Verbeek, 56, has a pedigree not to be sniggered at - even if his players have a history of sniggering at him.

The wild grey locks and at once stern-yet-jovial appearance sum up the man they call 'Rambo' about as well as someone like Verbeek could ever be summarised. You never quite know what you're going to get.

A storied Eredivisie career, boasting highly successful spells at Heracles Almelo, SC Herenveen and AZ Alkmaar, will stand him among the upper elite of A-League coaches.

There have also been the lowlights: he was sacked by Alkmaar five months after winning the Dutch Cup and two days after beating PSV, he barely managed six-month stints at Feyenoord and Nuremberg, and his most recent campaign all-but-ended his Eredivisie career, a disastrous spell at FC Twente.

Sceptical Adelaide United fans have already pointed out his chequered history and player altercations (although will do well to remember that upon his A-League arrival, Marco Kurz's record was worse).

But don't let a pockmarked resume mislead you, Verbeek is a very good coach.

At one stage in his career, he was held aloft as one of the Netherland's best. But there are a few odd underliers that have led Verbeek, albeit without rampant enthusiasm, to make an unlikely move Down Under.

If the Reds' mysterious Dutch owners were looking for a more jovial, agreeable head coach after the fiery passion of Kurz, they haven't found one.

Likewise, if Adelaide's roster (who had hinted before their remarkable season-finish that they didn't enjoy Kurz's hardline regime) are hopeful of a less arduous philosophy, they're in for a nasty surprise.

Verbeek is renowned for his hard, intense approach. He has a softer side and is notable for being eccentric, even a little strange, but when it comes to training his teams are highly disciplined, drilled and organised.

He's notable for delivering structure and consistency to lower-table clubs. He took usual-Eerste Divisie side Heracles to within a whisker of the Europa League, while his record at Dutch minnows Herenveen: fifth, seventh and fifth-placed Eredivisie finishes, speaks volumes of his organisational capacity.

He also has a remarkable record with youth development, which is rumoured to be the reason Adelaide's owners scrapped Kurz and were so keen on appointing Verbeek.

Verbeek's capable of attractive football, but his Reds won't play the exciting style of Guillermo Amor or Josep Gombau. Verbeek, like his sides, inhabit a similar aggressive tenacity to Kurz - his Alkmaar team led the Eredivisie in both tackles and interceptions.

But he remains a far sight from his German predecessor.

Under Verbeek, the Reds will delve deeper along the development spectrum, with the A-League's lack of relegation and Adelaide's seemingly infatuated owners set to lend Verbeek a wider berth than he's ever had before.

But don't let all this fool you. The A-League's still getting a showman.