Wim Jansen: Former Celtic manager dies at 75, announce Feyenoord
- Published
Wim Jansen (right) was assisted by Murdo MacLeod during his one season at Celtic
Former Celtic manager Wim Jansen, who won the Scottish title with the club in 1998, has died at the age of 75.
The Dutchman, who had been living with dementia, clinched the league in his only season in charge, stopping Rangers from winning 10 in a row.
Jansen signed club legend Henrik Larsson and also won the League Cup.
He made over 500 appearances for Feyenoord, including the 1970 European Cup final win over Celtic in Milan, and managed the Rotterdam team.
"I've often said that for all of us, we get the privilege of coming through these clubs and I guess our ultimate ambition is to leave some sort of mark or some sort of legacy and he did that in 12 months," said Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.
"The impact he had in just one year at this football club is fantastic. Similar journey to mine from Japan to here, way back then. He's left an indelible mark."
Twice a losing World Cup finalist in 1974 and 1978, he won four titles with Feyenoord as a player as well as the Uefa Cup in 1974. At the tail end of his career he won another title with Ajax in 1982.
As a manager he won the Dutch Cup twice with Feyenoord.
His old club paid tribute to "a wonderful person and great Feyenoord player".
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst worked with Jansen as a youth at Feyenoord and when he returned to Rotterdam after spells at Ibrox, Arsenal and Barcelona.
"He saw my potential and really helped my development as a player," said Van Bronckhorst. "He was the first coach to let me train with players who were two or three years older than I was when I was young.
"He was a really important player for Feyenoord and the Dutch team. It's very sad. I've known the family for many years."
Jansen replaced Tommy Burns in July 1997 and was Celtic's first non-British or Irish manager.
The title was clinched by a two-point margin thanks to a final day win at home to St Johnstone, but he resigned almost immediately and was later replaced by Jozef Venglos.
Having managed Feyenoord from 1990-93, he returned as technical director in 2005 and spent the 2008-2009 season as assistant to Gertjan Verbeek.
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