Ruud van Nistelrooy’s First Addition Aims to Elevate Leicester City’s Star Player
Leicester City's New Manager Welcomes Jelle ten Rouwelaar to the King Power Stadium After Collaboration at Manchester United
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s assistant, Jelle ten Rouwelaar, is gaining recognition as an innovator transforming goalkeeper coaching.
His modern approach has brought him accolades for rethinking traditional training methods.
Ten Rouwelaar was seen speaking with Leicester City’s manager during Tuesday’s match.
In his post-game press conference, van Nistelrooy introduced the 43-year-old as his “assistant/goalkeeping coach.”
However, Leicester City has yet to officially announce ten Rouwelaar’s appointment, as the club is still finalizing its backroom team.
Currently, van Nistelrooy is also supported by the interim trio, including goalkeeping coach Danny Alcock.
Despite this, ten Rouwelaar’s expertise in goalkeeper development is widely acknowledged, particularly in the Netherlands.
A testament to his reputation is the success of Dutch national team goalkeepers Andries Noppert, Nick Olij, and Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen, all of whom benefited from his guidance during their formative years.
His coaching career began after over 300 appearances as NAC Breda’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Ten Rouwelaar transitioned to coaching at Breda, eventually working with Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley before joining Manchester United earlier this year.
Remarkably, United paid Ajax approximately €100,000 to secure his services shortly after his move there.
Erik ten Hag, Manchester United’s manager, lauded ten Rouwelaar’s innovative techniques. “Jelle brings fresh ideas to goalkeeping,” ten Hag said.
“He enhances the team’s game by improving how goalkeepers align with the squad, contributing to collective play. His innovations are fascinating and impactful.”
Ten Rouwelaar’s unconventional methods are also praised by Dutch goalkeeper analyst Harm Zeinstra, who called him a pioneer in goalkeeper training.
Speaking to Sport Nieuws, Zeinstra remarked, “He introduces an entirely new way of training goalkeepers, which is vital for evolving how we develop players in this position.”
In interviews, ten Rouwelaar explained how his approach evolved.
He used to rely on traditional methods involving repetitive crosses and static shooting drills, which are common in training routines worldwide.
His perspective changed after conversations with Pedro Marques, formerly Manchester City’s head of methodology and now Liverpool’s director of football development.
Marques helped ten Rouwelaar identify the shortcomings of conventional techniques.
“About 70 percent of goalkeeper mistakes are tactical, not technical,” ten Rouwelaar told Algemeen Dagblad.
“At the top level, errors rarely occur because goalkeepers mishandle the ball.
Instead, they often result from poor tactical positioning. That insight became the foundation of my new training approach.”
Inspired by this realization, ten Rouwelaar designed exercises that emphasize tactical awareness and cognitive development.
Starting with a “blank slate,” he collaborated with psychologist Margriet Sitskoorn to create sessions tailored to enhance goalkeepers’ decision-making and strategic thinking.
His innovative work has attracted attention from top clubs, making him one of the most sought-after goalkeeping coaches in football.
With his expertise and forward-thinking methods, ten Rouwelaar is redefining how goalkeepers are trained, blending psychology and tactics to elevate performance on the field.
