‘Idea that a reason has been sought’

Trainer Jeroen Rijsdijk was surprised and amazed when he was fired by Sparta Rotterdam ten days ago. “I have the feeling that a reason was being sought,” he says Studio Footballwhere he responded for the first time to his dismissal from the club with which he was eleventh in the Premier League.

The evening before his dismissal, Sparta under Rijsdijk won 6-1 against amateur club Hercules in the cup after extra time. The next morning, Rijsdijk said he noticed for the first time that the club wanted to get rid of him. “I had five missed calls. Then I thought, they won’t call for anything else.”

His premonition came true and he was fired that same morning. A day later, the return of Maurice Steijn, who also coached Sparta in the 2022/2023 season, was announced.

“What I heard as the reason for my dismissal is the lack of sporting development. You can explain that in all kinds of ways. It was never explained to me what that means. If you are eleventh and have just won 6-1, I think that no valid reason. And the timing, I think few trainers were fired after a 6-1 win.”

In addition to the sporting development, technical director Gerard Nijkamp also pointed out in an interview with RTV Rijnmond the image he received after conversations with strong players from the playing group. “Jeroen has proven to be a novice trainer who has developed quite a bit but has to go through a number of phases.”

“I would never say it that way in his position, after all, he also appointed me,” Rijsdijk responds to the director’s words. “I have been a trainer since 2010. It’s great that you see me as a starting trainer. But I would never have done it that way. I am a gentleman and don’t go slinging mud here.”

“In a team of 25 people, there are always players who are dissatisfied. But I have also had messages from players sitting on the bench who said: ‘coach, you don’t deserve this’. That says a lot more to me. It gives me feeling that a reason was sought. The player group would have been involved. But I can give you on a silver platter that the relationship with the players was excellent.”

The fact that successor Steijn was signed a day after Rijsdijk’s departure could indicate that the club already had plans ready for Rijsdijk’s dismissal.

“If you have followed the reports, some things have happened there. In the case of Maurice, I would not have stepped in,” says Rijsdijk, who did not ask his successor when he was approached. Both trainers had contact on the day of dismissal. According to Rijsdijk, Steijn sent him a text with the advice “not to believe everything that was in the media”.

Due to the departure of several experienced employees, Rijsdijk believes that Sparta’s objectives are undeservedly even higher than before. “The group is now a lot younger. A lot of talent, but every group needs leaders, and there have been fewer and fewer of them in the last two years.”

“Sparta has also acquired a different status since we finished sixth. Teams come to Het Kasteel with the idea ‘we will give Sparta the ball’. Just like we do at PSV-uit, for example.”