_(cropped).jpg) Bosz managingBorussia Dortmund in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Sylvester Bosz | ||
| Date of birth | (1963-11-21)21 November 1963 (age 62) | ||
| Place of birth | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | PSV (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| OBV | |||
| Apeldoornse Boys | |||
| AGOVV | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1984 | Vitesse | 81 | (2) |
| 1984–1985 | AGOVV (amateurs) | ||
| 1985–1988 | RKC | 105 | (4) |
| 1988–1991 | Toulon | 93 | (0) |
| 1991–1996 | Feyenoord | 155 | (6) |
| 1996–1997 | JEF United Ichihara | 36 | (3) |
| 1998 | Hansa Rostock | 14 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | NAC | 26 | (1) |
| 1999 | JEF United Ichihara | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 521 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991–1995 | Netherlands | 8 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2000–2002 | AGOVV | ||
| 2002–2003 | De Graafschap | ||
| 2004–2006 | Heracles Almelo | ||
| 2010–2013 | Heracles Almelo | ||
| 2013–2016 | Vitesse | ||
| 2016 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| 2016–2017 | Ajax | ||
| 2017 | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| 2018–2021 | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| 2021–2022 | Lyon | ||
| 2023– | PSV | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Peter Sylvester Bosz (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈpeːtərˈbɔs], born 21 November 1963) is a Dutch professionalfootball manager and formerplayer. He is currently the head coach of DutchEredivisie clubPSV Eindhoven.
He had previously held managerial positions as several clubs, includingAjax where he reached the final of theUEFA Europa League in 2017,Borussia Dortmund,Bayer Leverkusen andLyon, before being appointed as manager of PSV in June 2023, winning the DutchEredivisie title in 2024 and 2025.
A midfielder, Bosz started his professional career withVitesse in 1981. After a loan season with then amateursAGOVV in 1984, he returned to professional football withRKC Waalwijk (from 1985 to 1988), then moving to France withToulon (1988 to 1991), and playing six successive seasons with Dutch giantsFeyenoord (1991 to 1996), Japanese clubJEF United Ichihara (1996–97), German clubHansa Rostock[2] (1997–98),NAC Breda[3] (1998–99). He retired at the end of 1999 after a second spell[4] with JEF United Ichihara.
Bosz made his debut for theNetherlands in a December 1991 Euro qualification match againstGreece and earned eight caps, scoring no goals.[5] His final international game was in 1995 against theCzech Republic. He was part of the Dutch squad atUEFA Euro 1992.
After his retirement, Bosz started a career in management, first becoming head coach of amateursAGOVV, a position he held from January 2000 to 2002. In 2002, he also won a national amateur league title. Bosz made his move into professional football in 2002, becoming head coach ofDe Graafschap (2002–2003). The team finished last in the2002–03 Eredivisie and was relegated to theEerste Divisie.[6] Bosz next became manager ofHeracles Almelo (2004–2006). He won the2004–05 Eerste Divisie with the club and earned promotion to the Eredivisie. Bosz' Heracles secured their Eredivisie survival the following year, finishing 13th in the2005–06 Eredivisie.
In July 2006, Bosz accepted an offer to be technical director at his former clubFeyenoord. While at the club, he was responsible for completing the signings of (amongst others)Giovanni van Bronckhorst,Roy Makaay,Tim de Cler,Kevin Hofland andDenny Landzaat.[7][8] He left the position on 14 January 2009, due to his opposition to the dismissal of head coachGertjan Verbeek.[9] In the summer of 2010, Bosz started his second spell as manager of Heracles Almelo, replacing Verbeek who had moved toAZ Alkmaar in the meantime. The team finished 8th in the2010–11 Eredivisie, securing qualification for theEuropean competition Playoffs, where they were eliminated byGroningen. Heracles finished 12th in the2011–12 Eredivisie and2012–13 Eredivisie. He left the club in 2013.
On 19 June 2013, Bosz was appointed as manager of his old clubVitesse on a two-year contract. Bosz replaced outgoing managerFred Rutten whose contract had expired. In November 2013, Vitesse was top of the league in the Eredivisie for the first time since 2006. It was the first time since 2000 they'd been top of the league later than the first week. Halfway through the season, after 17 matches, Vitesse was the leader in the competition. The team finished2013–14 season in sixth place. The following season, Vitesse finished fifth, qualifying for the European competition play-offs. Also, Bosz was nominated for theRinus Michels Award (for manager of the year), but lost toPhillip Cocu, who had ledPSV Eindhoven to the Eredivisie title. In the2015–16 season, Vitesse was in fifth place in the winter break, after which Bosz left the club.[10] In January 2016 Bosz was announced as the new head coach of Israeli championsMaccabi Tel Aviv.[10] Bosz left Tel Aviv in May 2016 for the Dutch team Ajax.[11] During his time in Israel, Bosz was undefeated in 19 games, with twelve wins and seven draws.[citation needed] However, Tel Aviv lost the title toHapoel Be'er Sheva and lost in the Israeli cup final toMaccabi Haifa.[12][circular reference]
In May 2016,Ajax announced that Bosz was the new head coach of the club from July 2016, after signing a three-year contract.[11] In his first competitive match as head coach, Bosz's side earned a 1–1 draw againstPAOK in the third qualifying round of theChampions League on 27 July 2016.[13] Bosz was unable to lead Ajax to the group stage of theChampions League, after losing 5–2 on aggregate to Russian sideRostov.[14] On 11 September 2016, Bosz faced his former sideVitesse, as Ajax won 1–0.[15] On 24 May 2017, Ajax were beaten 2–0 atFriends Arena,Stockholm in theEuropa League final byManchester United.[16]
On 6 June 2017, it was announced that Bosz would move to German clubBorussia Dortmund. Since there was no buy-out clause in his contract with his previous club, Ajax received nearly €5 million for compensation to buy out his contract. It was a record buyout of a head coach for a German club, breaking the previous record of €4 million.[17][18] After no wins in their Champions League group stage, Dortmund dropped into theEuropa League. On 10 December 2017, Bosz was sacked and replaced byPeter Stöger.[19]
On 23 December 2018, he was appointed as the new head coach ofBayer Leverkusen.[20] After his appointment, Leverkusen's form improved significantly leading to Leverkusen securingUEFA Champions League qualification in the final game of the season.[21] Bosz was sacked in March 2021, after the team dropped to sixth place with seven points to directUEFA Champions League qualification.[22]
On 29 May 2021, Bosz was appointed as head coach of French sideLyon and signed a two-year contract, replacingRudi Garcia.[23] On 9 October 2022, Bosz was sacked ten matches into the season, with Lyon in ninth place inLigue 1. He was replaced byLaurent Blanc.[24]
On 23 June 2023, Bosz was appointed as the new manager ofPSV Eindhoven. He signed a three-year deal.[25] Bosz secured his first Eredivisie title with the team on 5 May 2024, ending PSV's six-year drought.[26] On 18 May 2025, PSV confirmed their second Eredivisie title under Bosz after defeatingSparta Rotterdam 3–1 in the last match of the season. Although the team was initially 9 points behindAjax with five matches left, they managed to narrow the lead and eventually get ahead after Ajax went on a four-match winless streak with two draws and two losses.[27] With this, Bosz became the oldest coach to win the title at 61 years of age, as well as the third manager to win back-to-back titles in his first two years with the club.[28]
Bosz favours an attacking style of play, based on ball possession and aggressive pressing.[29] Furthermore, Bosz's tactical ideas are heavily influenced by the football ofJohan Cruyff.[30]
As a result of this attacking style, Bosz has changed the positions of many of his players. Bosz won plaudits for his conversion of Ajax'sLasse Schone, who played on the wing forFrank de Boer into the holding midfield position, using Schone's technique to enhance Ajax's build-up play.[31] Furthermore,Julian Brandt, was moved from the position of left-winger underHeiko Herrlich into a central attacking midfield position by Bosz, which resulted in a significant upturn in form.[32][33] While at Lyon, he utilised midfielderThiago Mendes as a central defender.
However, Bosz's style does have its detractors. His failure at Dortmund was partly credited to a perceived idealistic attacking approach, which left Dortmund vulnerable to the counter-attack.[34][35]
| Club | Season | League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1996 | JEF United Ichihara | J1 League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1997 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 1999 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 47 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 58 | 3 | ||
| Netherlands[36] | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 0 |
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| AGOVV | 1 July 2000 | 30 June 2002 | 52 | 33 | 9 | 10 | 129 | 53 | +76 | 063.46 |
| De Graafschap | 1 July 2002 | 30 June 2003 | 40 | 10 | 6 | 24 | 55 | 92 | −37 | 025.00 |
| Heracles Almelo | 1 July 2004 | 30 June 2006 | 80 | 42 | 12 | 26 | 118 | 101 | +17 | 052.50 |
| Heracles Almelo | 1 July 2010 | 30 June 2013 | 116 | 44 | 25 | 47 | 212 | 207 | +5 | 037.93 |
| Vitesse | 1 July 2013 | 3 January 2016 | 103 | 46 | 27 | 30 | 197 | 142 | +55 | 044.66 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4 January 2016 | 1 July 2016[38] | 25 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 52 | 16 | +36 | 068.00 |
| Ajax | 1 July 2016[38] | 6 June 2017 | 56 | 36 | 11 | 9 | 119 | 50 | +69 | 064.29 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 6 June 2017 | 10 December 2017 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 033.33 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 23 December 2018 | 23 March 2021 | 108 | 59 | 16 | 33 | 215 | 139 | +76 | 054.63 |
| Lyon | 29 May 2021 | 9 October 2022 | 59 | 27 | 17 | 15 | 102 | 73 | +29 | 045.76 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1 July 2023 | present | 118 | 82 | 20 | 16 | 333 | 139 | +194 | 069.49 |
| Total | 781 | 404 | 157 | 220 | 1,588 | 1,050 | +538 | 051.73 | ||
Feyenoord
AGOVV
Heracles Almelo
Ajax
Bayer Leverkusen
PSV
Individual
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