Vitesse has appointed Edward Sturing as the successor to the departed head coach Phillip Cocu until the winter break. The sixty-year-old club icon was already employed by the Arnhem club as head of youth development.
Sturing will be assisted by Nicky Hof and Tim Cornelisse. The two former players replace Chris van der Weerden and Theo Janssen in the technical staff. Van der Weerden, following Cocu, is leaving Vitesse, and the club will discuss a different role with Janssen.
Sturing has already been the interim coach at Vitesse six times before and was the head coach of his great love from 2003 to 2006. 'In these turbulent times, I want to help the club move forward. Although it is again an interim period, Benjamin and I have discussed this well with each other.'
Vitesse will be looking for a long-term choice in the coming period. Technical director Benjamin Schmedes hopes that under Sturing, Vitesse will fight for every point. 'We believe that Edward can instill that mentality. After all, he has proven this in the past.'
Cocu and Vitesse ended their collaboration on November 11. The 2017 KNVB Cup winner occupies the last place in the Eredivisie with just eight points after twelve rounds. A visit to Ajax awaits on Saturday night.
Not only in sporting terms is Vitesse going through tough times: there has been uncertainty for a long time about the takeover by the American Coley Parry.
