Announcing Stam as their boss on Friday (AEST), Cincinnati revealed the news with a picture of a man who certainly looked rather like the former Manchester United and Netherlands defender.

The man in question looked dressed for the job, in shirt, tie and a large coat, and as well as a bald head, many of his facial characteristics were comparable to those of Stam.

However, it turned out to be not Stam but a man widely identified by Dutch media as Ajax youth coach Tinus van Teunenbroek.

Red-faced Cincinnati pulled Van Teunenbroek's image from its coverage of the story once it became clear they had the wrong man.

A corrected version of the announcement was posted to Twitter, this time with an image of Stam, accompanied by the message: "Join us in welcoming our actual new head coach, Jaap Stam."