Jaap Stam checks into Reading to become club’s first ever foreign manager

JAAP STAM has been confirmed as Reading’s new boss.

The Dutchman checked into the Madejski Stadium for his first job in English management.

Former Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio and AC Milan centre back Stam succeeds Brian McDermott and becomes the Royals’ first overseas  boss after signing an initial two-year contract with the Championship club.

Fellow Dutch duo Andries Ulderink and Said Bakkati are set to join his coaching team – having both worked with the new boss as coaches at Ajax. Current first team coaches Steven Reid and Dave Beasant will both remain.

During his playing career, Stam played under some of the greatest managers in the sport – Sir Alex Ferguson, Dick Advocaat, Roberto Mancini, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Louis van Gaal – and he has since worked alongside Frank de Boer as a coach at Ajax.

Said Stam: “I spoke to Koeman and Hiddink about the job. It’s important to talk to different people. I asked them what you need to know. You need to use the advice you get.

“We know quite a lot about the Championship. I am very ambitious. It’s not going to be easy to get back to the Premier league. We are going to work our best.

“We’re going to talk to the squad  and see what we need to do. The challenge is to implement your own style of play. You need to have a big squad to be competitive. You need to get the maximum out of the players and the team.”

Said Reading chief executive Nigel Howe:  “I am delighted to welcome Jaap to Reading. He was the first choice amongst a vast number of applicants interested in the position and we are thrilled that we have managed to secure the signature of a manager with such an abundance of experience.

“His record as both a player and coach, at the very highest level in England, Italy and Holland as well as internationally, speaks for itself and on behalf of everyone at Reading I would like to wish Jaap the very best in his career as a Royal.”

Stam, 43, brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience with him. His first title as a centre half came in his native Holland, winning the Dutch Cup and then the Eredivisie title with PSV in successive years.

In 1998 he became the most expensive Dutch player and the most valuable defender in history at the time by agreeing to a £10.6million move to Manchester United.

During three full seasons at Old Trafford, Stam won three consecutive Premier League titles, one FA Cup and played a full part in a memorable UEFA Champions League victory over Bayern Munich to complete the treble in 1998/99… his first campaign at United.

United only lost a total of 17 of the 127 games in which Stam featured across all competitions during his stay in Manchester.

He added the Coppa Italia to his CV at Lazio and reached a second Champions League Final with Milan in 2005 before returning to Holland to end his playing career at Ajax.

An experienced Dutch international, Stam was capped 67 times by the Netherlands, reaching three semi-finals in major international tournaments during his career with Holland.

Since hanging up his boots in 2007, the former Dutch Defender of the Year initially took up a scouting role at United and then began his coaching career with PEC Zwolle, winning the Eerste Divisie with the same club he started his playing days with.
That summer, Stam signed a three-year contract with Ajax to become an assistant coach and in his first season back at the Amsterdam ArenA he helped his old club take the top tier title.