Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been part of England‘s coaching staff for less than a week but has already had a front-row seat to a record-breaking moment in the country’s footballing history.
The Dutchman was one of the first to congratulate Harry Kane as he entered the dressing room in the underbelly of the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Thursday night, shortly after the England captain had scored his 54th international goal in a 2-1 win over Italy, taking him past Wayne Rooney in the all-time scorers’ list.
Hasselbaink netted 127 Premier League goals during a career that took in spells with Leeds, Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic and Gareth Southgate, a former teammate at Boro, will hope that his goalscoring expertise can rub off on England’s forwards.
The appointment of Hasselbaink continues the Football Association’s drive to increase diversity within English football and he was approached after Chris Powell stood down to concentrate on his job as head of coaching in Tottenham’s academy.
“You’d like to have an English staff across the board, but there is strength in having other personalities as well,” said Gareth Southgate when asked whether the appointment highlighted a shortage of black coaches in England.
“Jimmy will bring a presence. He’s got great energy. He has a high interest in the tactical side of the game – he’s typically Dutch, a student. I think he’s going to bring a lot to our coaching team.”
Hasselbaink has spent much of the past decade in management, taking in stints with Royal Antwerp, Burton Albion (twice), QPR and Northampton Town. This is his first coaching position since being Sean O’Driscoll’s assistant at Nottingham Forest between 2011-13.
“Jimmy’s his own man. That’s what you want, you don’t want someone sitting on the fence,” Burton Albion’s chairman Ben Robinson, who hired Hasselbaink twice, tells i. “You want somebody has got their own individual vision and flair and the capacity and ability to deliver that and that’s what Jimmy’s got. I’m sure that’s why he’s got the opportunity to work in the England setup and I’m sure he’ll grasp it firmly with both hands.”
QPR’s goalkeeping coach Gavin Ward, who worked with Hasselbaink at Burton and then followed him to west London, agrees with Robinson’s assessment.
“He’ll be invaluable and I believe that it’s a fantastic appointment for Gareth to get him on board,” Ward tells i. “Jimmy’s very honest and always speaks his mind so if Gareth asks him something he will always get an honest reply.
“It’s important to have someone like that, who has an opinion and is not afraid to voice that opinion and not just go along with what he thinks the manager wants to hear.”
Ward was struck by the intensity of Hasselbaink’s training sessions but believes he will be able to provide “little details” that can assist England’s forwards in his new role.
“Jimmy was renowned for having a rocket shot with no backlift and I used to ask him how he did it and he’d say ‘I just used to get the ball out of my feet and strike through the ball really quickly’,” he says. “It sounds simple but the reality of doing and the technical side of it is very difficult.”
“They’ll respect Jimmy as a phenomenal striker and see that he’s been successful in management and as a coach,” adds Robinson.
Ward admits that Hasselbaink’s England appointment was “leftfield” and came about after he bumped into Southgate at Stamford Bridge while he was doing ambassadorial work for Chelsea.
Hasselbaink has combined that role with punditry work, featuring regularly as a guest on Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage this season. But Ward admits he has frequently advised his former manager to “get back on the grass”.
That opportunity has now arisen and Hasselbaink will have the opportunity of working with some of the best strikers on the planet.
“He’s a very humble man,” says Ward. “It’s just about passing on some of his knowledge and expertise to those top, top players and if he can get an extra one or two per cent out of Harry Kane or Marcus Rashford that’s got to be an absolute bonus hasn’t it?”
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