Ronald Koeman is not unsympathetic to a return as national coach of the Dutch national team. The 58-year-old coach qualified for the European Championship with the the Dutch squad last summer, but left the KNVB in 2020 for an employment contract with Barcelona, as a result of which he missed the final tournament. A second employment as national coach of the Dutch national team is given by Koeman after his dismissal los Azulgrana not excluded in October.
“You become national coach to also experience a final tournament. That is missing,” says Koeman in a new season of Videoland series Forca Koeman† “If I ever get a chance to do that again… I’m not going to apply, but that’s a loss. Who knows, maybe it will come again. That might suit me best: not being on the field every day.”
Koeman has praise for Louis van Gaal, his successor at the Dutch national team, in the series. “He has been very important for the Dutch”, says Koeman. “He has brought clarity. His authority and experience has clearly had an impact, Memphis and Frenkie tell me so too. I am curious how it will go at the World Cup, if he indeed wants to play with a different system.”
Louis van Gaal announced in December that he will resign from his duties as national coach of the Dutch national team after the World Cup in Qatar. Since then, Koeman has been frequently pushed forward to take over from Van Gaal. The former national coach of the Dutch has been without an employer since his dismissal as a coach of Barcelona. Rob Jansen, Koeman’s agent, called a possible return of his client to the Dutch national team at the beginning of this year a ‘logical choice’.
“We haven’t discussed that yet. Moreover, it is up to the KNVB, they are about that,” Jansen said at the time in conversation with Football International when he was asked about a possible national coach position for Koeman. “But from my personal perspective I say: a return of Ronald to the Dutch after the World Cup would be a logical choice. He has proven to be a good national coach, the players were satisfied, the association was satisfied and Ronald himself too. But again: I say this on my own title, there has been no contact whatsoever about this.”