Johannes Hermannus van Dijk (born 10 December 1956 in Schalkhaar, Deventer

Deventer

Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...

, Overijssel

Overijssel

Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...

) is a former football midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

 from the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 turned manager.

Club career

Van Dijk is best known for having spent his entire career at FC Groningen, except for a short loan spell to Go Ahead Eagles

Go Ahead Eagles

The Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...

. His stay with the club spanned from 1975 to 1992, and earned him the nickname "Mister FC Groningen", as well as the record for number of appearances with a Groningen jersey (537).

Coaching career

After he retired in 1992, Van Dijk became a football manager. He coached FC Groningen, Roda JC, RBC Roosendaal, Helmond Sport

Helmond Sport

Helmond Sport is a Dutch football club, playing in the Dutch Eerste Divisie and located in Helmond, Noord-Brabant. The club was founded on July 27, 1967, as a breakaway from the local professional club Helmondia '55, which had gone bankrupt.-History:...

, and FC Emmen

FC Emmen

FC Emmen is a Dutch football club based in Emmen, Drenthe, and currently playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of football in the Netherlands.-History:...

. He was fired from FC Emmen on 15 February 2007. After a season serving as Foeke Booy

Foeke Booy

Foeke Booy is a Dutch former football player and current football manager, who was born in the Frisian town of Leeuwarden. On Tuesday 18 December 2007 Booy was named as the Sparta Rotterdam coach after having guided Al Nasr in Saudi Arabia for only eight league matches during the summer of 2007...

 assistant at Al-Nassr, he was appointed manager of then-Eerste Divisie

Eerste Divisie

The Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...

 club VVV-Venlo on June 2008. Under his tenure, VVV-Venlo were crowned 2008–09 Eerste Divisie champions and achieved immediate promotion back to the Eredivisie

Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

.

Personal life

Two of his sons, Gregoor

Gregoor van Dijk

Gregoor van Dijk is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, primarily as a midfielder.-Career:...

 and Dominique

Dominique van Dijk

Dominique van Dijk is a Dutch footballer who plays for FC Volendam as a midfielder. He is the son of former footballer and coach, Jan van Dijk, and brother of fellow footballer Gregoor van Dijk, currently playing for AEK Larnaca...

, also played professional football in the Netherlands.