Who is John Heitinga? All you need to know about Tottenham’s new assistant coach
In January 2026, Tottenham announced John Heitinga was joining Thomas Frank’s coaching team, so here’s all you need to know about the Dutchman.
Despite going through a difficult time at Tottenham Hotspur, the Club has given Thomas Frank what he needs to succeed when it comes to new players — like Conor Gallagher — and new staff like Heitinga.
Tottenham made the decision to hire John Heitinga after Matt Wells departed to take on the head coach role at Colorado Rapids.
While a lot of fans will remember Heitinga from his time in England as a player, there’s a lot we all need to learn about him when it comes to his coaching work.
Why did Tottenham hire John Heitinga?
With Matt Wells moving on, Thomas Frank had a considerable gap to fill in the Tottenham coaching staff, with a particular focus on defensive work needed.
Upon announcing the appointment of John Heitinga as his new assistant coach at Tottenham, Frank told the Club website: “John is a great addition to our coaching staff. His ability, personality and character will add huge value both on and off the pitch.
“He had an impressive playing career across Europe – including five years in the Premier League – and with the Dutch national team.
“As a former defender, that will be one of his main responsibilities on the training pitch, and he brings great coaching and management experiences from all levels of the game, which will really help us moving forward.”
Sounds like that Spurs backline is going to get some help from Heitinga, but it’s surely hoped the 42-year-old can benefit the whole team behind the scenes and in the dugout.
Heitinga’s coaching career so far
Since retiring as a player back in 2016, Heitinga has worked a vast number of roles at his boyhood club, Ajax over in the Netherlands.
He worked with the Dutch giants youth team across just about every age group, as assistant manager, manager, and club representative.
Heitinga’s first job in England came at London rivals West Ham, where he served as assistant manager to David Moyes across the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
He was snapped up by Liverpool in the summer of 2024 to work with Arne Slot as assistant manager, and would go on to help the Reds claim the Premier League title that season.
From there, Heitinga returned to Ajax to take on the top job. However, he only lasted 15 games and won five of them before fans grew impatient and he was sacked in November 2025.
Heitinga’s playing career explained
As a player, Heitinga was snapped up by the Ajax academy after showing great promise at local side Alphense Racing Club. After developing through the youth ranks, he made his breakthrough with the Ajax senior squad in 2001 and would go on to enjoy seven years of first-team football there.
He was signed by Atletico Madrid in 2008 for around £8.5m but only spent one season in Spain before Everton signed him for roughly £6m.
After five years on Merseyside, Heitinga left Everton on a free and joined Fulham in January 2014, but would only last six months with the Cottagers. He moved on to Hertha Berlin that summer, spent a season in Germany and then returned to Ajax.
By the time he retired in 2016, Heitinga had made 218 appearances for Ajax, scoring 25 goals and registering three assists.
It’s also worth noting Heitinga had a brilliant career at international level, winning 87 caps for the Netherlands and scoring seven goals. He represented his country at Euro 2004 and 2008, and at the World Cup in 2006 and 2010.
What people have said about Heitinga before Tottenham move
John Heitinga has earned plenty of praise for his work as a coach, with Mohammed Kudus having positive things to say about his time working with him during their time at Ajax.
Kudus said: “I felt very good under Heitinga. He is the best trainer I have had at Ajax. Apart from the training aspect, I also have a very high regard for him in terms of standards and values. Personally, I would have loved to work with him longer.
“He is a top trainer, and I really appreciated his efforts to make the players better at the time. When he took over for the rest of the season, he made an immediate impact. It got better.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch described Heitinga as a “very good coach”, having worked with him in the Ajax youth setup and again at Liverpool. He said it was a “shame” Heitinga left Liverpool last summer.
However, there has been a degree of criticism around Heitinga, too. This comes mainly from Ajax fans after the disappointing spell he had as head coach there.
Some described the decision to appoint Heitinga as the “most baffling choice ever at the club”, while even his own agent admitted he had told Heitinga not to take the job in the first place.
Heitinga was said to have been found out in terms of his inexperience in the manager role. Alongside this, communication with the press was an issue, with ESPN journalist Thijs Zwagerman saying speaking to Heitinga was “kind of a maze”.
John Heitinga personal information
John Heitinga was born in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, on 15 November 1983. He was 42-years-old when he joined Spurs.
He is 1.81m tall, which is roughly 6ft tall. He weighs a fairly average 77kg.
Though he is a Netherlands native, Heitinga does have some Indonesian heritage through his grandfather on his dad’s side of the family.
Interestingly, Heitinga is married to Charlotte-Sophie Zenden, who is the sister of his former Dutch teammate, Boudewijn Zenden. They have three children together and have been married since 2010.
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