Pietje Bell sounds right coaching notes

A mercurial, flighty midfielder during his playing days, Mario Been has been a revelation as coach during his two-and-a-half years at NEC Nijmegen, culminating in the Dutch side's progress to the UEFA Cup Round of 32.

'Pietje Bell' 
Few who knew Been the player would have imagined his smooth passage into top-flight coaching, as he seemed hewed from a very different strata. A supremely gifted playmaker – Been pipped Gerald Vanenburg and Marco van Basten to the 1984 Dutch Football Talent of the Year award – he drove coaches to despair, a love of a joke underlining his reputation as a man not exactly constricted by discipline. He became known as 'Pietje Bell', a Dutch literary character of the Dennis the Menace mould and while he made his Oranje debut as a substitute against Austria in 1984 those 17 minutes were all his international career would amount to. By contrast, four years later Vanenburg and Van Basten were helping the Netherlands to EURO '88 success.

Publican option
Yet Been has become adept at turning that negative into a positive, holding himself up as a warning to his players at NEC. "Mario always tells us he never realised his potential during his playing career," said defender Patrick Pothuizen. "He warns: 'You never must become the way I was.'" Indeed, for all his potential Been ended a playing career that took in spells at Pisa Calcio, Roda JC, SC Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck and SBV Excelsior with just the 1983/84 league and cup double while at Feyenoord to show for it. Upon retirement he temporarily turned his back on football as he eyed a career as a publican, before opting to take his coaching licence and accepting a position in the youth ranks at Excelsior.

Early success
A spell as Bert van Marwijk's assistant at Feyenoord followed, helping the side win the 2001/02 UEFA Cup before guiding Excelsior to the Eredivisie. After acting as Leo Beenhakker's second in command with Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 FIFA World Cup he took the reins at NEC. Tenth in his first season, the Nijmegen side were struggling at the start of 2007/08 but the club board showed faith, offering a two-year contract extension and were duly rewarded as NEC qualified for the UEFA Cup. This term they have advanced to the Round of 32, a 2-0 victory against Udinese Calcio setting up a meeting with Hamburger SV thanks to goals from Collins John and Jhon van Beukering.

Been effect
Striker Van Beukering is testament to the Been effect. Dropped from the first team in November after piling on weight, he lost four kilograms in a week and returned with a vengeance, the Udinese goal his fifth in four outings. "I can be very strict, but at the same time I give the boys as much responsibility as possible," said Been. "I am the kind of trainer I would have loved to have had as a player. In coaching it is all about pleasure, character and team spirit. I want my players to run on the pitch with smiles on their faces." He certainly practices what he preaches. During a tepid goalless draw against ADO Den Haag in December, he asked, via the stadium announcer, if the fans were still awake during the half-time interval. "I really like it in Nijmegen and see a lot of potential here," said the 45-year-old recently, after committing himself to the club until 2012. Potential is something Been knows all about and finally, it seems, he is realising his.