Fred Rutten

Dutch football coach and former player, most recently manager of Curaçao.

Fredericus Jacobus Rutten (born 5 December 1962) is a Dutch football coach and former player, who has most recently been the manager of the Curaçao national team. As a player, he spent his entire career with Twente during the years 1979 to 1992.

Quick Facts

Full name: Fredericus Jacobus Rutten
Height: 1.80 m / 5 ft 11 in
Born: 5 December 1962
Birthplace: Wijchen, Netherlands
Position: Defender

Lore & Background

Rutten managed Twente (assistant manager, manager and technical director) and PSV Eindhoven (youth coach and assistant manager). In the summer of 2008, he took over as head coach of Schalke 04. On 26 March 2009, Rutten was sacked as Schalke manager. On 17 April 2009, Rutten signed a contract as the new manager of PSV Eindhoven, for the season 2009–10.

During the 2009–10 competition Rutten's side remained undefeated for 39 consecutive games. On 12 March 2012, Rutten was sacked as PSV manager following losses to NAC (3–1) in the Eredivisie and to Valencia (4–2) in the Europa League. The following season Rutten served as Vitesse head coach. Rutten left Vitesse after the 2012–13 Eredivisie season, finishing in fourth place.

On 3 March 2014, Feyenoord confirmed they had hired Rutten as their new head coach for the 2014–15 Eredivisie season. On 2 March 2015, Feyenoord announced that Rutten had decided not to extend his one-year contract, meaning he would leave the club at the end of the season. Feyenoord reached the knockout stage of the Europa League for the first time since 2004 with Rutten as head coach. On 17 May 2015, Feyenoord fired Rutten as head coach effective immediately after a 3–0 loss against PEC Zwolle, causing Feyenoord to finish 4th in the Eredivisie and missing out on directly qualifying for the Europa League.

Rutten then had brief spells in the Middle East at Al Shabab and Maccabi Haifa. On 6 January 2019, he became head coach of Anderlecht. However, on 16 April, he was already fired after only 13 matches. On 20 May 2022, PSV confirmed that Rutten would return for the 2022–23 season as an assistant under head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy.

On 23 February 2026, Rutten was appointed by FFK as the head coach of the Curaçao national football team after Dick Advocaat had stepped down. Three months later, Rutten would resign, following disagreements between him and the national players. Additionally, the national team faced pressure from the national team's sponsor, calling for the return of Advocaat.

Reader's Guide

Fred Rutten's managerial career includes stints at Twente, PSV Eindhoven (youth coach and assistant manager), Schalke 04, PSV Eindhoven (head coach), Vitesse, Feyenoord, Al Shabab, Maccabi Haifa, Anderlecht, and the Curaçao national team. He won the KNVB Cup in 2001 and the Rinus Michels Award in 2008.