PSV has appointed former player Ibrahim Afellay as assistant coach. The club said this in a statement. Afellay played as a midfielder for the Dutch national team, FC Barcelona, Olympiakos and Schalke 04.
After a successful career as a player at various clubs, in which he won four Dutch national titles, the Champions League, the KNVB Cup and several national titles in Greece and Spain, he announced in 2021 that he would retire as a professional football player. His contract with PSV was not extended, after which Afellay was left without a club. In recent years he has been active as a trainer.
Trainer
For example, he was an assistant coach in the youth academy of Feyenoord and at the Dutch Under 19 team, which won the European Championship last summer. “When I was asked for this role, I immediately started to get excited,” Afellay said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get started after the winter break and do my part.”
Afellay joined PSV at the age of ten and played more than 200 official matches in the red and white kit. The new assistant coach will join the team for the first time during the training camp in Spain, which is scheduled for January.
With the arrival of Afellay, André Ooijer will stop as assistant coach at PSV. “This news will come as a surprise to some,” says Ooijer. “I have struggled quite a bit with this. But one thing is paramount for me: being honest with myself.”
No fun
According to Ooijer, the position no longer gives him enough pleasure. “And it is precisely that commitment that is essential for me to achieve maximum success together.” In his statement he announced that he would completely retire from the football world. “I made this known at an early stage, so that PSV had sufficient time to find a suitable successor.”
The former assistant coach concludes with words of thanks. “I wish Ibrahim, my old teammate, every success. I will continue to follow the club closely.”