Jaap Stam saw the funny side of FC Cincinnati's photo blunder when confirming his appointment, joking they used a "doppelganger" because he was too busy.

Cincinnati announced Stam as their new coach on Thursday, with their Twitter post accompanied by a composite image that included a man who resembled the Dutchman.

But the pictured man, who was also bald and dressed in a shirt, tie and large coat, turned out to be Ajax youth coach Tinus van Teunenbroek.

The mishap quickly went viral and left Cincinnati's media team red-faced, particularly after official accounts of fellow MLS clubs chimed in on the replies of the corrected follow-up tweet.

Each one posted a welcome message and an accompanying image of a different bald man – examples ranged from Jason Statham to Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers films.

Unsurprisingly Stam was asked about the mishap during his presentation news conference on Friday, but the former Manchester United and Milan centre-back, who cut an intimidating figure on the pitch, took it in good humour.

"Everything was going well and I know you're aiming a little bit at this picture that came out," Stam said when asked how it felt to 'go viral'.

"Yesterday [Thursday] was a busy day, a hard day, a lot of talking and a lot of meetings, so eventually we used a doppelganger to do the picture."

Stam was then asked what he thought about the MLS clubs' replies. He said: "I've seen it – somebody sent it to me and I can appreciate that as well.

"At a certain time we need to have a bit of a laugh. If we play against each other and we come out on top with a win, then we can have a laugh – that's what we're trying to do."

The Dutch journalist who asked the questions explained to Cincinnati's press officer that he was addressing the "elephant in the room", but further questions on the matter seemed to be discretely discouraged when she responded: "Well, no, we have Jaap in the room today, so we're good there."

Stam is returning to management for the first time since resigning as Feyenoord boss in October, as he quit following a 4-0 defeat by Ajax less than five months after succeeding Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Cincinnati are in their second MLS season and lost the first two matches of the 2020 Eastern Conference campaign prior to the coronavirus-enforced pause.