Australian football continues its Dutch connection

He joins Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek and his assistant, Henk Duut, as well as technical director Rob Baan as imports from the European powerhouse, continuing a trend that began with the appointments of Guus Hiddink and Johan Neeskens in 2005.

Versleijen, 53, has coached at club level in the Netherlands, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

He has also coached the Dutch under-17 and under-23 teams.

"This is a significant addition to our senior national coaching staff," said Football Federation Australia's national technical director Rob Baan, who is also Dutch.

"In Jan Versleijen, we have someone who is not only in step with the technical direction of Australian football, but who also knows the Asian Football Confederation very well."