'Foppe' fighting fit at 64

Three days after winning the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the second successive season, Netherlands coach Foppe de Haan may be celebrating his 64th birthday but people at home are predicting a bright future.

'Logical successor'
The former SC Heerenveen coach is being spoken of as a paragon of modern coaching virtue and even, by newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, as a future senior national team coach. "Foppe de Haan would be Marco van Basten's most logical successor, whenever that might be," wrote the newspaper. At 64, time may not be on De Haan's side, but while his contract with the Royal Netherlands Football Association will expire after he leads his charges to the Olympics in Beijing, retirement is not yet an option. "I have a contract until 2008 and then I can start living off my old-age pension," he joked to uefa.com. "My wife says: 'If you stop it will be the death of you.' That is not true, but as long as I am fit enough it will be fun to carry on."

Still eligible
Certainly he has much to look forward to. Of the current squad, 13 will still be eligible for a crack at a third U21 title in 2009, including Gianni Zuiverloon, Ryan Donk, Royston Drenthe, Ismaïl Aissati and Ryan Babel. De Haan will also be able to call on Urby Emanuelson and Ibrahim Afellay - who both missed the recent finals through injury - and has a new crop of youngsters on the way. Dirk Marcellis of PSV Eindhoven, Tim Vincken from Feyenoord and the AZ Alkmaar pair of Jeremain Lens and Ruud Vormer are all looking to make the step up to the U21 team after impressing at youth level.

Ideal position
De Haan has proved his ability with young professionals, as Algemeen Dagblad wrote: "De Haan sticks with selecting the best players, chooses the system that suits them best, creates a real team, is successful and has a lot of fun. He is the ideal national team coach - a modern, older man who does not take himself too seriously." The question is whether there is any job that would suit him better than the one his is currently shining in. The man now known affectionately throughout the Netherlands simply as Foppe said of his squad after the finals: "It's hugely satisfying to teach them something and see them pay me back by carrying out my instructions on the pitch. That worked really well. And when you end up with a trophy to boot, it makes you very proud of the boys. And the lads know that I am a real trainer - I like to train, to coach and turn them into better players."