SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the club has finalized their coaching staff for the 2018 season with the hiring of Dutch assistant coach Alex de Crook and Finnish goalkeeper coach Jyri Nieminen. The duo joins first-year head coach Mikael Stahre and assistant coach Steve Ralston, who has been with the Quakes since 2015.
“Alex is an expert in player development that falls back onto the Dutch principles of the game,” said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli. “He has extensive background working abroad, speaks English fluently and, above all else, knows how to get his message across to the players in support of Mikael.”
De Crook, 44, comes to San Jose after serving as head coach of the reserve team for China’s Dalian Yifang (previously Aerbin) in 2017.
He originally joined Dalian Aerbin in January 2015 as assistant coach of the First Team and head of the youth academy, where he played a key role in talent identification. As a First Team assistant, he worked under current Quakes head coach Mikael Stahre and was responsible for breaking down video and providing SWOT analysis, among other assignments. The club had a third-place finish with a 17-6-7 record and the league’s second-best goal-differential (+24) that season.
From June 2016 to December 2017, De Crook worked as a trainer and coach for the Liaoning Province in China. He had to select, train and coach the 25 best players of the Liaoning Province, with a population of more than 43 million, in preparation for the biggest youth tournament in China held in 2017.
De Crook served as coach of Dutch side De Graafschap’s U-17 squad and head of the youth academy from 2007-13. During his tenure with the club, at least 10 players made the jump to the professional ranks from the academy, including current PSV and Netherlands National Team striker Luuk de Jong.
De Crook specializes in team and individual training programs and has a great knowledge of and experience in video analysis. He has worked with players from U-9 to First Team and possesses experience improving cohesion between age ranges. He possesses a UEFA A Youth license.
Nieminen, 30, has served as the goalkeeper coach for the Aspire Academy and Qatar U-17 National Team since 2015, where he specialized in elite player development and game analysis.
“Jyri left a strong impression on us following the feedback we received from the Aspire Academy, a renowned football development hub in Qatar that works closely with elite clubs around the world, including Juventus, FC Barcelona, Tottenham and Bayer Leverkusen,” said Fioranelli. “Jyri is very strong in developing goalkeepers technically and tactically, in and out of possession, with players of all ages.”
After gaining several years of experience with various lower level First Teams and youth academies, Nieminen became the goalkeeper coach of the U-15 and U-17 academy squads of Finland’s FC Honka in 2012. He then moved to the First Team of FC TPS Turku in Finland from 2013 to 2014, where he served as a goalkeeper coach and assistant coach.
From 2014-15, Nieminen was the head of goalkeeping for Estonia’s U-17, U-19, U-21 and U-23 sides, overseeing all goalkeeper training, including game analysis, and coaching education for the Estonian Football Association. He was then moved to Qatar to take on his most recent position.
Nieminen received his UEFA A Goalkeeping license in 2016, possesses a degree in physical education and has a working knowledge of six languages, including fluency in English, Estonian and Finnish.
Transaction: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) – Earthquakes hire Alex de Crook as assistant coach and Jyri Nieminen as goalkeeper coach.
