Wesley Sneijder takes charge of ninth-division club for his first-ever managerial role

Wesley Sneijder is set to make his first steps into coaching in his native Netherlands at the age of 42.

The Dutch international will take charge at ninth-tier club Eminent Boys, where his brother Rodney is a director.

Sneijder played for the likes of Inter Milan, Ajax and Real Madrid during an extensive playing career. One club he never played for, despite regular speculation, was Manchester United, who have confirmed Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager with the club currently languishing in the relegation zone in the Premier League.

Pochettino will be hopeful that the recruitment team can bring his desired players to the club. However, it doesn’t always work out, as Sir Alex Ferguson experienced in his time at the club; he was unable to convince several players to make their way to Old Trafford, despite his status.

One player Ferguson was unable to convince, despite years of being linked with a move to Old Trafford, was Sneijder.

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Wesley Sneijder begins his coaching career

Sneijder has chosen to join the coaching staff of Eminent Boys, a club in the ninth division of the Dutch league.

The former Dutch international made his first appearance at the Utrecht-based club’s training session on Tuesday evening, as he has taken over as manager.

Sneijder, the record holder for caps with the Netherlands, agreed to join the club, and will re-unite with his brother Rodney.

It will be the first time he has embarked on his coaching career, and he has decided to go very far down the Dutch football pyramid.

Despite retiring from the professional game in 2019, after a spell with Al-Gharafa, but he was spotted playing with OSM'75, another Utrecht club and a ninth-division side, last season.

The players at Eminent Boys will surely be excited to be learning from the former Champions League winner with Inter Milan and the World Cup finalist.

In the eyes of many fans, Sneijder was among the best players in the world around 2010 and 2011 as he was crucial to Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

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Wesley Sneijder’s links to Manchester United

Despite never making his way to England to represent Man United, Sneijder has spoken previously to SPORTbible about how close he was to making his way to Old Trafford.

Sneijder said: “I was close in 2011 after the Champions League and after the World Cup. But then, what I heard later is that because at a certain point, we were talking with United and at a certain point, there was nothing anymore.

“And I asked my manager, ‘What happened with United?’ and he said, ‘No, nothing, it’s over’.

“But two years later, I found out that he asked for extra money for himself. So that's why the deal was over. So actually, [Sir Alex] Ferguson, he told one of my relatives.”