Trivia

Beenhakker started working as coach of Veendam in 1968. The then 26-year-old Rotterdammer was the youngest head coach in Dutch paid football.

As coach of the Trinidad and Tobago squad that competed at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Beenhakker was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold Class), the second highest state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago.

Leo Beenhakker was the coach of several prestigious clubs including Ajax, Feyenoord, Real Madrid, SC Veendam, Club America and Real Zaragoza. He also coached the national teams of Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, Poland and the Netherlands.

On 11 July 2006, Beenhakker was appointed as the manager of the Poland national team. Originally, he was appointed to manage Poland until the end of UEFA Euro 2008, however his contract was extended until November 2009, the end of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. On 20 February 2008, Beenhakker was decorated with the Order of Polonia Restituta by President of Poland Lech Kaczynski.

On May 2005, he was appointed head coach of Trinidad and Tobago. During his tenure, he coached the team to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the country's first-ever World Cup appearance, after a famous 1-0 win away against Bahrain via a header by Dennis Lawrence as Trinidad and Tobago won 2-1 on aggregate.