Wim Jonk

Wilhelmus Maria "Wim" Jonk (born 12 October 1966) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, who is the current technical manager of Eredivisie club Volendam.

In his career as a midfielder, he won a variety of national honours with Ajax and PSV. Abroad, he won the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan in 1994, and played in the Premier League with Sheffield Wednesday.

A Dutch international with 49 caps between 1992 and 1999, he represented the team at UEFA Euro 1992 and the FIFA World Cups of 1994 and 1998, helping them come fourth at the latter.

Club career
Born in Volendam, Jonk started his career in amateur club RKAV Volendam, before signing for Volendam in 1986. A prolific scorer from midfield, he helped his club achieve promotion to the Eredivisie in 1987. Ajax signed him in 1988.

At Ajax, he merged into the squad easily, scoring six goals in his debut season. He helped Ajax to the 1992 UEFA Cup Final, in which he scored to help them overcome Torino.

He signed for Inter Milan in 1993 on a three-year deal. He was joined by compatriot Dennis Bergkamp, who also joined from Ajax. He cost £3.3 million, and Bergkamp £7.1 million. He managed 54 appearances in two seasons and scored eight goals. He scored in a UEFA Cup Final again, this time as Inter won the 1994 final.

When Bergkamp left Inter for Arsenal at the end of the 1994–95 season, Jonk felt that his opportunities were limited as he neared the age of 30, and he went back to the Netherlands to sign with PSV.

For the 1998–99 season, Jonk went to join Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £2.5 million, where he was a regular starter for the relegation-threatened side. He joined the team having been inspired by tales of the Premier League from his compatriots Jaap Stam and Arthur Numan. He was frequently injured, which caused the Wednesday fans to voice dissent about a clause in his contract which stipulated that he would automatically receive £7,500 per game, which he would miss through injury. He barely played in the 2000–01 season, the last of his contract, due to a groin injury, but he said in May 2001 that he wanted to return to playing.

International career
Jonk made his debut for the Dutch national team as substitute, coming on in the 75th minute for Richard Witschge. The end result was a 3–2 win in a friendly match against Austria on 27 May 1992. Jonk was also selected in his debut year as an international for UEFA Euro 1992. In his only game, in the first group match against Scotland, Jonk came on for Jan Wouters in the 54th minute; they won the match 1-0.

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Jonk was part of Dick Advocaat's Dutch team. He scored the equaliser in a 2–1 group win over Saudi Arabia, and another long-range goal in a win against the Republic of Ireland in the last 16.

While at PSV, Jonk was selected by Guus Hiddink for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, after being overlooked for UEFA Euro 1996. He played five out of seven games as the team came fourth.

With the appointment of Frank Rijkaard as the new manager after the 1998 World Cup, Jonk played only once more for the Netherlands in a friendly against Denmark on 18 August 1999. He finished his international career on 49 caps and 11 goals.

Head of Academy
After his career as a player, Jonk featured as a football pundit on NOS Studio Sport, before returning to his childhood club Volendam as the board member for technical affairs. In this role, Jonk also worked as an individual trainer and assistant to the first and second team of Volendam.

Between 2008 until November 2015, Jonk worked for Ajax. After ongoing disagreement between Jonk and Cruyff with the board of directors, about the interpretation and lack of implementation of the Plan Cruyff at the first team and in the overall club policy, Jonk left the club in December 2015, together with Cruyff and a large group of key academy personnel.

Cruyff Football
Jonk and Jordi Cruyff co-manage and lead the Amsterdam-based international football institute Cruyff Football, based on the Plan Cruyff and the legacy of Johan Cruyff.

Volendam
On 13 April 2019, Jonk was announced as the new manager of Eerste Divisie club Volendam. Three years later, he led the team to the top flight for the first time in 13 years. On 16 June 2023, Jonk was moved to the position of "technical manager of professional football" at the club, with his former assistant coach Matthias Kohler replacing him as head coach.

Personal life
Jonk and his wife Gina have two children as of 2001. When he played for Sheffield Wednesday, they lived in Dore, South Yorkshire. Jonk is a Catholic; while many of his Dutch teammates were raised in the church, he was the only one of his contemporaries to make the sign of the cross while playing.

Honours
Ajax
 * Eredivisie: 1989–90
 * KNVB Cup: 1992–93
 * UEFA Cup: 1991–92

Inter Milan
 * UEFA Cup: 1993–94

PSV
 * Eredivisie: 1996–97
 * KNVB Cup: 1995–96
 * Johan Cruijff Shield: 1996, 1997, 1998