Ajax youth leader Tinus van Teunenbroek can laugh that he could call himself the new trainer of FC Cincinnati for more than two hours on Thursday. The MLS club thought to present Jaap Stam as a coach, but posted a photo of his look-a-like with the press release.
“I heard about the incident through a mother of a former pupil of mine. Everyone now asks if I have made a transfer to the United States,” says Van Teunenbroek in conversation with FOX Sports.
The wrong photo with the welcome message on Twitter led to laughter at many other MLS clubs, who poked fun at Cincinnati by sending images of other bald men. After more than two hours, the much-discussed tweet was removed and a photo of the ‘real’ Stam appeared with the press release.
It is not the first time that Van Teunenbroek has been mistaken for the 67-time international of Orange. Especially when Stam came to Ajax at the end of his playing career (season 2006/2007), the youth leader was regularly confused with the former player of PSV, Manchester United and AC Milan, among others.
“The English came to me with a Manchester United shirt and wanted to take a picture with me. I always had fun with that,” says Van Teunenbroek, who is leader at Ajax under 15 years of trainer Cedric van der Gun. “It happens to me more often anyway. Like on vacation, when people shout: Hey, that’s Jaap Stam!”
The 47-year-old Stam will be officially presented as a trainer from Cincinnati on Friday at 4 p.m. (Dutch time). He succeeds Ron Jans, who had to leave the club in February because he was accused of racism.
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The photo of Tinus van Teunenbroek at the announcement of Jaap Stam. (Photo: Twitter / FC Cincinnati).
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