FC Cincinnati finally has a new head coach as they announced that Jaap Stam, a former back for Manchester United, will take the reigns. The contract is for a year and a half suggesting he will have two seasons to show what he is capable of. He also has an option for one more season.
Stam is certainly a big name going back to his days in Manchester and also having played for the Netherlands national team 67 times. Stam also seems to follow a trend of hirings by general manager Gerard Nijkamp as he is the second dutch manager for the club (Ron Jans being the first) to be hired. Nijkamp and Stam once worked together in the Eredivisie for PEC Zwolle, so there is a lot of familiarity with one another.
Stam had spent time doing smaller coaching roles for PEC Zwolle and Ajax before becoming a head coach. His first manager job was with Reading in England and was fairly successful before being fired for a lack of wins. He would take over as head coach at PEC Zwolle during the 2018-19 season, but then would take over Feyenoord the next season. While looking strong out of the gate for Feyenoord, the team would proceed to struggle and Stam would then resign.
Stam seems to favor a defensive style of the sport, something FC Cincinnati has been focused around since the club started building a team last season. According to Cincinnati Sports Talk, Nijkamp prefers a defensive version of the 4-3-3, which seems to fit perfectly in Stam's system. While his record suggest mixed results, this could be an excellent fit for the club.
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