Paul Bosvelt (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈpʌulˈbɔsfɛlt], born 26 March 1970) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who is technical director of Go Ahead Eagles.
As a coach he returned to Go Ahead Eagles as assistant manager, later returning to FC Twente as under-17 manager and a spell as Netherlands U21 assistant coach.
Club career
Bosvelt went on to develop a reputation as a "hard-tackling midfielder" at de Kuip, making 167 appearances, during which he led Feyenoord to the league title in 1999 and the UEFA Cup in 2002.
During the game against Manchester United at home, on 5 November 1997, for the Champions League, which United eventually won 1–3, he tackled Denis Irwin from behind so "ferociously"[2] that he almost broke the Irishman's leg.[3] Irwin stayed off the field for several weeks to recover from the injury and was unable to join Ireland's national team.[4] A few days after the game, United made public the fact that Bosvelt sent a fax to Irwin at Old Trafford, soon after the incident, in which he said that he "regretted making the tackle."
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In 2003, Bosvelt joined Manchester City.[5] After two seasons there, he returned to the Netherlands[6] and finished his career playing for SC Heerenveen.[7]
Bosvelt retired from football on 13 May 2007, after Heerenveen's 4–0 defeat by Ajax. He had played a total number of 470 games in both Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie. In December 2008 it was confirmed, that Bosvelt from 1 January 2009 would become the new assistant coach of Go Ahead Eagles.[8]
International career
Bosvelt made his debut for the Netherlands in a March 2000 friendly match against Belgium and earned a total of 24 caps, scoring no goals.[9] He played in Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. During Euro 2000, he reached the semi-final with Netherlands. Bosvelt missed an important penalty kick in the penalty shootout in the semi-finals, which led to a 3–1 defeat against Italy. At Euro 2004 Bosvelt was initially named on the stand-by list, but was then added to the squad after Mark van Bommel withdrew through injury.[10][11] After Euro 2004 he decided to retire from international football.
Coaching career
After his contract in Go Ahead Eagles, he joined FC Twente in June 2012 as an assistant coach for the club's U19s.[12] Two years later, in June 2014, he took charge of Twente's U17s. Beside that, he was also appointed assistant coach for the Dutch U21 national team.[13][14]
In summer 2016, Bosvelt was named manager of Jong FC Twente next to his position as an assistant for the Dutch U-21 national team.[15] However, he ended the season with relegation from the Tweede Divisie[16] and was fired at the end of the season.[17]
In December 2017, Bosvelt returned to Go Ahead Eagles and was hired as technical advisor,[18] still next to his position on the Dutch U-21 national team, which he, however, left at the end of August 2018.[19]
In April 2018, Bosvelt was hired in a new role at Go Ahead Eagles: he was announced as the new technical director.[20] In November 2021, he signed a new contract with Go Ahead Eagles until June 2024.[21]
