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Jan Poortvliet

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Jan Poortvliet
Poortvliet in 1978
Personal information
Date of birth (1955-09-21) 21 September 1955 (age 71)
Place of birth Arnemuiden, Netherlands
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 FC Eindhoven (head coach)
Youth career
1963–1972 VV Arnemuiden
1972–1974 PSV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1983 PSV 264 (41)
1983–1984 Roda JC 20 (1)
1984–1987 Nîmes 97 (15)
1987–1988 Royal Antwerp 34 (7)
1988–1989 Cannes 36 (3)
1989–1990 Eendracht Aalst 20 (3)
1990–1992 VCV Zeeland 60 (4)
Total 531 (74)
International career
1978–1982 Netherlands 19 (1)
Managerial career
1996–1997 RBC Roosendaal
2000–2001 Den Bosch
2002–2005 Telstar
2007–2008 Helmond Sport
2008–2009 Southampton
2009–2010 FC Eindhoven
2010–2012 Telstar
2012–2013 Den Bosch
2014–2015 Goes
2016 Qingdao Red Lions
2018–2021 RKSV Nuenen
2021–2024 FC Eindhoven (U18)
2024–2025 FC Eindhoven (U21)
2025– FC Eindhoven
Medal record
Representing  Netherlands
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up1978 Argentina
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jan Poortvliet (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɑm ˈpoːrtflit]; born 21 September 1955) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Eerste Divisie club FC Eindhoven. As a player he spent most of his career with PSV, with whom he won three Eredivisie titles and the 1977–78 UEFA Cup, and he was a member of the Netherlands team that finished as runners-up at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. After later spells in France and Belgium he retired in 1992 and turned to coaching, managing clubs including Den Bosch, Telstar and the English club Southampton, before settling into a long association with FC Eindhoven.

Early life

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Poortvliet was born on 21 September 1955 in Arnemuiden, Zeeland, the eldest of seven children; his father, Klaas, had been a prolific amateur forward in the town.[1][2][3] He began playing for the local club VV Arnemuiden at the age of seven and worked as an apprentice carpenter. Spotted as a centre-back at a KNVB trial for 16- and 17-year-olds in Zeist, he signed for PSV in 1972 and joined the reserve team.[1][2]

Club career

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PSV

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Poortvliet made his competitive debut for PSV in 1975, scoring in a 5–1 win away to local rivals Eindhoven.[2] Under coach Kees Rijvers he became a regular in a successful side, winning three Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Cup.[2][4] The peak of his career came in 1977–78, when PSV won the UEFA Cup, beating Bastia of France 3–0 in the final after a goalless first leg; in the semi-final against Barcelona, Rijvers credited Poortvliet with marking Johan Cruyff out of the tie.[2][4] He lost his regular place during the 1983–84 season and left PSV in November 1983.[4]

Later clubs

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Poortvliet joined Roda JC in November 1983, scoring once in his only season in Limburg.[4] He then spent several years abroad, playing for Nîmes in France from 1984, followed by Royal Antwerp in Belgium, AS Cannes back in France, and the Belgian club Eendracht Aalst.[2] He ended his playing career in his native Zeeland with VC Vlissingen, which played two seasons as a professional club—the only one the province has had—competing as VCV Zeeland in its second season before the venture folded in 1992.[1][2]

International career

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Poortvliet made his debut for the Netherlands on 20 May 1978 in a 1–0 win over Austria, and was selected for the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, where the Dutch reached the final and lost 3–1 after extra time to the hosts.[1][5] He also appeared at UEFA Euro 1980 and won 19 caps in all, scoring once, against Belgium in 1979.[6]

Managerial career

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Early management

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Poortvliet began coaching in professional football with RBC Roosendaal in 1996–97.[2] The most successful spell of his managerial career came at FC Den Bosch, whom he led to the Eerste Divisie title and promotion to the Eredivisie in 2000–01.[2][7] From December 2002 to June 2005 he worked at Telstar, then a satellite club of AZ, which also paid his salary, and after spells in amateur football he was appointed head coach of Helmond Sport for the 2007–08 season.[2][7]

Southampton

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On 29 May 2008, Poortvliet was announced as head coach of English Championship club Southampton, replacing Nigel Pearson, with Mark Wotte taking over the academy.[8] He was the club's tenth head coach in ten years and its first from outside the United Kingdom.[8] The appointment was complicated by his existing contract at Helmond Sport, which had not given him permission to negotiate; after his initial offer of compensation was rejected, a KNVB arbitration panel ruled that he could take the role on payment of £60,000 to Helmond, which he did.[9]

After an opening defeat to Cardiff City, Poortvliet recorded his first win three days later, beating Exeter City 3–1 in the League Cup; his first league win followed at Derby County in August 2008.[10] Following a run of one win in 14 home games, he resigned on 23 January 2009, with Wotte taking over.[11]

Return to the Netherlands

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On 15 June 2009, Poortvliet was appointed manager of Eerste Divisie club FC Eindhoven, leading the side to the promotion/relegation play-offs.[2] In June 2010 he took over at Telstar, whose costs were then underwritten by AZ, remaining until June 2012, when he returned to FC Den Bosch for a season.[2][12] He subsequently managed the amateur club VV Goes, had a spell with Qingdao Red Lions in China in 2016, and coached the amateur side RKSV Nuenen.[2][13]

Return to Eindhoven

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Poortvliet returned to FC Eindhoven's staff in 2021, coaching the club's under-18 team and, from 2024, its under-21 side.[14] In late October 2025, after head coach Maurice Verberne suffered a broken leg, the 70-year-old Poortvliet stepped up as the club's first-team head coach; when Eindhoven decided in February 2026 not to renew Verberne's contract, Poortvliet remained in charge for the rest of the season.[14][15] In April 2026 he signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him as head coach until mid-2027, with the club citing his role in integrating young players.[16][17]

Personal life

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Poortvliet is the uncle of the footballer Jan Paul van Hecke.[18] Alongside his coaching he has worked as a parcel courier in the Eindhoven area.[13]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[6]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 1978100
197951
198010
198120
198210
Total191
Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Poortvliet goal.
List of international goals scored by Jan Poortvliet[6]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
126 September 1979De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands Belgium1–01–0Friendly

Honours

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PSV

Netherlands

Notes

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "21 september – Jan Poortvliet". Zalig Zeeland (in Dutch). 20 September 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Hills, Frank (23 April 2026). "In het leven van Jan Poortvliet overschaduwt voetbal al het andere. 'Ik dacht: potverdorie, ik speel morgen echt op een WK'" [In Jan Poortvliet's life, football overshadows everything else. 'I thought: blimey, I'm actually playing in a World Cup tomorrow']. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Jakobs, Geert-Jan (13 June 2026). "Jan Paul van Hecke en Jan Poortvliet, voetbaltrots van Arnemuiden" [Jan Paul van Hecke and Jan Poortvliet, Arnemuiden's football heroes]. Voetbal International (in Netherlands Dutch). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Oude glorie: interview met Jan Poortvliet". Supportersvereniging PSV (in Dutch). 1 December 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Brandts en Poortvliet: 'WK-finale of amateurs; het gaat om winnen'". KNVB (in Dutch). February 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Jan Poortvliet – Interlands Nederlands Elftal". voetbalstats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Helmond Sport vindt in Poortvliet nieuwe trainer". FCUpdate (in Dutch). 12 April 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Poortvliet named new Saints boss". BBC. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  9. ↑ "Poortvliet cleared for Saints job". BBC Sport. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "Derby 0–1 Southampton". BBC. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  11. ↑ "Poortvliet resigns as Saints boss". BBC Sport. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  12. ↑ "Jan Poortvliet verlaat Telstar en tekent voor Den Bosch" [Poortvliet leaves Telstar and signs for Den Bosch] (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Jan Poortvliet: van WK-finalist tot postbezorger". Omroep Zeeland (in Dutch). 14 December 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Jan Poortvliet tijdelijk trainer FC Eindhoven na blessure Maurice Verberne". Voetbalprimeur (in Dutch). 5 November 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Jan Poortvliet (70) voor rest van het seizoen hoofdtrainer van FC Eindhoven". Omroep Brabant (in Dutch). 24 December 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "Poortvliet (70) blijft hoofdtrainer van FC Eindhoven: 'Ik geniet elke dag'". Omroep Brabant (in Dutch). 15 April 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "FC Eindhoven en hoofdtrainer Poortvliet vervolgen samenwerking". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 15 April 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Boogert, Rudy (2 November 2020). "Jan Paul van Hecke kan niet tippen aan ome Jan". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 "Erelijst" [Honours list]. PSV (in Dutch). 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
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