Ernest Faber

Born in Geldrop, Faber grew up in the Strijp neighbourhood in Eindhoven, which also included PSV's home ground, the Philips Stadion. At five, he started playing youth football at local amateur club DBS. Faber's performances led to interest from PSV and EVV, with PSV scout Gerrit van Tilburg having discovered him at DBS. He chose to join PSV at 13. Faber's original position was right winger, but at PSV, he moved to the central defense position under the guidance of former defender and youth coach Huub Stevens.

Loan spells and first PSV years

To gain first-team experience, PSV loaned Faber out to NEC in 1990. He made his professional debut on 25 August in a 2–1 away win against MVV. In October, Faber was sent-off during a 7–0 loss to Ajax. NEC's season ended in 18th place and relegation; Faber appeared in 30 league fixtures and three cup games. For the 1991–92 season, Faber was loaned out to Sparta. He played 32 Eredivisie matches. Sparta finished eighth in the league and also reached the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup in which Faber played five games. In 1992, Faber returned to PSV. In his debut match, he won the Dutch Super Cup after beating Feyenoord with 1–0. Faber appeared in 18 Eredivisie matches in his first season. He played his first UEFA Champions League match as a substitute against FC Porto. Faber's debut in the starting line-up followed in the home fixture over A.C. Milan, after the PSV squad was struggling with injuries. Coach Hans Westerhof assigned him to Milan's Marco van Basten, whom Faber managed to prevent from scoring. In the 1993–94 season, Faber played five league games for PSV before being loaned out to Groningen for the second half of the season. At Groningen, Faber played 11 matches. After finishing third in the 1994–95 season, PSV and Faber reached the second place a year later and also won the KNVB Cup.

Injury trouble

In 1996, Faber won his second Super Cup after defeating Ajax with 3–0. But in September, Faber tore his ankle ligaments…

Faber played 12 games for the Netherlands national under-19 football team and 7 matches for the Netherlands under-21 team. In February 1998, his good performances with PSV were rewarded with a call-up by coach Guus Hiddink for the senior team trip to the United States. The Netherlands were scheduled to play exhibition matches against the United States and Mexico. After being an unused substitute in the United States match, Faber made a 58th minute appearance in the game against Mexico on 24 February 1998. The match was played in Miami. He replaced Winston Bogarde when the Netherlands were leading 3–0. Eventually, the game finished 3–2, with Faber causing a penalty in favour of Mexico. Faber was one of the players considered by Hiddink to be selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup but after he injured himself before the start of the tournament, he was unable to appear.

In the summer of 2005, Faber became coach of PSV's reserve team Jong PSV. In the 2005–06 season of the Beloften Eredivisie, Faber's team narrowly escaped relegation. But in September 2006, Faber left Jong PSV. He claimed that the team was neglected by PSV and not strengthened as promised. Faber's desire was to remain at the club, but the board did not offer him another position. Faber proceeded to join FC Eindhoven as their assistant manager in December 2006. In October 2007, FC Eindhoven sacked their manager Louis Coolen. Faber stepped up as caretaker manager for two months. He went back to his position as assistant when Gerald Vanenburg was appointed as the new manager in December. Seeking a new challenge, Faber announced in February 2008 he would leave FC Eindhoven at the end of the season. Before his departure, Faber had to become FC Eindhoven's caretaker manager again after Vanenburg resigned in April. He coached the team in the remaining three matches. In 2008, Faber returned to PSV to coach the under-19 squad. He signed a two-year contract. In November 2009, Faber showed interest in becoming the PSV academy director. The other youth coaches favoured Faber as well, but the PSV board decided to appoint Jelle Goes. He decided to leave the club again after the 2009–10 season, even though PSV offered him the position of Jong PSV coach. In February 2010, he passed his coaching exam, enabling him to be a manager in the Netherlands. Faber simultaneously agreed on a two-year…