USMNT striker Aron Johannsson will have a new manager when he comes back from injury, as former Ajax and AC Milan attacker Marco van Basten’s stint as AZ Alkmaar boss lasted just a few months.
In a very odd twist, he’s going to stay on as assistant manager to Alex Pastoor, a former assistant.
[ RELATED: Johannsson still a month away from return ]
Van Basten, 49, stepped away from his post on Tuesday, weeks after taking leave from the club to deal with stress-related health issues. He was hired over the summer after a season at Ajax and two years at Heerenveen.
He also coached the Netherlands from 2004-2008, and has been dealing with heart palpitations.
From the BBC:“It (the palpitations) has happened to me several times over the last years. I thought I could overcome it and that things would get better,” added Van Basten.
“I worked hard at recovery and followed the necessary courses of treatment. I wanted to keep going but they kept coming back. There were two solutions: to do something else or to change the way I currently work.
“That is why I asked AZ to change my responsibility to better suit me and so that I can continue.”
The first chair at AZ has belonged to some of the biggest names in Dutch football, from Louis van Gaal to Dick Advocaat and Ronald Koeman.
