Kevin Hofland

Kevin Hofland (born 7 June 1979) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who most recently managed of club Helmond Sport.

A centre back during his career, Hofland played 15 active seasons in which he amassed Eredivisie totals of 182 games and eight goals in 10 years, namely for PSV and Feyenoord. He also represented VfL Wolfsburg and AEK Larnaca in Germany and Cyprus, respectively.

Hofland became a Netherlands international in the 2000s, earning seven caps.

Club career

Fortuna

Hofland was born in Heerlen, but grew up in Brunssum, Limburg. He joined local SV Limburgia at the age of just four, moving to the professionals with Fortuna Sittard six years later.

Hofland played in various positions during his youth career, mainly as a left midfielder or left back. In 1995, he was reconverted by manager Henk Duut into a central defender, where he remained for the rest of his career.

On 10 September 1997, Hofland made his Eredivisie debut with Fortuna, against Sparta Rotterdam (1–1 away draw). He finished his first season with only six league appearances, but subsequently became a starter, helping the side to the 12th-place in the 1999–00 campaign.

PSV

In summer 2000, Hofland signed with national giants PSV Eindhoven. Despite his young age and the heavy competition within the team, he quickly became an important player in the team's defence but, after a serious ankle injury in a 2002–03 UEFA Champions League group stage match against Arsenal, he lost his starting position to Wilfred Bouma.

Hofland played 20 matches in 2003–04 to help the Philips outfit finished second in the domestic championship, to AFC Ajax. After the arrival of Alex on loan from Chelsea he decided to leave the club, having won a total of four major titles.

Wolfsburg

Former PSV manager Eric Gerets was one of the main reasons for Hofland to join VfL Wolfsburg in Germany. He went on to play three seasons in the Bundesliga, making his debut in the competition on 7 August 2004 in a 2–1 win at Borussia Dortmund (90 minutes played).

In his last two years with the Wölfen, Hofland played in 49 games combined scoring twice, but the team ranked 15th on both occasions, being the first side above the relegation zone.

Feyenoord and AEK

On 28 June 2007, Hofland signed with Feyenoord, for four years. He only managed to appear in eight league games in the 2009–10 season, winning the first and only Dutch Cup of his career in 2008.

In the 2010 offseason Hofland was loaned to Cypriot First Division club AEK Larnaca FC, helping the team to the fourth position in both the regular season and the second stage, whilst scoring a career-best five goals and being team captain.

Hofland signed a permanent deal with AEK in July 2011.^[1] On 17 March of the following year, however, he officially retired from professional football after another injury to his ankle.^[2]

International career

On 15 November 2000, Hofland played his first international match with Netherlands, starting in an away friendly with Spain in Seville (2–1 win).

Four of his seven caps for the Oranje came during the ill-fated 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

Managerial career

On 22 April 2020, it was announced that Hofland had signed a two-year contract as the new head coach of Fortuna Sittard, starting from the 2020–21 season. His predecessor Sjors Ultee became technical director from that moment on.^[3] He was dismissed by Fortuna on 11 November 2020, after the club only gained 3 points in its first 8 league games of the season.^[4]

On 2 June 2021, he was hired by VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, a club he also played for, as an assistant coach to Mark van Bommel.^[5]

On 14 March 2022, Willem II appointed Hofland as head coach on a deal until the end of the 2021–22 season, replacing Fred Grim.^[6] Despite the club suffering relegation at the end of the season, Hofland extended his contract until 2024.^[7] Hofland was fired in December 2022.^[8]

After managing amateur club Meerssen in the fourth-tier Derde Divisie in the 2023–24 season,^[9] Hofland returned to professional management ahead of the 2024–25 season after being appointed head coach of Eerste Divisie club Helmond Sport on 26 March 2024.^[10] He was dismissed on 3 February 2025 due to disappointing results.^[11][12]

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Fortuna

• KNVB Cup: Runner-up 1998–99

PSV

• Eredivisie: 2000–01, 2002–03
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2000, 2001
• KNVB Cup: Runner-up 2000–01

Feyenoord

• KNVB Cup: 2007–08,^[13] runner-up: 2009–10

Personal life

Hofland is married. He and his wife have three sons and a daughter.^[14]

References

1. ^ "Nederlanders trefzeker voor winnend AEK Larnaca" [Dutch players are accurate for winning AEK Larnaca] (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
2. ^ "Hofland (32) stopt per direct vanwege 'Van Basten-enkel'" [Hofland (32) retires immediately because of 'Van Basten ankle'] (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
3. ^ Jakobs, Geert-Jan (22 April 2020). "Reorganisatie in Sittard: Hofland hoofdcoach, Ultee manager" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 23 September 2020. Kevin Hofland is de nieuwe hoofdtrainer van Fortuna Sittard. De huidige assistent-trainer schuift door naar de stoel die nu nog wordt bemand door Sjors Ultee. De laatste blijft ook verbonden aan de Limburgse club; hij gaat verder in een duobaan als technisch manager én assistent-trainer.
4. ^ "WEGEN FORTUNA SITTARD EN KEVIN HOFLAND SCHEIDEN" (in Dutch). Fortuna Sittard. 11 November 2020. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
5. ^ "Mark van Bommel named new Wolves coach". VfL Wolfsburg. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
6. ^ "Kevin Hofland trainer Willem II" (in nl-NL). Willem II. 14 March 2022. Archived 3 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
7. ^ "Hofland blijft tot 2024" (in nl-NL). Willem II. 21 May 2022. Archived 21 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
8. ^ "Hofland ontslagen bij Willem II" [Hofland fired by Willem II] (in Dutch). 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
9. ^ Kleinen, Jelle (12 January 2024). "Kevin Hofland verlaat SV Meerssen aan eind van het seizoen" (in Dutch). L1 Nieuws. Archived 12 July 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
10. ^ "Kevin Hofland nieuwe trainer Helmond Sport" (in nl-NL). Helmond Sport. 26 March 2024. Archived 4 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
11. ^ "Kevin Hofland vertrekt bij Helmond Sport" (in nl-NL). Helmond Sport. 3 February 2025. Archived 30 March 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
12. ^ Voskamp, Leon (3 February 2025). "Kevin Hofland per direct ontslagen als trainer van Helmond Sport" (in Dutch). Omroep Brabant. Archived 30 March 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
13. ^ "Feyenoord klopt Roda in bekerfinale" (in Dutch). De Pers. 27 April 2008. Archived 1 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
14. ^ "Profiel: Kevin Hofland" (in Dutch). FR-Fanatic. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.

External links

• Stats at Voetbal International (in Dutch)