Jo Bonfrère

Johannes-Franciscus Bonfrère (born 15 June 1946) is a Dutch football coach and former midfielder who spent his playing career with MVV Maastricht. In a long coaching career Bonfrère managed several teams in Africa and Asia. He guided Nigeria to their victory in the 1996 Olympic Games.

Jo Bonfrère
Personal information
Full name Johannes-Franciscus Bonfrère
Date of birth (1946-06-15) 15 June 1946
Place of birth Eijsden, Limburg, Netherlands
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1985 MVV 335 (50)
Managerial career
1983 MVV
1985 MVV
1988–1990 Verbroedering Geel
1991 Nigeria Women
1992–1993 Verbroedering Geel
1995–1996 Nigeria
1996–1997 Qatar
1998 Al-Wahda
1999–2001 Nigeria
2001–2002 Al-Wahda
2001–2002 United Arab Emirates
2002–2003 Al Ahly
2004–2005 South Korea
2007 Dalian Shide
2007–2008 Al-Wahda
2011 Henan Jianye
2017 Baoding Yingli ETS
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria (as manager)
Olympic Games
First place1996
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up2000
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Between 1963 and 1985 Bonfrère scored 50 goals in 335 league appearances for MVV Maastricht, his only club.[1]

Coaching career

Nigeria

Bonfrère led Nigeria national football team to the 1996 Summer Olympics gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] He was the coach of Al Ahly in Egypt in 2002/03 where he lost the league at the final match with a difference of two points. His contract was terminated after that.

He also led Nigeria to the 2000 African Cup of Nations co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana. Bonfrère led the Nigerian team to the finals, where they lost to Cameroon by penalties.

On 7 June 2018, Jo was offered a 3 bedroom apartment by the Nigerian government as part of the promise made by late General Sanni Abacha after winning the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics for Nigeria.

Asia and South Korea

He was hired to coach the South Korea national football team in June 2004 to replace Humberto Coelho, who was forced to quit after a draw with the Maldives national football team in a FIFA World Cup qualification. The Dutch coach got off to a promising start by crushing a highly rated German squad of World Cup stars such as Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn, 3–1, with a young Korean team in a friendly match in December 2004. In 2005, South Korea qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup under him, but a string of disappointing losses thereafter fueled fan and media ire against Bonfrère.[3] He resigned on 23 August that year after poor results in the East Asian Football Championship and a World Cup qualifier loss against Saudi Arabia. Korea Football Association then hired Dick Advocaat as its third Dutch coach, and Advocaat angered his predecessor by saying he will be another Guus Hiddink, not Bonfrère.

Bonfrère joined former Chinese Super League champions Dalian Shide on a one-year contract in the 2007 league season. Despite the team finishing fifth in the league, they were never in contention to win the title and opted not to extend his contract. On 29 June 2011, another Chinese Super League club Henan Construction announced that Bonfrère would lead the team on a 1+1 contract and fight for staying in the Super League.

In February 2015, Bonfrère was added to the MVV youth team staff.[4]

On 25 May 2017, China League One club Baoding Yingli ETS signed a one-year contract with Bonfrère.[5]

References
  1. "Jo Bonfrère" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  2. "Jo Bonfrere want a come back to Nigeria". 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011.
  3. "People's Daily Online -- KFA to discuss fate of head coach Jo Bonfrere". english.people.com.cn. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. Jo Bonfrère en Johan Dijkstra sluiten aan bij technische staf MVV A1 – MVV (in Dutch)
  5. 官方：保定容大与荷兰名帅邦弗雷雷签约一年. sports.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 25 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
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