Co Adriaanse (born 21 July 1947) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. Playing career As a professional player, Adriaanse played for six seasons with De Volewijckers (from 1964 until 1970) and a further six seasons with Utrecht (1970 until 1976), retiring from football at age 29. Managerial career Early career Adriaanse began his managing career with Zilvermeeuwen in 1979, and after four years he joined AZ for the first time as scout and youth trainer. After a year, for the 1984–85 season he resumed his coaching career with two four-year stints with PEC Zwolle and FC Den Haag, where he would be sacked for the first time. He was then chosen to direct the youth side of Ajax, a position he would occupy for five seasons. Willem II In 1997, Adriaanse was appointed manager of Willem II. There, he implemented an – according to him – "compelling, aggressive style that can always be maintained". In his first season, the team finished in fifth place and booked impressive wins over Feyenoord (2–0) and defending champions PSV (4–1). The fifth place meant that the club qualified for European football for the first time since 1963. In their run in the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, Willem II managed to knock out Dinamo Tbilisi in the first round 6–0 on aggregate, but lost to Real Betis in the second round. The club had a weak start to their domestic season, and held an 11th place in the league table at the winter break. A strong second half of the season, however, saw them finishing in second place after beating eventual champions Feyenoord 4–1, and Ajax 3–1. This meant that Willem II, a team better known for finishing in the bottom half of the Eredivisie, would be competing in the UEFA Champions League. The team, however, finished bottom of their 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League group stage, and after failing to achieve another European spot, Adriaanse resigned on 20 May 2000. Ajax Adriaanse returned to Ajax as manager, but after a third place season he was released early in the next season, on 29 November 2001, after a string of poor results. During his tenure, he made a number of controversial statements to the press – he called chairman of PSV, Harry van Raaij, a "talking lampshade", and most famously said of Marco van Basten who was rumoured to join