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The AC Milan legend was unable to live up to the high expectations in his previous two jobs, but he cannot afford to fail again at the ambitious Eredivisie side

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By Stefan Coerts | Dutch Football Editor

With the shock announcement that Marco van Basten would be their new head coach at the end of the current season, modest Eredivisie outfit Heerenveen suddenly became a hot topic all over the world.

The former AC Milan star is still one of the biggest names in the footballing fraternity, while the relatively modest Friezen have only once managed to finish in the Eredivisie top three since they were founded in July 1920. It is fair to say that Heerenveen and Van Basten are an unlikely combination.

Nevertheless, the appointment of the 47-year-old did not come as a complete surprise. Ever since current coach Ron Jans announced that he would not ink a new deal at the Abe Lenstra Stadion, there were rumours that the Euro 1988 winner was one of the candidates to replace him. Additionally, Heerenveen are known for their attractive style of play, a style that suits Van Basten nicely. Yet, not everybody will be convinced that he is the right man for the job following his previous coaching experiences with the Dutch national side and Ajax.

After prematurely ending his active career in the summer of 1995 due to injury, Van Basten initially did not show much interest in a coaching career, until he took charge of Jong Ajax together with John van 't Schip ahead of the 2003-04 campaign. The former striker left Amsterdam again after only one season, though, when the KNVB approached him to replace Dick Advocaat as Oranje coach.

VAN BASTEN IN NUMBERS
VAN BASTEN'S RECORD AT HOLLAND
GAMES COACHED WINS DRAWS LOSSES WIN PERCENTAGE	52 35 11 6 67.3%
VAN BASTEN'S RECORD AT AJAX
GAMES COACHED WINS DRAWS LOSSES WIN PERCENTAGE	45 26 8 11 57.7%

Van Basten did not have any problems qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, and guided the Netherlands to superb victories over Serbia and Cote d'Ivoire in the group stages, before drawing with Argentina to set up a round of 16 match against Portugal. However, 'San Marco' was outwitted by Luiz Felipe Scolari in a match that will forever be remembered for its violent nature, and Oranje's tournament came to an abrupt end after the 1-0 loss against the Portuguese.

It was in the aftermath of the tournament in Germany that Van Basten was criticised for the first time. The Milan icon stated that the 2006 World Cup had been a training exercise for Euro 2008 rather than a serious objective, much to the astonishment and anger of the Dutch fans. Additionally, he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when he had a falling out with influential midfielder Mark van Bommel and striker Ruud van Nistelrooy after a previous public feud with Edgar Davids. The Netherlands then only just made it to Euro 2008 after finishing second in their qualification group, and another player bid farewell to the national team shortly before the finals when Clarence Seedorf revealed that he refused to play under Van Basten again.

The Netherlands recorded some exceptional results in Austria-Switzerland against Italy (3-0) and France (4-1), and received plenty of praise for their style of play. But contrary to popular belief, they were by no means a well-oiled attacking machine. The Dutch were lethal on the counterattack, while the individual class from players like Edwin van der Sar, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder helped them through some difficult moments.

It was no surprise then when their tournament once again ended in tears as Van Basten had no answer to Russia boss Guus Hiddink's tactical masterplan in the quarter-finals, resulting in a deserved 3-1 win after extra time for the Russians.

Despite his failure with the national side, Ajax still felt Van Basten was the right man to help them back to glory again. The Amsterdam giants not only made him their head coach, but also put him in charge of their transfer policy, a responsibility Van Basten took very seriously. He spent over €30 million on players such as Oleguer, Dario Cvitanich and Miralem Sulejmani, and expectations were sky-high at the start of the season.

Nevertheless, Ajax never really got going under Van Basten, and after an early KNVB Beker elimination, they were effectively out of the title race as well by February 2009. Aside from the disappointing results, the Godenzonen also had plenty of reasons to worry about their unrecognisable style of play, while none of the new signings proved to have any added value to the team either.

Van Basten has not been able to convey his football philosophy to the players at his disposal in his previous coaching experiences

It was hardly surprising that Van Basten threw in the towel toward the end of the season after heavy losses against Sparta and PSV. The former Netherlands international felt that he was responsible for Ajax's inability to meet their objectives, and added that he didn't believe he would be able to do any better in the 2009-10 campaign.

Van Basten was linked with plenty of clubs after his departure, with even his former team Milan reportedly considering bringing back. The interest, however, never led to anything concrete, and the 47-year-old will only return to the dugout this summer after three years of inactivity.

The Utrecht-born coach will be relishing the prospect of stepping back onto the training pitch this summer, yet he will also realise that he cannot afford to slip up again after his previous two failures.

Van Basten will have some of the finest attacking talent of the Eredivisie at his disposal at Heerenveen in Bas Dost, Oussama Assaidi, Luciano Narsingh and Filip Djuricic. However, the fact is that he has so far been unable to convey his philosophy to the players at his disposal, despite his vast knowledge of the game.

If the former Oranje boss wants to save his coaching career at Heerenveen, he will have to find a way to overcome his shortcomings, and grab what could very well be his last chance to succeed as a manager.

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