Giovanni van Bronckhorst named Rinus Michels Manager of the Month for September

On paper, Feyenoord faced a demanding run of fixtures. Away trips to N.E.C. Nijmegen and PEC Zwolle, a home match against FC Utrecht and a Champions League clash with FC Barcelona in between provided a stern test. The Rotterdam side had also made an inconsistent start to the season, collecting eight points from their opening four matches to sit third, already four points behind leaders AZ.

The build-up to their first match of September, away at N.E.C. Nijmegen, was unsettled as well. With transfer speculation surrounding a possible departure for Anis Hadj Moussa, Van Bronckhorst was unable to call on the Algerian winger for the match in Nijmegen.

On the pitch, however, there was little sign of any disruption. Feyenoord won 3-1 at the Goffertstadion thanks to goals from Gjivai Zechiël, Luciano Valente and debutant Jerayno Schaken. For the 17-year-old Schaken, it was a debut to remember. After a double step-over, the right winger curled the ball into the far corner to become the youngest goalscoring debutant in the club’s history.

A week later, Feyenoord were dominant away at PEC Zwolle, winning 7-0. A club record was narrowly missed, but Van Bronckhorst’s side still made a major statement with the emphatic scoreline. Nacho Ferri was involved in three goals, while the returning Anis Hadj Moussa scored twice. Gjivai Zechiël and Jivayno Zinhagel also found the net.

For Zinhagel, it was a special moment. The Rotterdam-born youngster followed in the footsteps of Schaken, who had scored as a 17-year-old just a week earlier. For the first time in club history, two 17-year-olds scored for Feyenoord in the same season and they did so within the space of just one week.

After the big win in Zwolle, another convincing victory followed at De Kuip. Feyenoord led FC Utrecht 3-0 at half-time before extending the scoreline to 5-0 in the second half. The result completed a perfect September, with nine points from nine. Van Bronckhorst was the only coach to win every league match during the month.

The Rotterdam side also scored 15 goals, more than any other club in the Eredivisie, while conceding just once, the fewest goals against in the competition. It was also a notable month for Van Bronckhorst personally: only once before during his time as Feyenoord coach had his team scored more than 15 goals in a single month. In April 2018, Feyenoord scored 19 under his management, although they required five matches to reach that total.

Another striking feature has been the stability Van Bronckhorst has brought through his team selection. Against both PEC Zwolle and FC Utrecht, he named the same starting XI as in the previous league match. That has now happened twice this season, including the matches against Go Ahead Eagles and SC Cambuur. Under predecessor Robin van Persie, Feyenoord fielded the same starting XI in consecutive league matches only once throughout the whole of last season.

his is Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first Rinus Michels Manager of the Month award. His predecessor, Robin van Persie, was the last Feyenoord coach to win the prize, in August 2025.

Earlier this season, the award went to AZ head coach Leeroy Echteld, who was named the best coach for August.

The Rinus Michels Manager of the Month is determined using a data model developed by Hypercube, which takes into account both absolute performance (how strong were the results achieved?) and relative performance (how much better or worse were those results than expected?).

The model considers factors including match results, goals scored and conceded, the current strength of the coach’s own team and the strength of the opposition, including home advantage. Several indicators are used to assess team strength, including squad market value, the Euro Club Index (ECI) and the Euro Player Index (EPI).