5 things to know about new Barcelona manager, Ronald Koeman
Yesterday, Barcelona named Dutch National team coach, Ronald Koeman, as new manager. Koeman’s appointment comes in the wake of an 8-2 trouncing defeat by Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in Lisbon, which brought an end to Quique Setien’s eight-month spell in charge. In what is unarguably the Dutchman’s biggest appointment in his managerial career, Daily Times takes a look at five things to know about Barcelona’s new gaffer.
(1) International career: Ronald Koeman is the younger brother to former Dutch International, Erwin Koeman. His international career spans over a decade, hitting its climax when he was part of the Oranje team which won the 1988 European Cup. He played alongside Dutch legends in the likes of Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, captaining the national side in the USA 1994 World Cup. In his playing days, Koeman was capable of playing both as a defender and as a midfielder; he frequently played as a sweeper, although he was equally known for his goalscoring, long–range shooting, and accuracy from free-kicks and penalties.
(2) Eridivise exploits: Ronald Koeman is the only man to play for the Eridivise’s famous ‘big three’- Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyernoord Rotterdam. He has won league titles for PSV and Ajax both as a player and a manager.
(3) Barcelona playing career: In 1989, Ronald Koeman re-connected with his former Ajax boss, Johann Cruyff, who was at the time Barcelona Manager. Koeman’s Barcelona career was a tremendous success, notably for his matching winning goal against Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup final, Barcelona’s first major European triumph. He was also part of Johann Cruyff’s “Dream Team” who won four straight La Liga titles between 1991 to 1994.
(4) English Management: In June 2014, Ronald Koeman was named Southampton new manager, a direct replacement for Mauricio Pochettino who had been poached by Tottenham Hotspurs following his impressive outing with the Saints. His brother Erwin, was named assistant manager. Koeman was an instant success at Southampton. He would eventually join Everton two years later. He guided the Toffees to a Europa league berth in his first season and was dismissed the following season.
(5) Oranje Revival: In what has undoubtedly been the major consideration in his appointment by the Catalan outfit, Koeman is credited as playing a key role in the revival of European sleeping giants, The Dutch national side, who had missed out on two major competitions- 2016 European Championship in France and the Russia 2018 World Cup. In his two years as the Oranje gaffer Koeman guided the side to the finals of the inaugural UEFA Nations League and also secured qualification for the 2020 European Championship.
