Fred Grim

Club

Ajax Youth

Position

Coach

Nationality

The Netherlands

Date of birth

1965-08-17

Birthplace

Noordbeemster, Netherlands

Height

188 cm

Georg Friedrich "Fred" Grim (born 17 August 1965) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently manager Ajax. A former goalkeeper, Grim represented Ajax and Cambuur during his playing career.

Grim began his career in the youth department of JOS from the Watergraafsmeer district of Amsterdam. In 1984, he joined the famed Ajax youth academy and also progressed to the first team, but did however not appear in the Eredivisie, as he was mostly a reserve behind starter Stanley Menzo. During the 1986–87 season, Cambuur head coach Fritz Korbach brought him to the Leeuwarden-based club competing in the second-tier Eerste Divisie, first on a loan deal and since on a permanent contract. Under the German manager, he made his professional debut in December 1986, as regular starter Oscar Zijlstra had sustained a back injury. Grim became the starter and stayed in that position for almost seven years. His highlight during the period was the 1991–92 Eerste Divisie title and subsequent promotion to the Eredivisie under head coach Rob Baan. With relegation in 1994, Grim ended his time at Cambuur after 272 league appearances, and returned to Ajax.

Once back at his former club, he was demoted to being a backup again. From the time of his move in 1994 and to the end of the 1998–99 season, he made only four appearances in the Eredivisie. It was only when starter Edwin van der Sar moved to Juventus that Grim became a regular starter for Ajax at the age of 34. He held this position for three years until he announced his retirement at the end of the 2001–02 season after winning the domestic double; the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup. 128 games for the Amsterdam team, including 101 in the league, were up for him at this point. "It was difficult to quit after such a high point," he said later, "but that way I was able to pursue my ambitions to become a coach."

After his active playing career, Grim became goalkeeper coach at Ajax' academy. From the 2004-05 season, Grim functioned as assistant coach for Jong Ajax with John van den Brom as manager. He held this position until March 2005, where he was promoted to Ajax' first team staff as a goalkeeper coach under manager Danny Blind.

In the 2007–08 season, Grim was assistant coach to Gert Aandewiel at Sparta Rotterdam. From the 2009–10 season, Grim began a three-year-period as a goalkeeper coach for Jong Ajax. Later it turned out that Grim did not finish his period as goalkeeper coach because of the many coaching