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Fred Rutten

b. 1962

Dutch footballer and manager

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About Fred Rutten

Born 1962. Fred Rutten is a Dutch association football player and association football coach.

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. Following his playing career, Rutten also managed Twente, before moving on to clubs like Schalke 04, PSV Eindhoven, SBV Vitesse, Feyenoord, Al Shabab, Maccabi Haifa and more recently Anderlecht.

Coaching career Rutten has 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 Bundesliga club 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 Twente (2–6) and NAC (3–1) in the Eredivisie and to Valencia (4–2) in the Europa League.

The following season Rutten served as Vitesse head coach where John van den Brom had been head coach before moving to Belgian side Anderlecht. Rutten left Vitesse after the 2012–13 Eredivisie season, finishing in fourth place. On 3 March 2014, Feyenoord released a statement confirming 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.

Honours Manager Club KNVB Cup: 2001

Individual Rinus Michels Award: 2008

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamRecord TwenteSchalke 04PSVVitesseFeyenoordAl ShababMaccabi HaifaAnderlechtTotal

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Important facts

Birth century
Also known as
Fredericus Jacobus Rutten

People in Fred Rutten's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Fred Rutten's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Fred Rutten?

Dutch footballer and manager

When was Fred Rutten born?

Fred Rutten was born on 5 December 1962 in Wijchen.

What is Fred Rutten's occupation?

Fred Rutten is an association football player and association football coach.

What nationality is Fred Rutten?

Fred Rutten is Dutch.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Fred Rutten

· Wikidata: Q439777

· DBpedia: Fred Rutten

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Fred Rutten. https://biography.guide/fred-rutten/

MLA: "Fred Rutten." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/fred-rutten/.

Chicago: "Fred Rutten." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/fred-rutten/.

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