Dutch coach joins Union technical staff

The offseason’s first foray into the Netherlands has seen the Union add to their technical staff, not their roster. VV Katwijk Head Coach Jan-Dirk “Dick” Schreuder has joined the Philadelphia Union as an assistant coach, according to a release from the Dutch club. Here’s a rough translation:

Head coach Dick Schreuder exchanges VV Katwijk immediately for Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union. After 3.5 successful years, the head of Schreuder’s head training comes to an abrupt end.

Last Sunday evening, Ernest Stewart contacted VV Katwijk. Stewart is former technical director of AZ and now Director Sport of the MLS club Philadelphia Union from the United States.

Ernest Stewart said that the American club Dick Schreuder had made a proposal to become an assistant trainer immediately. The club from Philadelphia comes out in the highest football competition in the US and Canada.

Dick Schreuder has informed VV Katwijk that he wants to seize this opportunity with both hands. Schreuder has therefore requested that his 1.5-year contract be terminated immediately.

After extensive consultation between the various parties, VV Katwijk could accept nothing else than Dick Schreuder’s request. Dick will start to focus on his new club from today. The Schreuder contract has therefore been dissolved immediately.

VV Katwijk thanks Dick for the successful past 3.5 years and wishes him all the best in the country of unprecedented opportunities.

Schreuder, 46, joined Katwijk in 2014, following the club’s relegation to the Hoofdklasse, then the fourth division of Dutch football. The club won promotion to the Topklasse, the third division at the time, in Schreuder’s first season. They now play in the Tweede Divisie, the current third tier, after some league realignment in the Netherlands.

Considering that Katwijk is only a semi-professional club, it’s not hard to see why Schreuder was so willing to make the jump over to MLS, albeit as an assistant.

While Schreuder hasn’t coached at the highest levels, and has only spent less than one season coaching a professional team, he does have more than 10 years of coaching experience. Prior to his stint at Katwijk, Schreuder served as head coach of amateur club SDV Barneveld from 2007 to 2013, then as joint head coach of non-league Barnet FC for part of the 2013-14 season.

In Barnet’s press release announcing Schreuder’s hiring, they note that Barneveld “became renowned for their attacking style of play and focus on youth development” during Schreuder’s time there.

The move seems to round out the Union’s technical staff, which took a few big hits early in the offseason following the westward departures of assistant coach Mike Sorber and goalkeeping coach Oka Nikolov. Pat Noonan and Tim Hanley were brought in to replace those two earlier this month.

We’ve reached out to the Union for comment and we’ll update this article when we hear back.

Philadelphia Union Technical Staff

Earnie Stewart, Sporting Director

Jim Curtin, Head Coach

Chris Albright, Technical Director

BJ Callaghan, Assistant Coach

Pat Noonan, Assistant Coach

Dick Schreuder, Assistant Coach

Tim Hanley, Goalkeeping Coach