Following confirmation of Gerald Sibon’s addition to the Adelaide United coaching staff as an assistant for the upcoming season, get to know the Dutchman.
The 45-year-old striker was an accomplished professional footballer scoring 70 goals in 224 Eredivisie games. He managed to play for and win silverware with Dutch powerhouses Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, while also plying his trade in England, Germany and Australia.
He decided to venture into coaching after retiring and possesses a UEFA A Licence.
Born in the northeast of the Netherlands in a town called Emmen in 1974, Sibon started his senior career at FC Twente.
With first-team opportunities limited he decided to join second tier VVV-Venlo in 1994 and it proved the catalyst that launched his career, which ultimately spanned 19 years. He scored at a prolific rate at VVV across two seasons, bagging 34 goals in 53 matches.
A returned to the top-flight followed and he joined Roda JC, finding the net 13 times in 34 matches, and won his first of five KNVB Cups at the end of the campaign after opening the scoring in a 4-2 triumph over SC Heerenveen.
His impressive displays courted interest from Ajax and he signed with the Amsterdam club in the summer of 1997.
Despite completing a league and cup double in his first season, and then clinching the cup again in his second, regular first-team chances came at a premium – competing with the likes of Brazilian Wamberto. After accumulating 24 games in two seasons, he moved abroad for the first time in his career.
Coaching staff complete. ✅
Gerald will be in the dugout tonight for our pre-season friendly with MetroStars. #AUFC
📰 Read More: https://t.co/fms6vp4jfn pic.twitter.com/W1gpDHTPiR
— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) July 16, 2019
Sibon would pen a deal with Sheffield Wednesday ahead of the 1999/00 English Premier League campaign. Following their relegation to the First Division he finished as the team’s top scorer across all competitions for three consecutive seasons.
He returned to his homeland halfway during the 2002/03 season, moving to Heerenveen.
In what would prove to be his first of three spells with the Super Frisians he averaged a goal every second game, before earning a move to PSV, coached by Guus Hiddink.
He won back-to-back Eredivisie titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, while lifting the KNVB Cup in his first season, in a team littered with stars such as Jefferson Farfán, Phillip Cocu, Alex, Mark van Bommel, Park Ji-sung and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.
But first-team opportunities were hard to come by and he joined German side 1. FC Nürnberg for the 2006/07 campaign, and added the DFB-Pokal to his honours.
He went back to Holland and reunited with Heerenveen in 2007, scoring 24 goals in 84 matches in three years, securing his fifth Dutch cup in 2009.
Sibon embarked for Australia to join newly-founded Hyundai A-League outfit Melbourne Heart for the 2010/11 season, and at the age of 36 he managed seven goals in 27 appearances.
The Dutchman returned home for one final season with Heerenveen before retiring in 2012, and pursued a career in coaching at the Club he spent the majority of his playing days at.
He served as a youth manager with Heerenveen, as well as coaching the U-19 side and was an assistant to the senior side during 2016/17 campaign.
Adelaide United face Melbourne Knights in the Round of 32 of the FFA Cup 2019 on Wednesday, 7 August at Knights Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACST. Live and Exclusive on Fox Sports.
