I live the situations that I’m coaching, that I’m training now
on and off the pitch.
I know what’s asked
and then it’s up to my qualities as a person, as a coach
to get the players there where we want them.
When are you successful? What’s the measurement?
Well, the measurement is the player.
Without the will of the player there’s nothing.
I mean, I can push the player where I want him
but I’m following the player where he wants to go
and I’m guiding him the way I feel he should be guided,
how the process should be.
Values are important, education is important.
It’s not just getting people here and develop them
as football players, no, I think human side
is just as important for a player for a person
to develop so I think that’s what we stand for.
Is winning prizes with your own team important as well?
I think if we perform to the max that’s the most important thing.
If we do that you can’t do any more
but as a PSV player you need to handle the pressure
of needing to win every game you play.
Is it an advantage that Mark Van Bommel was in
your shoes before? As a coach of the under 19s?
Yes, because Mark started last year. And after one season
in the U-19s he’s now in the first team
and he made an excellent first year in the under 19s
and now as well in the first team so for me it’s fantastic
to be around him and his staff, obviously there’s less contact
with Mark than I have on a daily basis with the other youth coaches,
but Mark and his staff know everything that happens over there.
Are you planning to follow his route as well?
I think, at the moment, I’m there I think where I need to be.
But in the future when possibilities arise
I have to see what’s best for me at that moment but
definitely there to develop myself to see how far I can get
as a coach, as a manager.
Mark is of course being guided by his father-in-law [Bert van Marwijk],
do you also have a guide who you can turn to for advice?
Many former managers and coaches that I spoke to
said ‘Ruud you need to start. It’s an experience job,
you need to experience it and then you will
actually know and feel what it’s all about.’
And I think they’re right you know I did
obviously all my coaching badges and you learn
and everything and that helps but I think actually by
starting and doing it and making your decisions yourself
in every aspect of an individual, a team, a staff
within the club you work for.
Who do you like to call?
I like to call Foppe de Haan, a coach I had at Heerenveen,
supposedly I’m mostly in touch with him
and its fantastic to learn from his experience.
Is it completely different to be on the other side now
as you work with a lot of coaches?
It’s got nothing to do with playing football yourself.
It’s the experience of it that I take into this job
but it’s a completely different story.
How would you describe your own style?
Well, I learnt so much from the managers that I worked for
and I took bits from training sessions, from the way
they coached, the way they talked,
the way they are as human beings.
I was fortunate to work with the best,
with very different styles of management
and different styles of play as well.
It’s not that I demand my vision on a group of players.
I have my ideas obviously how to play but I think
I want to create a team from the players that I have
as individuals, the personalities and the football qualities.
I want to combine that into what’s best for that group of players.