Peter Van den Berg will join Maccabi Tel Aviv as Patrick van Leeuwen’s Assistant Coach after the 49-year-old Dutchman agreed a one-year-deal with an option to extend by a further season.
Head of Maccabi’s Football Department, Barak Itzhaki, told the club’s official website: “We are delighted to add Peter Van den Berg for a significant role in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s coaching staff. We are certain that Peter will help us a lot and convinced that he fit-in well with the rest of our coaching staff”.
Maccabi’s Head Coach, Patrick van Leeuwen, added: “Peter is coach who gained massive experience from his rich playing career in Holland at various top clubs at both ends of the table. Peter then gradually built his coaching career from Youth football to professional football gaining vast experience along the way. This step-by-step attitude both as a player and a coach is a perfect match to Maccabi Tel Aviv and I am certain he would assist us a lot”.
After spending his entire 20-year-long professional playing career in Holland, Van den Berg began his coaching career at Sparta Rotterdam’s Youth Academy (2009) before stepping-up into the first team as Assistant Coach and Interim Head Coach (2013-2014). Van den Berg was then appointed as Head Coach at one of his former clubs RKC Waalwijk (2015-2017) and guided them within three years from the bottom of the second division to the promotion Play-Offs. Dutch giants Feyenoord Rotterdam, where he spent a season as a player, appointed Van den Berg in 2018 as Head Coach of the U-23’s. Van den Berg then left Holland for the first time in 2019 to join UAE club Al Jazira as Assistant coach and later that year worked for the Saudi Arabian FA Youth Academy.
Van den Berg began his playing career at Excelsior Rotterdam (1989-1995), Cambuur Leeuwarden (1995-1997), joined AZ Alkmaar (1997-2000) where he won promotion into the Dutch top flight. As a central defender, Van den Berg played three seasons at RKC Waalwijk (2000-2003) in the top division that led to a move to Feyenoord Rotterdam (2003/04) before switching to Vitesse Arnehem (2004-2006) and FC Den Bosch (2006-2009) where he retired at the age of 37 having played 444 matches.
