Arnold Bruggink is stepping down after just over two years as technical director at FC Twente. The former player of the club says that the position does not fully suit him, causing him physical complaints. ‘Old acquaintance’ Jan Streuer will succeed him.
“This job continues 24 hours a day and never stops,” says Bruggink on the FC Twente website. “In the past period, I also increasingly realized that the interpretation of the position does not fully suit me. That mainly breaks me physically.”
The decision by the 47-year-old Bruggink follows a disappointing season for FC Twente. The Tukkers finished in sixth place in the Eredivisie and missed out on European football on Sunday. AZ was too strong for trainer Joseph Oosting’s team in the play-off final (3-2).
The purchasing policy under the leadership of Bruggink has come under scrutiny in recent weeks. Many new players did not live up to expectations or hardly played, while they were bought by FC Twente for a total of 8 million euros.
General director Dominique Scholten would nevertheless have liked to continue with Bruggink. “We have no choice but to accept Arnold’s decision. First of all, this decision is extremely annoying for him, but also for the club and me personally.”
Streuer (74) temporarily succeeds Bruggink
FC Twente has re-enlisted the 74-year-old Streuer to assemble the FC Twente selection. The seasoned director led the club from the basement to the subtop of the Eredivisie from 2020 to 2023, after which he handed over the baton to Bruggink.
It is not clear how long Streuer will remain technical director at FC Twente. He will be assisted in the coming period by Tim Gilissen, who comes from FC Utrecht. Gilissen was responsible for youth training in the Domstad for the past three years.
According to general director Scholten, FC Twente is facing a “busy transfer summer”. In any case, the Tukkers must absorb the departure of Sem Steijn. The Eredivisie top scorer is moving to Feyenoord for at least 10 million euros.
Midfielder Michal Sadílek is also likely to leave, and defender Mees Hilgers hinted at the end of his period at FC Twente after the lost final against AZ. Trainer Oosting’s contract runs until the summer of 2027.