Football
Mark Rodden 8y

Patrick Kluivert's role at PSG questioned by Jean-Michel Vandamme

Lille director Jean-Michel Vandamme does not think that Patrick Kluivert is an ideal choice to be Paris Saint-Germain's director of football.

Former Netherlands striker Kluivert, 40, was unexpectedly appointed to the position on Thursday.

The ex-Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona player finished his playing career at Lille in 2008 before working as assistant manager to Louis van Gaal during Netherland's run to the 2014 World Cup semifinals.

Vandamme, currently serving as Lille's deputy managing director, remembers Kluivert as a very intelligent man who had a hugely positive impact on the dressing room.

However, he does not think that Kluivert is a perfect fit to oversee the work of new PSG manager Unai Emery and assistant sporting director Olivier Letang.

"No," Vandamme told L'Equipe. "If he's a leader recognised for his talent [on the pitch], I don't see him as someone who's going to sort everything out, who's going to order Letang around or impose his views on Emery.

"I see him working more in a horizontal way rather than a hierarchical one. He's a brilliant guy, who leads you through his exemplarity, but he's not a leader of men."

PSG said Kluivert would work in collaboration with general manager Jean-Claude Blanc and that he would "play an active role in the national and international development of the club."

Among the former Newcastle striker's other tasks are "defining the club's long-term sporting strategy" and "liaising with the biggest clubs and players in the world."

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