Bergas Brillianto analyses the Dutch sporting director who has, with now Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, brought recent success to one of the Netherland’s big three
In the last two years, Feyenoord have achieved some great things: they reached the final of the European Conference League, won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup, reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and qualified for the Champions League. Much of the credit for these achievements goes to former coach Arne Slot, now at Liverpool. Slot’s tactical approach is certainly important to Feyenoord’s success. But their success goes beyond tactical genius.
Feyenoord’s success is also based on smart recruitment, which involves a good scouting process with data analysis. Feyenoord are really good at building a squad that fits their style of play. They are good at finding replacements for the stars that move to the Premier League or another, richer club. And for all of that, the name of Dennis te Kloese needs to be mentioned. He’s one of the key figures in the list of successes mentioned above, since most of those achievements have come under Kloese’s stewardship as technical and general director.
The Dutch Who Spend Most of His Career in North America
Kloese is Dutch but unusually has spent the majority of his backroom career in North America. He was chief scout for Chivas, then director of youth development for the Mexican Football Federation and, before joining Feyenoord, general manager of LA Galaxy. During his first spell at the helm of the Mexican FA, the country won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Mexico have also been very competitive at youth World Cups, winning one and finishing runners-up on two occasions at the U-17 level and finishing third at the U-20 level. During his tenure, LA Galaxy reached the MLS play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Kloese’s time in Mexico and Los Angeles has seen him emerge as a leader capable of finding and developing young talent, as well as handling the pressure of managing one of the country’s biggest clubs. It’s a skill set that serves him well at Feyenoord, who are looking to break the traditional stranglehold of Ajax and PSV. Appointed as a general manager in January 2022, Kloese took over as technical director in the summer of that year after Frank Arnesen stepped down due to health reasons. Since then, Kloese has led Feyenoord in a dual director role.
Under his leadership, Feyenoord have become a team that focuses on signing and developing young players. The average age of players signed during Kloese’s tenure is 22.9 years. Feyenoord don’t hesitate to buy players in their early 20s and they don’t rush them. If the players are not able to perform immediately, Feyenoord will develop them. If the players need more playing time to develop, Feyenoord are open to giving them experience through loan deals. Feyenoord under Kloese know that young players are their capital now and in the future, so they will wait.
But Kloese and his team also know how to find young players who can help the team when it is needed most. Take the summer of 2022 as an example. That summer, after reaching the final of the Conference League and losing only to Jose Mourinho’s Roma, Feyenoord lost many of their key players. Luis Sinistera was sold to Leeds, Marco Senesi joined Bournemouth, Fredrik Aursnes went to Benfica, and Tyrel Malacia signed for Manchester United. In addition, key player Guus Til’s loan spell had come to an end. And Kloese had to replace them all in the same summer.
| OUTGOING TRANSFERS IN KLOESE’S FIRST SEASON | ||||
| Name | Age | To | Fee | Season |
| Luis Sinisterra | 23 | Leeds | 25,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Marcos Senesi | 25 | Bournemouth | 15,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Tyrell Malacia | 22 | Manchester United | 15,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Fredrik Aursnes | 26 | Benfica | 13,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Bryan Linssen | 31 | Urawa Reds | 1,300,000 | 2022/23 |
| Philippe Sandler | 25 | NEC Nijmegen | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Jens Toornstra | 33 | FC Utrecht | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Achraf El Bouchataoui | 22 | KMSK Deinze | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Noah Naujoks | 20 | Excelsior | 0 | 2022/23 |
Kloese signed 11 players on a permanent basis that summer, but only two of them were over the age of 23. He signed a lot of young players to replace the stars. And to fill the gap, he also loaned some experienced players to help balance the squad. And it turned out to be a shrewd move. Young players such as Mats Wieffer, Santiago Giménez, and Quinten Timber all played key roles that season. Experienced players such as David Hancko, Sebastian Szymanski and Oussama Idrissi have also made the team competitive. And indeed, they compete very well.
| INGOING TRANSFERS IN KLOESE’S FIRST SEASON | ||||
| Name | Age | From | Fee | Season |
| David Hancko | 24 | Sparta Prague | 8,300,000 | 2022/23 |
| Quinten Timber | 21 | Utrecht | 7,400,000 | 2022/23 |
| Santiago Giménez | 22 | CD Cruz Azul | 6,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Igor Paixao | 22 | Coritiba FC | 4,500,000 | 2022/23 |
| Javairo Dilrosun | 24 | Hertha BSC | 4,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Ezequiel Bullaude | 21 | Godoy Cruz | 2,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Neraysho Kasanwirjo | 20 | Groningen | 2,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Marcos Lopez | 22 | San Jose | 1,200,000 | 2022/23 |
| Mats Wieffer | 22 | Excelsior | 575,000 | 2022/23 |
| Danilo | 23 | Ajax | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Mohamed Taabouni | 20 | AZ Alkmaar | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Sebastian Szymanski | 23 | Dynamo Moscow | 2,000,000 (Loan) | 2022/23 |
| Oussama Idrissi | 26 | Sevilla | Loan | 2022/23 |
| Jacob Rasmussen | 25 | Fiorentina | Loan | 2022/23 |
| Fredrik Bjorkan | 24 | Hertha BSC | Loan | 2022/23 |
| Timon Wellenreuther | 26 | Anderlecht | Loan | 2022/23 |
Hancko played the most minutes for the team that season. Giménez finished the season as the club’s top scorer with 15 league goals. Szymanski contributed 9 goals and 4 assists. Wieffer also started to play an important role in the midfield. Overall, Feyenoord were better defensively, conceding just 0.88 xG per 90 minutes this season, compared to 1.01 the previous season. They also lost just two league games, playing attractive and intense football that caught the eye of the world. This is an example of a good job done by the sporting director/technical director: find young/cheap talent that fits into the coaching system to keep the club stable and even more competitive, as well as laying the ground for future sales.
Kloese’s shrewd strategy helped Slot to lead Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title in 2022/23, their first since the 2016/17 season. They also reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The loss of star players didn’t affect their performance. The coach’s strategy matched the players that were signed. This shows how good the scouting process is at Feyenoord under Kloese. How they have been able to find the right talent on a shoestring budget to keep the club perform and compete well in various competitions.
Mastering the Americas
As mentioned earlier, Kloese had travelled extensively in North America before landing in Rotterdam. And that experience, as well as his connections in the region, has helped him to identify talent from North America. It’s no surprise that during his tenure at Feyenoord, the club has signed four players directly from North American competitions. If you guess that they came from a big competition like the MLS or a big Mexican club like Club America or Tigre, you are not entirely wrong, but you are not entirely right either. Two of them were bought from MLS clubs, yes, but the other two came from a Mexican club called Cruz Azul and a Costa Rican club called LD Alajuelense.
The one Kloese bought from Azul is Giménez. Even that came at a high price: €6 million for a 21-year-old striker with limited professional experience and who has never scored double figures in a single season. It was a bold decision, but Kloese felt, correctly, that Giménez was the right talent for the team. He knew the Mexican had something to offer and masses of potential. It may not have looked like it at first, but Kloese also knew that Giménez needed time. After barely playing at the start of the 2022/23 season, Giménez got his minutes after the World Cup. And he finished the season with 15 league goals, followed by 23 the season after. It is only a matter of time before a bigger or richer club makes a big-money move for Giménez – and Feyenoord reap the rewards.
Under Kloese, Feyenoord have also been keen to explore South America. Speaking to The Athletic, a member of the club’s staff explained that they have scouts there who will find talent in some countries. But it won’t be talent for the big clubs – because they know they’ll be competing against richer clubs and they don’t have the money – it will be talent from small clubs or even second-tier clubs. Feyenoord signed Igor Paixao from second-tier Coritiba in Brazil. While it might sound like quite the jump, he is now the starter on the left wing for Feyenoord, and has already contributed five league goals this season. He contributed double figures last season and has been overperforming his xG since his first season at De Kuip.
| FEYENOORD’S TRANSFERS UNDER KLOESE FROM NORTH/SOUTH AMERICA | ||||
| Name | Age | From | Fee | Season |
| Santiago Gimenez | 22 | CD Cruz Azul | 6,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Igor Paixao | 22 | Coritiba FC | 4,500,000 | 2022/23 |
| Ezequiel Bullaude | 21 | Godoy Cruz | 2,000,000 | 2022/23 |
| Marcos Lopez | 22 | San Jose | 1,200,000 | 2022/23 |
| Jeyland Mitchell | 19 | LD Alajuelense | 3,500,000 | 2024/25 |
| Julian Carranza | 24 | Philadelphia | 0 | 2024/25 |
Scouting and Exploring “Unique” Markets
Kloese and his scouting team like to explore “unique” markets. The Eredivisie level may have given them an advantage, but Kloese and his team know that talent is talent, no matter where the player has played before. If Kloese and his team see that these players have a chance of fitting into the Feyenoord system and can contribute, they will sign them. So, as well as signing players from second-tier clubs in Brazil or a club in Costa Rica, Feyenoord have also recruited players from all over, from every possible level, competitions that might be the second, third, or even fourth option for some of Europe’s top clubs.
This season, for example, Kloese has signed one player from the Belgian second division, one from the French third division, and one from the Bulgarian league. The most expensive player bought last summer was a Korean central midfielder who had previously played in Serbia. His name is Hwang In-beom and he has been an integral part of the team this season, replacing Wieffer who was sold to Brighton for €32 million. It’s yet another example of Kloese’s ability to lead the team and find talent elsewhere, so they don’t have to compete with bigger or richer clubs and pay more for their targets.
And in their scouting process, Feyenoord have to assess several aspects: not just the obvious things like technical quality and physicality, but also mental strength. That helps them to find the right player. The right players who fit into the team, tactically, and mentally. Interestingly enough, Kloese still does his own eye scouting when needed. In an interview with the Dutch daily de Volkskrant, Kloese claims that he still watches the videos of the players he wants to recruit on his laptop, even if it means working longer hours and not having a comfortable holiday.
| FEYENOORD’S 24/25 TRANSFERS FROM SECOND/THIRD TIER OR EAST-EUROPEAN LEAGUES | |||||
| Name | Age | From | League Country (Tier) | Fee | Season |
| Hwang In-beom | 27 | Red Star | Serbia (I) | 7,000,000 | 2024/25 |
| Ondrej Lingr | 25 | Slavia Prague | Czech (I) | 4,000,000 | 2024/25 |
| Anis Hadj Moussa | 22 | Patro Eisden | Belgium (II) | 3,500,000 | 2024/25 |
| Plamen Andreev | 19 | Levski Sofia | Bulgaria (I) | 1,200,000 | 2024/25 |
| Chris-Kevin Nadje | 22 | FC Versailles | France (III) | 500,000 | 2024/25 |
| Devin Haen | 20 | De Graafschap | Netherlands (II) | 150,000 | 2024/25 |
Kloese Tricky Area: Midfielder
Hwang In-beom is one of a number of midfielders Kloese has bought during his tenure at Feyenoord. Midfield has been the area that has caused Kloese the most headaches in every transfer window. Imagine, Feyenoord have lost their midfield stars in three consecutive seasons: Aursners to Benfica in the summer of 2022, Kökcü to the same club the season after, and Wieffer this summer. In every single season since he became technical director, Kloese has led his team to find replacements for their midfield stars.
Luckily, he always sold those stars for good money (in the double digits), so they had the flexibility in terms of the budget. Of course, they never reached double figures, but Hwang In-beom, for example, was bought for €7 million. In the same summer that Aursnes went to Benfica for €13 million, Feyenoord signed Quentin Timber from Utrecht for €7.4 million and, this is the bargain, Wieffer from Excelsior for just €575,000. It was a shrewd move, as both players became regular starters.
When Kökcü left the club for 25 million, Kloese signed Ramiz Zerrouki from Twente for €7.2 million and Calvin Stengs from OGC Nice for just €6 million. Zerrouki added a defensive dimension to Feyenoord’s midfield, while Stengs provided an attacking threat, scoring six goals and laying on 12 assists last season. If we do the maths, Feyenoord still have a positive margin from the Kökcü transfer. That was also the case with Wieffer’s transfer this summer. Kloese may still need to think more about his midfield, but so far he and his team have done a good job of keeping the team competitive.
Another Strategy: Loan Players from Bigger Leagues
Another interesting aspect of Kloese’s work is his loan strategy. Seven of the 10 players he has loaned into Feyenoord have come from the top four leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A). In his first summer, he loaned Oussama Idrissi from Sevilla and the player contributed double-digit goals. Yakuba Minteh, the most intriguing name in this list, joined Feyenoord on loan from Newcastle last season and scored 10 goals and laid on six assists. That spell caught the eye and Minteh became a hot commodity before signing for Brighton.
Three players have joined Feyenoord on loan this season, all from the big leagues. Facundo Gonzales joined from Juventus, Ibrahim Osman from Brighton, and Hugo Bueno from Wolves. Osman and Bueno have shown so far this season that they are becoming valuable loan players for Feyenoord. Both have played over 300 minutes for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie. Osman, despite being only 19 years old, has already scored a goal and created a couple of assists. He could be the next Minteh after his time in Rotterdam.
| LOAN TRANSFERS FROM EUROPE TOP 4 LEAGUES | ||||
| Name | Age | From | Fee | Season |
| Oussama Idrissi | 26 | Sevilla | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Jacob Rasmussen | 25 | Fiorentina | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Fredrik Bjorkan | 24 | Hertha BSC | 0 | 2022/23 |
| Yankuba Minteh | 18 | Newcastle | 0 | 2023/24 |
| Facundo Gonzales | 21 | Juventus | 500,000 | 2024/25 |
| Ibrahim Osman | 19 | Brighton | 0 | 2024/25 |
| Hugo Bueno | 21 | Wolves | 0 | 2024/25 |
Is Brian Priske New Kloese’s Masterclass?
When Slot left for the Liverpool job in the summer, Kloese found it difficult to find a replacement. In the end, he chose Brian Priske as Feyenoord’s new coach. Priske has an interesting CV: Denmark, Belgium and the Czech Republic. He also has some successes to his name: Danish league championship with Midtjylland and a couple of Czech league titles with Sparta Prague. He also plays an attacking, attractive brand of football that Kloese believes could take the spotlight away from Slot.
And after 11 Eredivisie games so far this season, it looks like Priske needs more time. Feyenoord started well, beating PSV in the Super Cup, but then drew three times in the league against the likes of Willem II and FC Groningen. It wasn’t a good start. Feyenoord are still inconsistent. Just when things were looking up after a run of five straight wins, including two Champions League victories over Girona and Benfica, Feyenoord lost to Ajax before beating AZ Alkmaar last weekend. They have scored 24 goals so far, showing that they have figured out how to be a productive team, but they still look sloppy.
Feyenoord currently sit fourth in the Eredivisie with a long season ahead of them. Sometimes it looks like their defensive solidity is still there, but in reality the stability they showed last season isn’t there anymore. Priske also needs to improve their attacking numbers, as their 1.59 xG per 90 minutes so far this season is still below last season’s 2.74. With key players such as Stengs and Giménez still injured, the numbers could be better. Priske is still on the right track to make Feyenoord competitive for next season’s Champions League, as well as reaching the last 16 of that competition this season, but there are plenty of things that need to be fixed.
Header image copyright IMAGO / BSR Agency
