that physique. I think it's great that when everyone in your generation has already stopped, you continue for a while and not with the amateurs, but simply at the highest level in the Serie A.'
How does Beenhakker rank Ibrahimovic when he measures him against the best strikers he has worked with in his long and impressive career? 'As the most complete of them all', says Beenhakker. 'Just think: he was deadly in the sixteen, kept the ball, had an eye for the people running around him, created his own opportunities and was able to turn no opportunity into an opportunity. But in terms of coolness, I think only Lewandowski comes close. By the way, I saw him come too, I brought him from Lech Poznan to the Polish national team. That sounds very logical now, but at that time they didn't do the polonaise at the national office and they almost asked if I was crazy. Never heard anything from him again, by the way.'
HUG As is the case in football, everyone has their own plan. Leo Beenhakker and Zlatan Ibrahimovic met one more time. 'That was during the World Cup in Germany, when I had to play against Sweden with Trinidad & Tobago. I remember coming onto the pitch during the warm-up. Those Swedes were doing all sorts of complicated exercises, when Zlatan broke away from them and walked up to me. All those guys were looking at him, but he didn't care. He just went to say hello to his old friend from Ajax. “Hey, coach,” he said laughing and then gave me such a warm hug. That said a lot. And then we just started playing football. There is no better form of respect.'
Was quite busy the past few days! Hollander yes I saw the three great Dutchmen interview - cool stuff!
Glad for Arsenal to have passed through, they really deserve it.
Final I think is going to be PSG - Barca, I root for Barca in that case because I'd really love to see a teenager Yamal lift the UCL trophy; but on the other hand, PSG winning their first UCL right after Mbappe left... that would be, as the kids say, absolute cinema.
Arsenal in the final would be great they love Dutch Football Jurriën Timber now. Dennis Bergkamp Marc Overmars Giovanni van Bronckhorst Robin van Persie in the past.
![[Linked Image]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Leo_Beenhakker_20_02_2008_%281%29.jpg/500px-Leo_Beenhakker_20_02_2008_%281%29.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://vi.cdn.pxr.nl/.imaging/mte/vinl-website-theme/948x534/dam/articles/2021/10/02/copyright-proshots-4801359.jpg/jcr:content/copyright-proshots-4801359.jpg)
