Paul Matthijs (born 5 October 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who is the head coach of

Vierde Divisie The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...

club

Be Quick 1887 Be Quick 1887 is a football club from Groningen, Netherlands. The club was established in 1887, and is currently playing in the Vierde Divisie. History 19th century Be Quick 1887 was founded on 4 October 1887 by students of a local gymnasiu ...

Playing career

Matthijs started his football career with VV Actief, before joining

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 ...

. On 20 August 1997, Matthijs made his debut against

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...

as a substitute in the 80th minute. Then, he was only 20 years old. After three seasons playing regularly for FC Groningen, AZ Alkmaar signed him. His time at AZ was not successful, and after a disappointing season, he returned to Groningen. In the 2005–06 Eredivisie season, he also reached European football with his side. He left Groningen in 2009 to join

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

team BV Veendam. On 6 May 2010 Matthijs signed a contract for FC Edmonton, a new club preparing to enter the North American second division in 2011. After playing for the team during its 2010 exhibition season he signed a new contract with Edmonton for the 2011 season, its first in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, on 28 February 2011. He made his debut for Edmonton on 7 May 2011, in a game against the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

. The club released Matthijis on 12 October 2011 after the conclusion of the 2011 season.

Coaching career

Matthijs became a youth coach for

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

after retiring from playing, coaching various youth levels between 2013 and 2022. As coach of the under-17 team, he led them to the national title in 2019. On 1 February 2023, Matthijs was appointed manager of

club

, starting from the 2023–24 season.

References

External links

Paul Matthijs
at FC Edmonton.com
Paul Matthijs
at '' Voetbal International'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthijs, Paul 1976 births Living people People from Tynaarlo Dutch men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers FC Groningen players AZ Alkmaar players SC Veendam players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players FC Edmonton players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Men's association football midfielders Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Canada Footballers from Drenthe Dutch football managers Association football coaches FC Groningen non-playing staff Be Quick 1887 managers