It has been buzzing around for some time and now it is official: club icon Jeroen Hertzberger will become the new head coach of the newly crowned national champion Rotterdam.

It is the 40-year-old Hertzberger’s first time as a head coach. Since last summer he has been an assistant coach with the French national team.

Hertzberger succeeds success coach Erik van Driel at Rotterdam, who led the club to its first national championship since 2013. It had been clear since last January that Van Driel was working on his last season.

As a player, Hertzberger played for Rotterdam throughout his career and became the all-time top scorer in the premier league with 382 goals. He played 267 international matches in which he also scored 127 goals.

Despite that impressive record, ‘mister Rotterdam’ had to leave the club against his will in 2025. That was a financial choice, chairman Jac Bressers said at the time. Hertzberger returned briefly in the autumn when Rotterdam was dealing with a lot of injuries and then also scored.

Rotterdam reports that Hertzberger was chosen as head coach because of “his experience at the top level, his ability to operate in a performance environment and his familiarity with both the team and the club.”