One year into FC Cincinnati’s Major League Soccer voyage, it’s added another first to a long line of them: First general manager.
The name is Gerard Nijkamp, who was most notably the director of football at Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle before spending some time in Qatar.
[ U-20 WC: Weah leads U.S. win | Norwegian bags 9 ]
His resume with the Dutch side is solid, via FCCincinnati.com:
While in Zwolle, Nijkamp guided the club to a semifinal showing in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup) his first year, before winning it outright in his second season in 2013-14 and gaining a 2014-15 UEFA Europa League berth. That season they also won the 2014 Johan Cruyff Cup (Dutch Super Cup). While achieving PEC Zwolle’s best-ever Eredivisie finish (sixth) in 2014-15, the club also earned a berth in the Dutch Cup final. The club earned finishes in the top half of the Eredivisie table in 2015-16 (eighth) and 2017-18 (ninth).
Nijkamp’s priority will be finding the club’s next full-time manager, as Yoann Damet has been shepherding the club in an interim role since Alan Kock was fired early this season.
FCC started 2-2-2 but has won just one of its last 10 matches and sits seven points back of a playoff spot.