Marcel Keizer

Marcel Keizer (born 15 January 1969) is a Dutch football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab.

His playing career as a midfielder began at Ajax and was mainly spent at Cambuur, and he had brief spells managing both clubs. He won a Taça da Liga and Taça de Portugal in 2019 at Sporting CP, and had two spells at Al Jazira, winning the UAE Pro League in 2021.

Coaching career

Keizer was technical coach of Eerste Divisie side Emmen. He was also the coach of Telstar for two seasons and took the reins at Cambuur in February 2016. In June 2016, he left Cambuur and became coach of Jong Ajax.

On 17 June 2017, Keizer became the new coach of Ajax on a two-year contract, after managing the youth side in the previous season, thus replacing the Borussia Dortmund-bound Peter Bosz. After 17 games, Ajax were second in the Eredivisie, ranking with five points behind the leaders PSV, and Keizer was fired on 21 December 2017, after losing a cup match on penalties against Twente.

He received his first foreign job on 2 June 2018, replacing retired compatriot Henk ten Cate at Al Jazira Club of the UAE Pro-League. On 8 November the same year, he was allowed to resign to take the job at Sporting CP, with his club unbeaten and in second place at the time.

Keizer signed for the Lisbon-based club on a contract until 2021. On his debut on 24 November, they won 4–1 against Lusitano in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal, and in his first Primeira Liga match on 3 December, the club won 3–1 against Rio Ave. Sporting completed a cup double in Keizer's first season, seizing both the Taça da Liga and Taça de Portugal in penalty shootout wins against Porto. He was the first foreign manager to win the latter tournament since fellow Dutchman Co Adriaanse of Porto in 2006. He left Sporting on 3 September 2019.