Assistant coach Aleksandar Rankovic was such a major nuisance at Sparta that he had to be suspended. And the leadership of the Rotterdam club took the departure of head coach Henk Fraser into the bargain.
Roughly speaking, that amounts to the departure of the two coaches. Technical director Gerard Nijkamp of the Spangenaren: ,,As a leader you have to take your responsibility and we have done that.”
Technical director Gerard Nijkamp of Sparta calls the departure of Henk Fraser from Sparta painful. The Zwollenaar says he had the intention to finish the season with the coach who is leaving for FC Utrecht. The breaking point was the presence of assistant coach Aleksandar Rankovic at Het Kasteel. ,,We decided early yesterday morning that we had to take Ranko out of the group. It was never the intention that Henk would leave with that.”
Maurice Stein starts already as a trainer of Sparta† De Hagenaar, who was already known to be a trainer in Spangen from next season, follows the got up yesterday Henk Fraser op.
Fraser and Rankovic have been two hands on one stomach for years, also privately. Whether Nijkamp could not have imagined that Fraser would declare his solidarity with his bosom friend? “It would be naive to think that that scenario has not crossed our minds,” he admits. ,,And I also understood well in advance that Henk would not fly into my arms when the announcement that we were going to say goodbye to Ranko. But there is no preconceived plan. As a leader you have to take your responsibility and we have done that.”
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There is no preconceived plan
Nijkamp does not want to indicate exactly why Rankovic was no longer tenable as an assistant coach. Public secret, however, is that some players had difficulty with the character of the native Serb, who is accused of dominance and negativity. Some players would even be afraid of the former head coach of ADO Den Haag.
Fraser decided last night, after several hours of reflection, to declare his solidarity with Rankovic. ,,Gerard and I had a difference of opinion about Rankovic. That is the reason for my departure,” he said today. ,,But I don’t feel any resentment towards Sparta or the people here. I will always be a supporter of this great club.”
steijn
Presumably today it will be officially announced that Maurice Steijn, who will already have final responsibility in Spangen next season, will finish the season. At these moments, the last folds are smoothed out. With four games to go, the Rotterdam club is in acute relegation distress.
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