.jpg) Jans asUtrecht head coach in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1958-09-29)29 September 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Zwolle, Netherlands | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Utrecht (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| RKSV Zwolle | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1983 | PEC Zwolle | 157 | (44) |
| 1982–1984 | Groningen | 63 | (16) |
| 1984–1987 | Roda JC | 99 | (10) |
| 1987–1988 | Mazda Motors | 16 | (1) |
| 1988–1991 | BV Veendam | 54 | (5) |
| Total | 389 | (76) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1991–1993 | SJS Stadskanaal | ||
| 1993–1996 | ACV | ||
| 1996–2000 | Achilles 1894 | ||
| 2000–2002 | BVO Emmen (assistant) | ||
| 2002–2010 | Groningen | ||
| 2010–2012 | Heerenveen | ||
| 2012 | Standard Liège | ||
| 2013–2017 | PEC Zwolle | ||
| 2019–2020 | FC Cincinnati | ||
| 2020–2023 | Twente | ||
| 2023– | Utrecht | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ron Jans (Dutch pronunciation:[rɔˈɲɑns]; born 29 September 1958) is a Dutch professionalfootball manager and formerplayer, who is the head coach ofUtrecht.
Born inZwolle,Overijssel, Jans joined Groningen on 2002, and was the longest-serving head coach in the wholeEredivisie, being instrumental in the club's recent successes, including two consecutiveUEFA Cup qualifications in 2005 and 2006. During his time at Groningen, Jans was known for his witty comments during press conferences and his positive attitude towards the press. He was formerly active as aGerman language teacher. He also appeared regularly in the Dutch television channelNederland 3 as aUEFA Champions League analyst for the 2009–10 season.[1]
In November 2009, he announced he would leave Groningen at the end of the 2009–10 season, after eight years in charge of the club, citing his desire for a new experience as the main reason behind his choice.[2]
In February 2010,Heerenveen officials agreed terms with the Groningen coach for next season, the 51-year-old joined his new club at the end of the season to replace Jan de Jonge.[3] The move was quite a controversy as Heerenveen and Groningen are great rivals in the Eredivisie. Jans was seen as a Groningen ace and the supporters did not think much of his step to the rivals. After the news came out, the fans showed a banner saying: "You never knew how to replace someone." With this message, they showed their dislike of the move of the manager on the one hand, and sneered at how he sometimes substituted players that hardly made any sense.
Jans' first season in charge of Heerenveen was mostly considered as disappointing, as he only managed to achieve an unimpressive twelfth place in the league table and was also criticized due to a number of controversial choices. His second season turned out however to be much better, thanks to his ability to get the most out of forwardsBas Dost,Luciano Narsingh andOussama Assaidi and drive the team into the battle for the league title by April 2012. In January 2012, it was revealed that Jans would depart from Heerenveen at the end of the season, with former Dutch superstar playerMarco van Basten taking over from him.[4] He led Heerenveen to directUEFA Europa League qualification by the end of the season.
He signed toStandard Liège on 29 May 2012,[5] but agreed with the club to end his contract on 22 October after Standard was at that time 12th in theBelgian Pro League.
Jans joinedPEC Zwolle in 2013. In his first season with theBlauwvingers, he won theKNVB Cup after beatingAjax 5–1 in thefinal.[6] In the 2014–15 season, Jans guided PEC Zwolle to victory in the2014 Johan Cruyff Shield, defeating champions Ajax 1–0 inAmsterdam.[7] Later that season, he led Zwolle toanother KNVB Cup final, losing 2–0 toGroningen.[8]
On 26 July 2019,The Athletic reported that Jans had been hired as the head coach of American clubFC Cincinnati, and would replace interim coachYoann Damet as soon as he obtained awork visa.[9] FC Cincinnati officially announced the hiring on 5 August 2019, ending a months-long coach search that began with their firing ofAlan Koch in May 2019. This was Jans' second time working with FC Cincinnati general managerGerard Nijkamp, who had hired Jans in 2013 when he was technical director ofPEC Zwolle.[10] Jans' contract was set to expire on 31 December 2020, with Nijkamp having previously indicated that their coach hire would be a "short-term solution" to be re-evaluated ahead of the 2021 season.[11][12]
On 17 February 2020, Jans resigned from his head coach position at FC Cincinnati amidst an investigation into his alleged use of a racial slur.[13]
Jans was appointed as head coach ofTwente on 17 June 2020. Upon the expiration of his contract, along with that of technical director Jan Streuer, the pair was released from the club.[14] His final game saw the team qualify for theUEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round with a 2–1 aggregate score againstSparta Rotterdam in the final of theEuropean competition playoffs on 11 June 2023.[15]
In September 2023, Jans became the head coach ofUtrecht, succeedingMichael Silberbauer.[16]
During his first full season in charge of theDomstedelingen, Jans guided the team to a fourth-place finish in the2024–25 Eredivisie, securing a place in theEuropa League second qualifying round.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Groningen |  | 21 October 2002 | 30 June 2010 | 310 | 128 | 66 | 116 | 455 | 435 | +20 | 041.29 | [17] |
| Heerenveen | | 1 July 2010 | 29 May 2012 | 75 | 33 | 21 | 21 | 164 | 122 | +42 | 044.00 | [18] |
| Standard Liège |  | 29 May 2012 | 22 October 2012 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 23 | +1 | 041.67 | [19] |
| PEC Zwolle | | 30 June 2013 | 20 June 2017 | 159 | 61 | 36 | 62 | 251 | 244 | +7 | 038.36 | [20] |
| FC Cincinnati |  | 4 August 2019 | 17 February 2020 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 20 | −12 | 010.00 | [21] |
| Twente | | 17 June 2020 | 30 June 2023 | 116 | 56 | 31 | 29 | 194 | 128 | +66 | 048.28 | [22] |
| Utrecht | | 11 September 2023 | present | 95 | 47 | 25 | 23 | 168 | 119 | +49 | 049.47 | |
| Total | 777 | 331 | 184 | 262 | 1,264 | 1,091 | +173 | 042.60 | — | |||
PEC Zwolle