Pune FC appoint Dutchman Mike Snoei as head coach

Pune Football Club has appointed highly rated Dutch coach Mike Snoei as their head coach ahead of the next season of the I-League. The Rotterdam native will be on his first stint in India and becomes the third foreign coach signed since the league’s inception in 2007. He is the fourth Dutch coach to be involved in Indian football and only the second at club-level.

Pune FC management believes that in Snoei, there exists a guide with significant experience at the highest level of the game at both youth and senior level

Speaking about the appointment, Pune FC Director, Nandan Piramal said, “Mike will be a great addition to Pune FC. He brings with him a wealth of experience from the top levels of both European and Asian football. As we continue to invest in our academy and youth teams, Mike will be the perfect fit to develop these players and help the club reach our long term goals.”

Snoei began his career with Feyenoord playing at the Rotterdam giants in the 1981-82 season, before moving to neighbouring Excelsior where he played from 1982-88 before he finally ended his career at Sparta (1988-93), where he played under current National Team Technical Director Rob Baan. Snoei, was forced into early retirement due to torn knee ligaments. Among his other achievements as a player was representing the Netherlands at the 1983 U-21 FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico along with the famed striker Marco van Basten.

Early retirement led to coaching assignments with the youth teams at Sparta until 1996. From there, he shifted to Vitesse Arnhem, where over the next six years, he went on to head the Youth Academy and second team.

Snoei was appointed Head Coach at the Eredivisie side Vitesse in 2002. A season later, he returned to Sparta as Head Coach for 2 seasons from 2003-05, where he lead the club to the promotion play-offs before moving to the Go Ahead Eagles (2005-08), where he repeated the feat of leading the team to the play-offs for a spot in the Eredivisie.

Having spent time as Head Coach in Holland, Snoei moved abroad as Assistant Coach to renowned Dutch Coach Henk ten Cate for several years. Snoei assisted Ten Cate at Panathinaikos FC (2008-10) helping them to reac the Champions League Round of 16 in 2009. He then move along with Ten Cate to Al Ahli in Dubai (2010) and then to Umm-Salal SC in Qatar (2010-11) reaching the finals of both national Domestic Cups. Most recently he plied his trade at Shandong Luneng in China (2011-12), leading the reserve side to the National Reserve-League title.before turning to Pune FC.

Talking about his appointment, Snoei stated “It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with Pune FC, who is one of the premier football clubs of India. As new coach, I hope to bring a new dimension to the team and also develop a style of play along the way. I am sure, that working with young and dynamic players will enable me to further develop as a coach. I also hope to give the team a new vision and grow together with Pune FC.”

Pune FC, Head of Operations, Chirag Tanna added, “We are very happy with the appointment of Mike Snoei as our Head Coach. Snoei comes with vast experience of managing and playing in top leagues around the world and we believe that he has what is needed to take Pune FC to the next level.”

Snoei is expected to arrive in India in the first week of July to meet both management and team before taking full charge.