Co Adriaanse signs in Austria

Its a bit remarkable… Co Adriaanse to me is the best coach Holland has. True, he hasn’t won any major prizes and true, he comes across as stubborn and arrogant… But still, I think he is the best. And he is going to manage Red Bull Salzburg next season. Contract for one year with a mutual option for more. The current champs in the Austrian competition are again leading the pack. Adriaanse will succeed Trapattoni. “I really look forward to this challenge. Next year, we’ll probably play Champions League football. The club is utterly professional and I see a lot of potential. I also don’t have a language barrier here, which helps enormously with my way of working.”

This is Co’s fourth foreign job after leaving AZ in 2005. He managed FC Porto, Metallurg Donetsk and Al-Sadd.
Adriaanse won the title and the cup in Portugal in 2006 but decided to leave after a conflict with the allmighty chairman Di Pinto. Because of this, he had to kiss his 2 Mio euros premium goodbye. “But principles to me are more important than euros.” Easy to say when you’re already very well off of course :-). In the Ukraine and Qatar it was harder for Adriaanse to be successful. “I made a mistake there. My way of working requires optimal communication and that was basically impossible for me with those two clubs. I shouldn’t have taken those steps. Although the experiences were great and have made me a better person and coach.”

Several Dutch clubs wanted to sign Adriaanse, like Feyenoord, Heerenveen and FC Utrecht. But Adriaanse stated that he doesn’t want to work in Holland anymore (he lives in France, in the Alps). “The Dutch society is deteriorating. I rather stay away from Holland.”