Johan Antonius "Han" Berger (born 17 June 1950) is a Dutch association football coach and former player.

Managerial career

FC Utrecht

Berger is the youngest head coach ever in the history of professional football in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. After suffering a severe knee injury, his playing career ended at the age of 22 and he was appointed youth and assistant coach at his hometown side

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

. When the then head coach Jan Rab was dismissed in January 1976, Berger was chosen above

Pim van de Meent Pim van de Meent (20 November 1937 – 13 October 2022) was a Dutch football manager and player who played as a defender. Playing career Van de Meent was born in Amsterdam, North Holland on 20 November 1937. He played for Holland Sport, DOS, ...

to be appointed head coach of FC Utrecht at the age of 25. After that he coached 637 games in the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

, being particularly successful with FC Utrecht and

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...

, leading them to a number of

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

campaigns. Under his management

Cambuur Leeuwarden SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...

in 1998 won the 1st division play-offs for promotion to the Eredivisie. He left the club that summer. From 1998 till August 2000 Berger was in charge of the national youth teams program of the

Royal Dutch Football Association The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women ...

(KNVB) and head coach of the Netherlands Under 21 and Olympic Team and in 2004 he coached

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

in the Japanese

J-League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 ...

Australia

As director of football at FC Utrecht and

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

he acquired a reputation for implementing successful technical strategies, particularly in the field of youth development. Because of this he was offered the role of technical director of the

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...

. He held this position from January 2009 till July 2014. In 2010 Berger also had a short spell as caretaker manager of the

Socceroos The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...

. On 17 April 2014 Berger was appointed as a member of Directors on the board of Sydney FC. On 24 June 2016 it was announced that Berger was appointed as technical director at Sydney FC.

Personal life

Berger's son

Ruud Ruud and Rud are surnames of Norwegian origin. Both are also Norwegian place names of numerous farmsteads named Rud or Ruud from Old Norse ''ruð'' meaning clearing. Ruud is also a Dutch masculine given name meaning "famous wolf" although it is also ...

is a retired professional footballer, who played for FC Utrecht when Han was the club's technical director.FC Utrecht verhuurt Ruud Berger
– Voetbal International

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Han 1950 births Living people Footballers from Utrecht (city) Association football defenders Dutch footballers Velox SC players Dutch football managers FC Utrecht managers FC Groningen managers AZ Alkmaar managers Fortuna Sittard managers FC Dordrecht managers Sparta Rotterdam managers SC Cambuur managers Oita Trinita managers Australia national soccer team managers J1 League managers Dutch expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Japan Expatriate soccer managers in Australia Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Australia Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Japan