MADRID.- The legendary old coach of real MadridLeo Beenhakker, died at age 82, announced the ‘Merengue’ club this Thursday.
The Dutch coach was in charge of the white team between 1986 and 1989, and in 1992, conquering 3 consecutive leagues, 1 Copa del Rey and 2 Spanish Super Cups.
“Real Madrid CF, its president and its board of directors deeply lament the death of Leo Beenhakker,” Real Madrid said in a statement on his website.
Despite not having enjoyed a career as a professional footballer, Beenhakker had an extensive career in European clubs, including Ajax in Amsterdam and Feyenoord in the Netherlands. He was also a national coach of the “Oranje”, Trinidad and Tobago -to which he classified his only final phase of a World Cup, in 2006 -Saudi Arabia and Poland.
In Spain he also directed Real Zaragoza in the early 80s and in Mexico to America and Chivas de Guadalajara.
But it was with Real Madrid with which he wrote the most golden pages of his career.
In a team that went down in history, ‘La Quinta del Buitre’, with a song of Canteanos led by Emilio Butragueño, with Manolo Sanchís, Rafael Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.
Back home
Beenhakker would return to Ajax in 1999, where he reaped new successes by directing players such as Boer’s twins, Richard Witschge, Marciano Vink and Bryan Roy.
“Ajax received the sad news of Leo Beenhakker with great regret and dismay,” said the historic Amsterdam club in a statement.
“Beenhakker was, without a doubt, one of the most peculiar and successful Dutch coaches in history,” added Ajax.
After his second stage at Real Madrid, shorter and less successful than the first, and the conquest of the Dutch championship with Feyenoord, he returned to Ajax as technical director, signing players as Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
