De Haan is Ajax Cape Town coach

By Pieter Stroink van Eizenga
BBC Sport, The Netherlands

Foppe de Haan is the new coach of South African club Ajax Cape Town

Dutch coach Foppe de Haan has signed an eight-month contract at South African club Ajax Cape Town, replacing Mushin Ertugal who left earlier this month.

The move comes despite the 66-year-old de Haan announcing in March that he would be retiring from the sport.

The former Holland under-21 coach has a firm idea of the style of play he hopes to introduce to the club.

"I prefer an attacking style of football that's based on ball possession," he told BBC Sport.

"My goal is to give the the squad more structure and give players simple but understandable tasks."

Ajax Cape Town and South Africa goalkeeper Hans Vonk played a major role in persuading de Haan to take the job.

The pair worked together at Dutch club Heerenveen, where de Haan coached for 19 years before taking his last job with the Holland under-21 team in 2004.

"Hans Vonk and the chairman convinced me they have a team with a lot of potential," de Haan explained.

De Haan has already spent time in South Africa with Maarten Stekelenburg, who is the head of Ajax Cape Town's youth academy.

He has already spoken to the coach of Ajax Amsterdam Martin Jol about the possibility of getting more South African players to move tot the Dutch club as part of the alliance the clubs have.

"I think this could be a great opportunity for me and Ajax Amsterdam to discover more and more talented young players," he said.

"This will surely lead to more players moving to the Netherlands and Europe."

Despite signing for eight months initially de Haan is open to staying longer in South Africa.

"My contract will only last eight months, I don't know yet how much longer I'm going to stay, only time will tell," he added.

"I'm not getting any younger, but I am still in great shape."

Ajax Cape Town are currently sixth in South Africa's Premier Soccer League, four points behind leaders Orlando Pirates.