Mario Been

Marinus Antonius Been (born 11 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player.

As a footballer, Been played for Feyenoord, Pisa, Roda JC, Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck and Excelsior.

He played in an attacking midfield position and was nicknamed "Mariodona" for his dribbling skills, after Diego Maradona and his first name.

Born in Rotterdam, South Holland, Been made his professional career debut for Feyenoord on 5 September 1982, in a 1–0 win over N.E.C. Been spent six years at Feyenoord from 1982 to 1988 before moving to Italian side Pisa Calcio in July 1988.

During his time in Italy, the club played in Serie A (first) and Serie B (second).

After three years in Italy, Been returned to Netherlands where he joined Roda JC and then Heerenveen.

Been was a member of the Dutch squad at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship and played one official international match for the Netherlands, against Austria on 14 November 1984 as substitute for Ton Lokhoff in the 73rd minute.

After one season at Heerenveen, Been moved to Austria by joining Tirol Innsbruck in 1992.

Following his stint at Tirol Innsbruck he returned to Excelsior where he stayed for three years before announcing his retirement.

Been played his last competitive match on 17 September 1995 when HFC Haarlem defeated Excelsior Rotterdam 4–0.

Been started his coaching career as assistant manager to Bert van Marwijk at Feyenoord in 2000.

He held this position until the summer of 2004 when Bert van Marwijk choose to leave Feyenoord and head to Germany to manage Borussia Dortmund.

Been headed across Rotterdam to join Feyenoord's sister club Excelsior in 2005 and in his sole season in-charge of the club got them promoted from the Eerste Divisie to the Eredivisie.

Along the way his team played attractive football and eventually finished seven points clear of second placed VVV Venlo.

After his successful promotion season with Excelsior Been moved to become the assistant manager to Leo Beenhakker at Trinidad and Tobago for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

After the world cup he left Trinidad and Tobago.

Mario Been moved to NEC Nijmegen in succession of NEC favorite Ron de Groot.

Ron de Groot resumed his original position as an assistant-coach.

Mario Been came with the image to return the glory years back to the club.

In his first season 2006–07 he led the club to a tenth-place finish in the Eredivisie.

With the signing of a few players during the summer of 2007 he molded a competitive and attractive team.

However, the first half of the 2007–08 season did not go well for Mario Been as his side were sitting bottom of the league at the start of the new year.

However, Been managed to remarkably change the fortunes of his team as they went on a run which saw them eventually end 8th in the league standings.

This earned the club a UEFA Cup Play-off berth against three other Dutch teams.

Been got his team to play very attractive football which resulted in plenty of goals.

In the final play-off round against NAC Breda his side won 6–0 at home, and 1–0 away.

For the first time Mario Been had qualified a team for European competition.

The season of 2008–09 would be the finest season to date for Mario Been as professional manager.

His side were drawn in a tough group in the UEFA Cup with away games at Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Zagreb, while Tottenham Hotspur and Udinese Calcio would come to Nijmegen.

At the start of the European campaign his side were labeled the whipping boys of the group.

However, after two losses in the group (3–2 against Dinamo Zagreb and 1–0 against Tottenham Hotspur), NEC managed to beat Spartak Moscow in Russia with a scoreline of 2–1.

Lasse Schöne scoring the all important goal in that match.

The final and decisive game for Been would against Udinese, on a wonderful night for the club, he managed to get the team to a 2–0 scoreline and secure progression to the next round.

They eventually lost 4–0 on aggregate to Hamburger SV in the following round, but Mario Been had already written himself into the club's history.

On 28 January 2009, NEC Nijmegen and Feyenoord had reached an agreement to let Been move to Rotterdam to become the head coach and manager there for the next season.

On his final match as manager for NEC Nijmegen, Been was applauded by a full Goffert Stadium, with fans singing his name and the players, board and fans giving him the honour of being one of the best managers the club has ever had.

Been's farewell speech was filled with tears, however, his last words to the fans epitomized his legendary status at the club.

Been joined his boyhood club Feyenoord in the summer of 2009 in the hope of repairing the financially stricken club.

He was given a very youthful squad to work with, which did have some experienced heads in the form of Roy Makaay, Denny Landzaat and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

His first signing was from his old club where he signed Dani Fernández for the right-back position.