| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mitchell van der Gaag | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-10-22)22 October 1971 (age 54) | ||
| Place of birth | Zutphen, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| SC Brummen | |||
| De Graafschap | |||
| 1986–1989 | PSV | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1994 | PSV | 44 | (4) |
| 1989–1990 | →NEC (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 1990–1992 | →Sparta Rotterdam (loan) | 55 | (4) |
| 1995–1997 | Motherwell | 42 | (8) |
| 1997–2001 | Utrecht | 99 | (11) |
| 2001–2006 | Marítimo | 154 | (18) |
| 2006–2007 | Al Nassr | 27 | (3) |
| Total | 431 | (50) | |
| International career | |||
| 1990–1991 | Netherlands U21 | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2008–2009 | Marítimo B | ||
| 2009–2010 | Marítimo | ||
| 2012–2013 | Belenenses | ||
| 2015 | Ermis | ||
| 2015–2016 | Eindhoven | ||
| 2016–2018 | Excelsior | ||
| 2018–2019 | NAC | ||
| 2019–2021 | Jong Ajax | ||
| 2025 | Zürich | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mitchell van der Gaag (born 22 October 1971) is a Dutch professionalfootball coach and former player who played as acentre-back. He was most recently the head coach ofSwiss Super League sideFC Zürich.
He made 208Eredivisie appearances, scoring 19 goals, forNEC,Sparta Rotterdam,PSV andUtrecht. Abroad, he had spells atMotherwell in theScottish Premier League andMarítimo in Portugal'sPrimeira Liga, playing 174 total games for the latter and scoring 19 times.
As a manager, van der Gaag led several teams including Marítimo andBelenenses in Portugal, as well asExcelsior andNAC in his country.
Van der Gaag was born inZutphen,Gelderland. After graduating fromPSV Eindhoven's youth academy, he spent three seasons on loan toNEC Nijmegen andSparta Rotterdam, returning toEindhoven for a further three years but never being an important first-team figure, however.
In January 1995, van der Gaag signed withMotherwell. He scored a career-best seven goals in 28 games in hissecond full season to help the Steelmen narrowly avoid relegation from theScottish Premier Division,[2] and subsequently returned to theEredivisie withUtrecht.
For the2001–02 campaign, van der Gaag joined Portugal'sMarítimo,[3] going on to be one of theMadeira club's most influential players as it consolidated in thePrimeira Liga. He scored six times in2003–04, helping the team finish sixth andqualify for theUEFA Cup.[4]
Van der Gaag retired from football in 2007, having spent one season withAl Nassr inSaudi Arabia.[5] In July of the following year, he returned to Marítimo as a coach and took the reins of itsB team.
In October 2009, afterCarlos Carvalhal's dismissal following a string of bad results, van der Gaag was promoted to the main squad.[6] After helping themfinish fifth – a place conquered in the last round with a 2–1 away win againstVitória de Guimarães, who were leapfrogged in the process – andqualify for the Europa League,[7] his contract was renewed for a further year.
On 14 September 2010, after collecting only one point inthe league's first four matches and being ousted byBATE in the Europa League, van der Gaag was sacked by Marítimo.[8] He returned to management after nearly two years, still in Portugal, signing withSegunda Liga sideBelenenses.[9] In hisfirst season, he won the league, thus returning the club to the top flight after three years.[10][11]
Van der Gaag took a temporary leave of absence in late September 2013 due to heart problems, after feeling unwell during a league game against former side Marítimo (1–0 home win).[12] In February 2015, he was appointed atErmis Aradippou of theCypriot First Division,[13] being released after just one month after refusing to renew his contract for the following campaign.[14]
After spending the2015–16 season back in his country withFC Eindhoven, in theEerste Divisie,[15] van der Gaag moved to the top flight and successively coachedExcelsior[16] andNAC Breda.[17] On 24 May 2019, he returned to the former tier after signing a two-year deal atAjax'sreserves.[18]
Van der Gaag was appointed assistant manager of the first team of on 1 June 2021, replacing the departingChristian Poulsen. His position at the reserves was filled byJohn Heitinga, who had previously worked inthe youth academy.[19]
On 23 May 2022, Van der Gaag was confirmed as assistant head coach ofManchester United, along withSteve McClaren, to work with first team head coachErik ten Hag, who he previously worked with at Ajax.[20]
On 26 November 2023, in a Premier league match againstEverton atGoodison Park, with Erik Ten Hag suspended, Van der Gaag was the coach on the sidelines as Manchester United won 3-0.
Following a coaching staff overhaul, Van der Gaag departed his role with Manchester United on 9 July 2024 to pursue a head coach position at a different club.[21][22]
On 31 May 2025, he was announced as the new head coach ofFC Zürich,[23] signing a two-year contract.[24] He was dismissed on 23 October 2025, after five months in charge.[25]
Van der Gaag's fatherWim was also a footballer, who was one of the first professionals in the Netherlands in 1954.[26] His sonsJordan and Luca also went into the game, representingBelenenses.[27]
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| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| Zürich |  | 31 May 2025 | 23 October 2025 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 045.45 | |||
| Total | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 045.45 | ||||||
PSV
Belenenses
