With Dutchman Leo Beenhakker entering the fifth decade of his coaching career, the achievement of leading Poland through to their first ever Euro Championship Finals, according to himself, is his greatest ever sporting success. Beenhakker took over the team in July 2006 following a stint with Trinidad & Tobago, and has already, not surprisingly, had his initial contract extended until 2010.

Beenhakker started coaching early in his life, working with several teams in his homeland before taking charge of Ajax Amsterdam’s youth team in 1978, which led to him becoming first team manager in 1979. Ajax won the Dutch league in his first year in charge and also reached the European Cup semi-finals.

In 1985 he joined Real Madrid where he managed to win won three consecutive league titles and the Spanish Cup. He returned to Ajax and again captured the Dutch league in 1990 before a short stint as Holland’s national team boss for the World Cup Finals in 1990.

Beenhakker is one of the games great nomads and he has worked in Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Turkey, interspersed with periods at home in the Dutch league before he embarked on his Trinidad & Tobago exploits in May 2005. He will now be looking to steer Poland to success at Euro 2008.