Maurice Steijn

Maurice Steijn (born 20 November 1973) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He last served as the head coach of Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam.

Managerial career ADO Den Haag Steijn has a Bachelor of Education and has taught in primary education. As a coach, he started as an assistant to Bob Kootwijk at the ADO Den Haag amateur branch and also coached youth teams. After this, he became assistant for the first team and until 30 March 2010 also coached the ADO reserves, before being appointed caretaker manager of the ADO first team after the dismissal of Raymond Atteveld.

After the departure of John van den Brom to Vitesse on 30 June 2011, Steijn was appointed head coach of ADO. On 5 February 2014, after three years as head coach, Steijn was dismissed after a loss against Heracles, and was succeeded by his assistant, former defender Henk Fräser.

VVV-Venlo Maurice Steijn was appointed head coach of VVV-Venlo in July 2014 and held the position until June 2019. In his first two seasons, the team finished seventh and second in the Eerste Divisie, but failed to secure promotion through the play-offs. In the 2016–2017 season, VVV-Venlo won the Eerste Divisie title under his leadership, earning promotion to the Eredivisie. The club maintained its top-flight status in the following two seasons, finishing fifteenth and twelfth respectively.

In June 2019, Steijn left VVV-Venlo to become the head coach of Al-Wahda in the United Arab Emirates.

NAC Breda Maurice Steijn was appointed head coach of NAC Breda in July 2020, signing a three-year contract. During the 2020–2021 season, the team finished fifth in the Eerste Divisie and failed to secure promotion after losing to NEC in the play-off final.

His tenure was marked by internal conflicts, including disagreements with technical director Ton Lokhoff and criticism from supporters over the team's defensive playing style. In June 2021, Steijn resigned from his position due to threats directed at him and his family.

Sparta Rotterdam Maurice Steijn was appointed head coach of Sparta Rotterdam in April 2022, taking over from Henk Fraser with four matches remaining in the season and the club at the bottom of the Eredivisie table. Under his leadership, Sparta secured 10 points from those four games, finishing 14th and avoiding relegation. In the 2022–23 season, Steijn guided Sparta to a sixth-place finish and reached the final of the European play-offs.

In June 2023, he departed to become head coach of Ajax after the Amsterdam club activated a clause in his contract. On 23 October 2023, a day after a 4–3 loss to Utrecht placed it second-from-last on the Eredivisie table, Ajax announced that it was parting ways with Steijn after just two wins through eleven matches in charge. The club under Steijn experienced their worst ever start of a season, with only five points in seven matches, taking into consideration that the 1964–65 season was during a standard of two points for a win.

Return to Sparta On 2 November 2024, Sparta Rotterdam announced that Steijn would return to the club on a contract until the end of the season. He departed the club by the end of the 2025–26 season.

Personal life Steijn is the father of the Dutch footballer Sem Steijn, and managed his son's debut at VVV-Venlo on 6 December 2018.

Managerial statistics

Honours VVV-Venlo: 2016-17 Eerste Divisie

Eredivisie Manager of the Month: January 2026