Robertus Petrus van der Laan (born 5 September 1968) is a Dutch former football player and manager.
He began his playing career in his native Netherlands with Eerste Divisie club Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging in 1987 before moving on to Wageningen in 1990.
In 1991, he moved to England to play for Port Vale, where after four seasons as one of the club's key players, he was sold on to Derby County.
[4] He made 49 appearances in 1991–92, scoring six goals, including a strike in front of the Kop in a 2–2 League Cup draw with Liverpool.
However, he sometimes failed to make the starting eleven due to the form of central midfield rivals Andy Porter, Ian Taylor and Paul Kerr, and submitted a transfer request in February 1993 to find first-team football elsewhere.
He made 21 appearances for the "Rams" in 1996–97, and also spent October and November on loan at First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing seven games.
He played 22 games in 2000–01 before a recurring knee injury he picked up in December 2000 forced him to retire from professional football in March 2001, at the age of 32.
[3] He was an excellent set piece taker and had good hard tackling, precision passing and sharp shooting abilities.
[12] Van der Laan worked as the Head International Coach for Manchester United Soccer Schools.
[14] On 26 February 2018, Van der Laan was appointed as manager at Newcastle Town, who were then fifth-bottom of the Northern Premier League Division One South.