Dirk de Groot (born 1943 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

) is a former

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

football player. De Groot was born in the de Meer district of

but became a football player at Catholic

Volendam Volendam () is a fishing town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands. As of 1 January 2021, it has a population of 22,715. It is twinned with Coventry, England. History Originally, Volendam was the location o ...

. He was later persuaded to join the football club in his neighborhood,

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

.Jong Talent
NRC, March 2nd, 2000 The move to Ajax was recommended to him by his former trained at Volemdam, Bram Appel. When de Groot was 27, he suffered a knee injury which ended his active football career. He began training students as a hobby, without financial compensation. De Groot became an influential youth coach of later star players such as Frank Rijkhaard and

Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was moved to main striker and then to second striker, where he remained throughout his playing ...

. His work with fellow trainer Sonny Silooy helped Ajax become A1 champions in the 2005/2006 season, with players such as Gregory van der Wiel and Jan Verthongron. Dirk de Groot joined the Ajax membership council in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groot, Dirk de 1943 births Living people Dutch footballers AFC Ajax non-playing staff AFC Ajax players FC Volendam players Footballers from Amsterdam Association footballers not categorized by position