Mitchell van der Gaag

In this Dutch name, the surname is van der Gaag, not Gaag.

Mitchell van der Gaag

Personal information
Full name	Mitchell van der Gaag
Date of birth	(1971-10-22) 22 October 1971
Place of birth	Zutphen, Netherlands
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position	Centre-back
Youth career
	SC Brummen
	De Graafschap
1986–1989	PSV
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1994	PSV	44	(4)
1989–1990	→ NEC (loan)	10	(2)
1990–1992	→ Sparta Rotterdam (loan)	55	(4)
1995–1997	Motherwell	42	(8)
1997–2001	Utrecht	99	(11)
2001–2006	Marítimo	154	(18)
2006–2007	Al Nassr	27	(3)
Total		431	(50)
International career
1990–1991	Netherlands U21	4	(0)
Managerial career
2008–2009	Marítimo B
2009–2010	Marítimo
2012–2013	Belenenses
2015	Ermis
2015–2016	Eindhoven
2016–2018	Excelsior
2018–2019	NAC
2019–2021	Jong Ajax
2025	Zürich
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mitchell van der Gaag (born 22 October 1971) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was most recently the head coach of Swiss Super League side FC Zürich.

He made 208 Eredivisie appearances, scoring 19 goals, for NEC, Sparta Rotterdam, PSV and Utrecht. Abroad, he had spells at Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League and Marítimo in Portugal's Primeira Liga, playing 174 total games for the latter and scoring 19 times.

As a manager, van der Gaag led several teams including Marítimo and Belenenses in Portugal, as well as Excelsior and NAC in his country.

Playing career

Van der Gaag was born in Zutphen, Gelderland. After graduating from PSV Eindhoven's youth academy, he spent three seasons on loan to NEC Nijmegen and Sparta Rotterdam, returning to Eindhoven for a further three years but never being an important first-team figure, however.

In January 1995, van der Gaag signed with Motherwell. He scored a career-best seven goals in 28 games in his second full season to help the Steelmen narrowly avoid relegation from the Scottish Premier Division, and subsequently returned to the Eredivisie with Utrecht.

For the 2001–02 campaign, van der Gaag joined Portugal's Marítimo, going on to be one of the Madeira club's most influential players as it consolidated in the Primeira Liga. He scored six times in 2003–04, helping the team finish sixth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Coaching career

Van der Gaag retired from football in 2007, having spent one season with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. In July of the following year, he returned to Marítimo as a coach and took the reins of its B team.

In October 2009, after Carlos Carvalhal's dismissal following a string of bad results, van der Gaag was promoted to the main squad. After helping them finish fifth – a place conquered in the last round with a 2–1 away win against Vitória de Guimarães, who were leapfrogged in the process – and qualify for the Europa League, his contract was renewed for a further year.

On 14 September 2010, after collecting only one point in the league's first four matches and being ousted by BATE in the Europa League, van der Gaag was sacked by Marítimo. He returned to management after nearly two years, still in Portugal, signing with Segunda Liga side Belenenses. In his first season, he won the league, thus returning the club to the top flight after three years.

Van der Gaag took a temporary leave of absence in late September 2013 due to heart problems, after feeling unwell during a league game against former side Marítimo (1–0 home win). In February 2015, he was appointed at Ermis Aradippou of the Cypriot First Division, being released after just one month after refusing to renew his contract for the following campaign.

After spending the 2015–16 season back in his country with FC Eindhoven, in the Eerste Divisie, van der Gaag moved to the top flight and successively coached Excelsior and NAC Breda. On 24 May 2019, he returned to the former tier after signing a two-year deal at Ajax's reserves.

Van der Gaag was appointed assistant manager of the first team of on 1 June 2021, replacing the departing Christian Poulsen. His position at the reserves was filled by John Heitinga, who had previously worked in the youth academy.

On 23 May 2022, Van der Gaag was confirmed as assistant head coach of Manchester United, along with Steve McClaren, to work with first team head coach Erik ten Hag, who he previously worked with at Ajax.

On 26 November 2023, in a Premier league match against Everton at Goodison Park, with Erik Ten Hag suspended, Van der Gaag was the coach on the sidelines as Manchester United won 3-0.

Following a coaching staff overhaul, Van der Gaag departed his role with Manchester United on 9 July 2024 to pursue a head coach position at a different club.

On 31 May 2025, he was announced as the new head coach of FC Zürich, signing a two-year contract. He was dismissed on 23 October 2025, after five months in charge.

Personal life

Van der Gaag's father Wim was also a footballer, who was one of the first professionals in the Netherlands in 1954. His sons Jordan and Luca also went into the game, representing Belenenses.

Managerial statistics

As of 18 October 2025

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Zürich		31 May 2025	23 October 2025	11	5	2	4	045.45
Total				11	5	2	4	045.45

Honours

Player

PSV

• Dutch Supercup: 1992

Manager

Belenenses

• Segunda Liga: 2012–13

External links

• Beijen profile (in Dutch)
• Stats at Voetbal International (in Dutch)
• Mitchell van der Gaag at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Mitchell van der Gaag manager stats at ForaDeJogo (archived)