Ronald Koeman

Ronald Koeman

Koeman in 2014
Personal information
Full name Ronald Koeman
Date of birth (1963-03-21) 21 March 1963[1]
Place of birth Zaandam, Netherlands
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Defender
Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Everton (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1983 Groningen 90 (33)
1983–1986 Ajax 94 (23)
1986–1989 PSV 98 (51)
1989–1995 Barcelona 192 (67)
1995–1997 Feyenoord 61 (19)
Total 535 (193)
National team
1982–1994 Netherlands 78 (14)
Teams managed
1997–1998 Netherlands (assistant)
1998–2000 Barcelona (assistant)
2000–2001 Vitesse
2001–2005 Ajax
2005–2006 Benfica
2006–2007 PSV
2007–2008 Valencia
2009 AZ
2011–2014 Feyenoord
2014–2016 Southampton
2016– Everton

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Ronald Koeman (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈroːnɑlt ˈkumɑn]; born 21 March 1963) is a former Dutch footballer and the current manager of English club Everton. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. A composed player, Koeman was capable of being deployed both as a defender and as a midfielder, and he frequently played as a sweeper, due to his vision and his ability on the ball.[2] One of the best attacking central defenders of all time, Koeman was renowned for his long-range passing, as well as his shooting accuracy and power from distance, especially on free kicks, and is the top scoring defender in world football;[3] he was also an accurate penalty kick taker.[4]

At international level, Koeman was one of the stars of the Netherlands national team, alongside Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp. During his career with the Netherlands, Koeman won UEFA Euro 1988 and played at the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups, captaining the team at the latter.

Koeman began his career at FC Groningen before transferring to the Netherlands' most successful club Ajax, where he won the national Eredivise title in 1984–85. He then joined Ajax's rivals PSV, winning three consecutive Eredivisie titles (1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89) and the European Cup in 1988. In 1989, Koeman moved to Barcelona and became part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team", helping the club win La Liga four years in a row between 1991 and 1994, and the European Cup, where he scored the winning goal of the final against Sampdoria in 1992.

As a head coach, Koeman has won three Eredivisie titles: twice with Ajax (2001–02 and 2003–04) and once with PSV (2006–07). He is the only individual to have both played for and managed the "Big Three" of Dutch football: Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord.[5] Prior to joining Southampton, he also had spells in Portugal with Benfica and Spain with Valencia, coaching Los Che to victory in the 2007–08 Copa del Rey.[6]

Club career

Netherlands

Koeman started his professional career at FC Groningen, making his debut at the age of 17 years and 183 days in a 2–0 win over NEC in the Eredivisie. This made him the third-youngest player in the club's history, after Piet Wildschut and Bert de Voogt.[7] Thirty-three goals from ninety appearances in his three seasons at the club saw the young defender called up by the Netherlands national team and earn a transfer to Eredivisie champions Ajax. After failing to defend their title in Koeman's first season at the club, the Amsterdam team regained the championship in 1984–85. The following season saw Johan Cruyff take over as Ajax head coach and, despite scoring 120 goals in 34 Eredivisie matches and winning the KNVB Cup, de Godenzonen could only finish second in the league behind rivals PSV.

Koeman celebrating the equalizer with Eric Gerets and Edward Linskens in the 1987–88 European Cup semi-final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid

In the summer of 1986, Koeman controversially transferred to Eindhoven to play for Hans Kraay's champions. Towards the end of the 1986–87 season, Kraay resigned and was replaced by Guus Hiddink, under the management of whom PSV overtook league leaders Ajax in the final weeks of the season to defend their league title. Koeman enjoyed further success with Hiddink and PSV in the following seasons, as the team also won the 1987–88 and 1988–89 Eredivisie titles and the club's first, and to date only, European Cup against Benfica in Stuttgart on 25 May 1988. PSV had also won the KNVB Cup in both 1988 and 1989, making their successes in the two years trebles and doubles respectively. In his three seasons at PSV, Koeman scored 51 goals in 98 league appearances, averaging more than one goal every two matches. During 1987–88, he recorded the highest scoring season of his club career, with 21 goals scored in the league.[8]

Barcelona

In 1989, Koeman re-joined his former Ajax coach Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, where he became a member of the famous "Dream Team". During his first season at the club, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid 2–0 in the final.[9] Along with players such as Hristo Stoichkov, Romário, Pep Guardiola and Michael Laudrup, Koeman helped the club win La Liga four years in a row from 1991 to 1994. In 1992, he scored the only goal of the European Cup Final against Sampdoria at Wembley Stadium to make Barça European Champion for the first time in its history. With this, he became the first player to score in two consecutive finals of different European competitions, having scored Barcelona's consolation goal against Manchester United in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Koeman was also known for his powerful right-footed free kicks and deadball ability where he scored many vital goals for the team.[10] One of his best strikes in La Liga came in the memorable 5–0 win over Real Madrid in El Clásico at the Camp Nou, with his bending free kick making the scoreline 2–0.[11] Koeman was joint-top scorer with eight goals in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, in which Barcelona were beaten in the final by Milan.

His nicknames while playing for Barcelona were Tintin, due to his physical similarity with Hergé's fictional character, and Floquet de Neu, after the famous albino gorilla in the Barcelona Zoo.[12] Ronald Koeman currently holds the record for 25 consecutive successful penalty conversions in La Liga.[13]

Return to the Netherlands and retirement

After six years and over 200 appearances at Barcelona, Koeman left Catalonia to return to the Netherlands in 1995. In joining Feyenoord, he became one of the few players to represent all of Dutch football's "Big Three". Koeman spent two seasons in Rotterdam, captaining Feyenoord to third- and second-place finishes in the Eredivisie respectively.

Koeman ended his career with 193 league goals from 533 matches (ahead of Daniel Passarella, who netted 182 goals in 556 matches) during his career, more than any other defender in the history of football.[3]

International career

Ronald together with Frank Rijkaard (left), Erwin (second from right) and Ruud Gullit (right) in the Dutch national team in 1983

In April 1983, Koeman debuted for the Netherlands national team in a 3–0 friendly loss to Sweden in Utrecht. This match also marked the first Oranje appearance for his elder brother Erwin. Ronald's first international goal came in December of the same year, in a 3–0 defeat of Iceland at Groningen's Oosterpark Stadion.

With the Netherlands unable to qualify for UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Koeman's tournament debut came at Euro 1988 in West Germany, where Rinus Michels' team defeated the hosts at the semi-final stage, with Koeman scoring a crucial penalty to equalize and make it 1−1. After this match, Koeman provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon in front of the home supporters.[14] In the final, the Netherlands defeated the Soviet Union 2–0 at Munich's Olympiastadion to win the nation's only major international trophy. This completed Koeman's extraordinary 1988 after winning the treble with PSV.[lower-alpha 1][15] Both Koeman and his central defensive partner Frank Rijkaard were named in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.

Koeman went on to represent his nation at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, as well as Euro 1992, and picked up a total of 78 caps for the Netherlands, scoring 14 goals.

Managerial career

Early years

Having retired as a player after his stint with Feyenoord, Koeman became a member of the coaching staff of Guus Hiddink during the 1998 World Cup along with Johan Neeskens and Frank Rijkaard. After the tournament, Koeman was appointed the assistant coach of Barcelona, and in 2000, he was handed his first managerial job as the head coach of Vitesse, where he led the team to a UEFA Cup spot on a relatively limited budget.

Ajax

Koeman was appointed the manager of Ajax in 2001. Ajax's fortunes suffered a steady decline after Koeman got off to a successful start at the Amsterdam Arena, winning a domestic double in 2001–02. Despite regaining the title in 2003–04, Ajax had fallen eight points behind rivals PSV in the Eredivisie. This situation, coupled with Ajax being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Auxerre, 3–2 on aggregate, led Koeman to resign the following day on 25 February 2005.[16]

Benfica

Koeman bounced back quickly from a disappointing end to his reign at Ajax in February 2005, taking up the vacant position at Portuguese champions Benfica following the departure of legendary Italian Giovanni Trapattoni. In Benfica, against whom he won the 1988 European Cup Final as a player with PSV, Koeman only won the Portuguese Super Cup; the team finished the Portuguese League in third place (behind rivals Porto and Sporting CP) and was knocked out of the Taça de Portugal in the quarter-finals (after losing to Vitória de Guimarães). This, along with an offer from PSV, sufficed for the manager to leave one year before the end of his contract, even though Benfica reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League before losing to Barcelona, who ended up winning the trophy.

PSV

In the 2006–07 season, Koeman served as head coach of PSV, as successor to Guus Hiddink. PSV dominated the first season half, keeping competitors AZ and Ajax at a reasonable distance, and PSV seemed almost destined to become champions again. PSV, however, suffered in the second half of the season, also because of injuries of players Jefferson Farfán, Alex and Ibrahim Afellay, obtaining only 19 out 39 possible points.[17] AZ and Ajax regained their momentum, making for a close finish, with all three teams tied at 72 points before the last competition day. AZ played struggling Excelsior in their final match, but did not manage to win. Ajax played at Willem II, but did not score enough goals; it was PSV eventually who triumphed, winning at home 5–1 against Vitesse Arnhem, and thereby becoming Eredivisie champions, one goal ahead of Ajax.

Valencia

On 31 October 2007, Koeman agreed to be the new coach of Valencia after the sacking of Quique Sánchez Flores, starting on 5 November 2007.[18] With Valencia, he won the 2007–08 Copa del Rey, a tournament he previously won as a player with Barcelona. This was Valencia's first Copa del Rey since 1999.[19] The remainder of his tenure at Valencia would prove disappointing: the team would slump to 15th in the league, only two points above the relegation zone, as well as finishing bottom of their Champions League group. A 5–1 defeat by Athletic Bilbao would prove the final straw for Koeman's time with Valencia. He was sacked the following day, on 21 April 2008.[19]

Koeman with Feyenoord.

AZ

Koeman was appointed manager of AZ on 18 May 2009,[20] after Louis van Gaal, who won the 2008–09 Eredivisie with AZ, joined Bayern Munich. On 5 December 2009, AZ announced that Koeman no longer was in charge of AZ, after losing 7 of the first 16 games in the Dutch competition.[21]

Feyenoord

On 21 July 2011, Koeman was appointed manager of Feyenoord, signing a one-year contract with the Dutch club as replacement for outgoing trainer Mario Been.[22] Through this appointment, Koeman has notably become the first man ever to serve as both player and head coach at all teams of the so-called "traditional big three" of Dutch football – Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV.[23] Moreover, he has completed this in the same order as player and as manager. At the beginning of 2012, it was announced that his contract was extended. In February 2014, Koeman announced that he would leave his position at Feyenoord at the end of the 2013−14 season to pursue other ambitions.[24]

Southampton

Koeman as a Southampton coach in September 2014.

In June 2014, Koeman was announced as the replacement for Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino, signing a three-year deal with the club.[25] In his first six Premier League games in charge of the club, Koeman managed four wins, a draw and a defeat, propelling Southampton to second place in the league standings and resulting in Koeman being named Premier League Manager of the Month for September.[26][27] He was named Manager of the Month for a second time in January 2015,[28] and led Southampton to a seventh-place finish at the end of the season.[29]

Koeman won his third Premier League Manager of the Month for January 2016,[30] on the way to Southampton's highest ever Premier League finish, sixth place, highest ever Premier League points total, 63, and qualification for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[31]

Everton

On 14 June 2016, Koeman was confirmed as manager of Everton, signing a three-year contract.[32]

Personal life

Koeman married Bartina Koeman in 1985. They have three children, two sons (named Tim and Ronald) and one daughter (named Debbie).[33] His brother Erwin works alongside him as the assistant head coach at Everton.

Statistics

[34][35][36][37][38]

Club performance League Cup Super Cup Continental Other Total
Season Club Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Super Cup Europe Other[n 1] Total
1980–81GroningenEredivisie24432–––276
1981–82331410–––3415
1982–83331440–––3714
1983–84Ajax32742–20–389
1984–8530921–43–3613
1985–8632761–20–408
1986–87PSV341633–20–3919
1987–88322164–81–4626
1988–89321461–42314518
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa Europe Other[n 2] Total
1989–90BarcelonaLa Liga361474–41104819
1990–91216420074–3212
1991–9235162010111–4917
1992–933311301030304311
1993–9435112010128–5019
1994–95329101081–4210
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Super Cup Europe Other Total
1995–96FeyenoordEredivisie3110311073–4214
1996–9730920–50–379
Total Netherlands 34312640151034931421151
Spain 192671964045154026488
Career total 535193592150792471685239

[39]

Netherlands national team
YearAppsGoals
198361
198410
198510
198660
198772
1988101
198983
199093
199140
1992120
199352
199492
Total7814

International goals

Managerial statistics

As of 4 December 2016[34][41]
Team From To Record
GWDLGFGA+/-Win %
Vitesse 1 January 2000 2 December 2001 79 40 23 16 132 77 +55 50.63
Ajax 3 December 2001 25 February 2005 151 94 30 27 320 147 +173 62.25
Benfica 8 June 2005 8 May 2006 49 27 11 11 64 38 +26 55.10
PSV 1 July 2006 31 October 2007 63 39 11 13 121 51 +70 61.90
Valencia 5 November 2007 21 April 2008 34 11 9 14 38 47 −9 32.35
AZ 18 May 2009 5 December 2009 24 11 4 9 44 30 +14 45.83
Feyenoord 21 July 2011 31 May 2014 114 65 22 27 229 133 +96 57.02
Southampton 16 June 2014 14 June 2016 91 44 17 30 140 93 +47 48.35
Everton 14 June 2016 Present 16 6 5 5 21 18 +3 37.50
Total 621 338 131 152 1,109 634 +475 54.43

Honours

Player

Ajax
PSV
Barcelona
Netherlands

Manager

Ajax
Benfica
PSV
Valencia
AZ

Individual

Player
Manager

Notes

  1. ↑ 1987–88 PSV Eindhoven season
  1. ↑ Includes 1988 European Super Cup (2 matches) and 1988 Intercontinental Cup (1 match, 1 goal).
  2. ↑ Includes 1989 European Super Cup, 1992 European Super Cup and 1992 Intercontinental Cup (1 match).

References

  1. 1 2 "Ronald Koeman". www.goal.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Filling the Boots: A case for Koeman". totalbarca.com. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 "The World's most successful Top Division Goal Scorers of all time among defensive players" by the IFFHS.
  4. ↑ "Ronald Koeman". barcelona.com. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ronald Koeman". ESPN. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "King's Cup half empty for Koeman". The Guardian. 22 April 2008.
  7. ↑ "Zivkovic jongste debutant in clubgeschiedenis". FC Groningen. 3 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Een zeldzaam stukje clubliefde van 'clubhoer' Koeman". Algemeen Dagblad. 28 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Hall Of Fame: Ronald Koeman". Football Oranje. 17 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Benfica-coach Koeman hoopt op stunt tegen Barcelona". NU.nl (in Dutch). 27 March 2006. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  11. ↑ "Strikers' trademark goals: the Thierry Henry control-and-place, the Romario toe-poke and more". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2013
  12. ↑ "Ronald Koeman: master of all he surveys". World Soccer. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "110 facts about Real Madrid on their 110th anniversary". Goal.com. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "Zo vierde Koeman de zege op Duitsland". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 8 May 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "PSV honour ´golden´ 1988 squad". Philips Sport Vereniging. 14 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "Koeman quits Ajax". The Guardian. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  17. ↑ "PSV roept rampspoed over zich af". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 23 April 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  18. ↑ "Koeman agrees to join Valencia". The Guardian. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  19. 1 2 Lowe, Sid (21 April 2008). "King's Cup half empty for Koeman". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  20. ↑ "Koeman succeeds Van Gaal at AZ". UEFA.com. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  21. ↑ "Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar sack coach Koeman". ESPN Soccernet. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  22. ↑ "Feyenoord appoint Ronald Koeman as new head coach". The Guardian. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  23. ↑ "Unieke werkreeks Koeman bij traditionele top-drie" [Unique working stint for Koeman at traditional top-three]. Voetbal International. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  24. ↑ "Coach Ronald Koeman to leave Dutch giants Feyenoord". BBC. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "Ronald Koeman: Southampton name Dutchman as new manager". bbc.co.uk. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  26. 1 2 "Southampton's Ronald Koeman is named manager of the month". BBC Sport. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  27. ↑ "Southampton stays 2nd in EPL with win over QPR". USA Today. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  28. ↑ "Kane and Koeman claim Barclays monthly awards". premierleague.com. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  29. ↑ McNulty, Phil (25 May 2015). "Premier League 2014-15: End of season review". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  30. ↑ Thomas, Lyall (5 February 2016). "Ronald Koeman and Sergio Aguero named Premier League Manager and Player of the Month". Sky Sports News. Sky plc. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  31. ↑ "Saints are back in Europe!". Southampton F.C. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  32. ↑ "Ronald Koeman: Everton appoint ex-Southampton boss as manager". BBC Sport. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  33. ↑ "Biography for Ronald Koeman". IMDb. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Ronald Koeman". Football Database.eu. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  35. ↑ Ronald Koeman Eredivisie stats. ELF Voetbal. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  36. ↑ "Spanish La Liga & Segunda stats". LFP. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  37. ↑ "Ronald Koeman – Matches in European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  38. ↑ Nederlof, Bert (2013). "Statistieken". Ronald Koeman (in Dutch). Gouda: Voetbal International / de Buitenspelers.
  39. ↑ "Ronald Koeman – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  40. ↑ Ronald Koeman. EU-Football.info. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  41. ↑ "Ronald Koeman – Coach in European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Ronald Koeman – the player". Southampton. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  43. ↑ "1988 UEFA European Championship". UEFA. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  44. ↑ "Ronald Koeman: Southampton starting to scare big teams". BBC Sport. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  45. ↑ "Aguero and Koeman claim Barclays awards for January". 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
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