“Fortunately, this is done on a temporary basis,” Bijvelds says of taking over as general manager. Despite doing a double job at TOP Oss, Bijvelds wants to continue focusing on the technical director role at Doetinchem. “I hope that we will find a good new general manager as soon as possible, but I also think that the supervisory board should take the time to do this. “In the next few months I will achieve honors and I will be the sole ruler,” says the tech guy with a laugh.
About fifty candidates applied for the position of general manager. “I think that’s a lot, it’s a sign that the club is still in reasonable shape,” says chairman Martin Moss. There are also a number of promising candidates among the candidates. “Among them there were a few Spaniards and even one from South America,” explains the chairman of the board. “I think you could talk about thirty serious candidates. We have now shortlisted and will go from there. Hopefully we will have a new general manager before the summer.”
new mayor
Moss is pleased that Ostendorp, who was inaugurated on Friday as mayor of Buren, has taken on the role of managing director. “We are trying to find someone with similar qualities,” said the chairman of the board, and noted that there was no mayor among the applicants. “We are a football team, that’s number one, but we want to ensure social anchoring and good contacts with governments.”
“club character”
Bijvelds also has wishes for a new general manager: “I think the candidate you dream of is someone who understands what De Graafschap stands for. It’s an advantage if someone also has explicit knowledge of the sport or the world of professional football. Technical knowledge is not the most important thing. This is only important if you think the manager is not good enough, but then you’d better talk to him. He should be a symbol for the club as Ostendorp were.”
eke out
In the aftermath of Ostendorp, CFO Koster announced he was leaving. She did not feel at home in the world of football. A temporary successor has been found with former footballer Heracles Almelo Mole who will stay on until at least September. Among other things, he must determine where the club can save money. “We were better off financially, but it’s also manageable,” Bijvelds says. “How big or small the cut is, we also have to make decisions about it.”
Photo: REGIO8
