After the Oranje fired Guus Hiddink, after a two-month managerial reign, the Dutch turned to assistant Danny Blind to become their new manager.

Playing career

The Dutchman spent his whole career in the his homeland playing for Sparta Rotterdam and Ajax. He spent his first seven seasons as a professional with Sparta before making the move to the Eredivisie powerhouse, Ajax.

With Ajax, he became the only Dutch player to win all international club competitions that are recognized by FIFA and UEFA. He finished his career five Eredivisie titles, four Dutch Cups, a Champions League, a UEFA Cup, a UEFA Cup Winners Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, and an Intercontinental Cup title.

Three years as an assistant

After playing, Blind had stints managing Ajax (was also an assistant after his first stint) and was the Director of Football at Rotterdam. The Dutchman was brought on as an assistant of the Dutch men’s national team on July 6, 2012 along with Patrick Kluivert.

He was brought in by current Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal; his son Daley Blind plays for Manchester United as well. It was under Van Gaal’s reign that the Oranje finished in third at the 2014 World Cup.

Goal: Qualify for the European Championships

It was under Hiddink that the form of the Dutch had significantly dropped. He was tasked of trying to get them to qualify for Euro 2016 in France, and they have performed underwhelmingly in their group as they currently sit in third in Group A in Euro Qualifying on 10 points.

Iceland lead Group A with 15 points with the Czech Republic in second with 13. The top two teams in each group as well the top-ranked third place team automatically book a spot into next year’s Euro with the final eight third-placed teams battling it out in a playoff.

Holland currently are third amongst fellow third-placed teams. Blind has stated that his only goal is to qualify for the European Championships. Blind said in a statement. "I'm not looking back and not looking further forward than that. Only qualifying for Euro 2016 counts."

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.