19 Facts About Mario Been

Marinus Antonius Been was born on 11 December 1963 and is a Dutch football manager and former professional player.

Mario Been played in an attacking midfield position and was nicknamed "Mariodona" for his dribbling skills, after Diego Maradona and his first name.

Mario Been spent six years at Feyenoord from 1982 to 1988, before moving to Italian side Pisa in July 1988.

Mario Been was a member of the Dutch squad at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship and played one official international match for the Netherlands, against Austria on 14 November 1984 as substitute for Ton Lokhoff in the 73rd minute.

Mario Been started his coaching career as assistant manager to Bert van Marwijk at Feyenoord in 2000.

Mario Been held this position until the summer of 2004 when Bert van Marwijk choose to leave Feyenoord and head to Germany to manage Borussia Dortmund.

Mario Been headed across Rotterdam to join Feyenoord's sister club Excelsior in 2005 and in his sole season in-charge of the club got them promoted from the Eerste Divisie to the Eredivisie.

Mario Been came with ambition to return the glory years back to the club.

However, Mario Been managed to remarkably change the fortunes of his team, as they went on a run which saw them eventually end eighth in the league standings.

Mario Been got his team to play very attractive football, which resulted in plenty of goals.

Mario Been's side were drawn in a tough group in the UEFA Cup with away games at Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Zagreb, while Tottenham Hotspur and Udinese would come to Nijmegen.

On 28 January 2009, NEC Nijmegen and Feyenoord had reached an agreement to let Mario Been move to Rotterdam to become the head coach there for the next season.

Mario Been joined his boyhood club Feyenoord in the summer of 2009 in the hope of repairing the financially stricken club.

Mario Been was given a very youthful squad to work with, which did have some experienced heads in the form of Roy Makaay, Denny Landzaat and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Mario Been's first signing was from his old club, where he signed Dani Fernandez for the right-back position.

Up until 2011, Mario Been had a contract that ran until 2012 with the club.

On 13 July 2011, Mario Been was confirmed to have left his post as head coach of Feyenoord, citing lack of trust and confidence from his players as the main reason for his surprise choice.

In late August 2011, Mario Been was appointed as a new manager of Genk, signing a two-year deal with them and succeeding Franky Vercauteren, who left the club to join United Arab Emirates side Al-Jazira.

On 26 May 2017, Mario Been was appointed as the new manager of the reigning Cypriot champions APOEL, signing a one-year contract with the club.