Aron Winter

Aron Winter

Personal information
Full name	Aron Mohamed Winter
Date of birth	1 March 1967 (1967-03-01)
Place of birth	Paramaribo, Suriname (under Dutch Empire until 1975)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Toronto FC (Head coach)
Youth career
0000–1985	SV Lelystad
1985–1986	Jong Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1986–1992	Ajax	187	(46)
1992–1996	Lazio	123	(21)
1996–1999	Internazionale	77	(1)
1999–2003	Ajax	51	(4)
2001–2002	→ Sparta Rotterdam (loan)	32	(1)
Total		469	(73)
National team
1987–2000	Netherlands	84	(6)
Teams managed
2005–2009	Ajax A1 (Assistant)
2007–2009	Ajax A2
2011–	Toronto FC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Aron Mohamed Winter [VIN-ter] (born 1 March 1967 in Paramaribo, Suriname) is a retired Dutch football midfielder and current head coach of Toronto FC. He has played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, for Italian sides Lazio and Internazionale, and for the Dutch national team.

Playing Career

AFC Ajax

He began his career with amateur club Unicum, he also played for SV Lelystad, before joining AFC Ajax when he was 19 years old. His first game for Ajax was a match against FC Utrecht on 6 April 1986, which Ajax won 3–0. Winter won two KNVB Cups (1987 and 1988), the Eredivisie title (1990), the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1987) and the UEFA Cup (1992) with the club before moving on to Italy, where he played for Lazio in 1992.

Lazio

His role during his time at Lazio was to replace Paul Gascoigne, and he played the defensive midfield position for many years in the Serie A.

Inter Milan

In 1996, Winter joined Inter Milan which won the UEFA Cup in 1998. He had also played in the previous year's final, with the game going to penalties. However, Winter missed his penalty as Inter lost to Schalke.

Sparta Rotterdam

In 2001, he was loaned out to Sparta Rotterdam. He played 32 games for Sparta Rotterdam and scored one goal before finishing his career at Ajax, where he chose to retire.

Manager career

After a 3 year Assistant coaching career with the Ajax first academy team, Winter signed a 3 year contract with Canadian side Toronto FC on January 6, 2011. Winter brought former colleague Bob de Klerk from Ajax to be his assistant coach, while Paul Mariner was also brought in the same day being named Director of Player Development at the club. After a disappointing season opener against Vancouver Whitecaps that ended in a 4–2 away defeat on March 19, Winter won his first game as Toronto's head coach the following week against Portland Timbers in a 2–0 home victory. Winter won his first trophy with Toronto in early July with a 3–2 win on aggregate over Vancouver, helping Toronto win its third consecutive Canadian Championship earning them a berth in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League.

International

He was a member of the Dutch national team that won the 1988 European Football Championship.

In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he scored a goal against Brazil in the quarter-finals.

He was also selected for the Dutch national team for Euro 96, as well as the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.

He left Inter for his former club Ajax in 1999. Winter placed in Rijkaard's Euro 2000 squad.

Having represented his national team 84 times, scoring six goals, Winter is currently the eighth most capped player for the Dutch national team.

Managerial stats

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
Toronto FC		6 January 2011	present	45	14	15	16	31.11
Career totals				45	14	15	16	31.11

Honours

Player

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1989–90, 2001–02
• KNVB Cup: 1986–87, 2001–02
• UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1986–87
• UEFA Cup: 1991–92

Internazionale

• UEFA Cup: 1997-98

Netherlands

• UEFA European Championship: 1988

Individual

• Dutch Young Player of the Year (1): 1986

Manager

Toronto FC

• Canadian Championship (1): 2011

See also

• List of current MLS coaches
• Sparta Rotterdam season 2001–02

External links

• Aron Winter profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)