ADO appoints former international Mathijsen as technical director

ADO Den Haag has found a new technical director in Joris Mathijsen. The 43-year-old former international was in the same position with Willem II from 2016 to 2022. At the Tilburgers, he was fired in March last year. after head coach Fred Grim was put on the street the same day.

Mathijsen’s main task will be to bring ADO back to the premier league, from which the Hague club relegated in 2021. “I accepted the challenge to bring ADO Den Haag back to where it belongs,” Mathijsen explained.

As a player, Mathijsen played for Willem II, AZ, Hamburger SV, Málaga and Feyenoord. In 2010, the 84-time international played the World Cup final against Spain with Oranje. In 2015, he put a stop to his career and a year later started as technical director of Willem II.

With a fifth-place finish in the 2019/2020 season, which was not finished because of corona, Mathijsen initially received all the praise for his work at Willem II. After that, performance declined with the 2022 relegation, when Mathijsen had already been fired, as the low point.

ADO is still looking for a new trainer. Earlier on Thursday, the club already presented Natascha van Grinsven-Admiraal as general manager. She comes over from Telstar, where she was commercial director.