NOS Football•
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Thierry Boon
follows the Dutch national team
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Thierry Boon
follows the Dutch national team
Questions again about Koeman’s future: ‘Intention not to spend another word on it’
Ronald Koeman’s future will be and remain a theme in the run-up to the World Cup. Whether the national coach of the Dutch national team wants that or not. “I have decided not to spend another word on that,” he said firmly on Sunday about his expiring contract. And then go back to it again.
“Why? If I now say that I will not comment on this until after the World Cup, then that is enough, right?” is the somewhat naive view of Koeman – as a player and trainer at the highest level, who is already seasoned in the football world – on the eve of the last World Cup qualifying match of this year tonight in Amsterdam against Lithuania.
Amsterdam party evening
Rapper Frenna will perform and Party DJ Ruud will play. It is clear: it must be a huge party evening in the Johan Cruijff Arena. Stand hosanna, because the Dutch team will qualify for the World Cup. A point against Lithuania, number 146 in the world, is more than enough for that.
And then the focus can be entirely on next summer. The global tournament, where the then 63-year-old Koeman expects to score high with this Dutch team, number six in the FIFA rankings. But will it also be the final trick of the coach of the Dutch national team?
Koeman’s group
Over the years it has really become his group. Started by Koeman himself in 2018. He made Virgil van Dijk captain, gave Memphis Depay a dose of confidence as a striker and allowed Frenkie de Jong to make his debut. After a stopover in Barcelona, Koeman picked it up again after the 2022 World Cup.
He allowed players such as Tijjani Reijnders, Denzel Dumfries, Micky van de Ven, Justin Kluivert and Bart Verbruggen to make their debuts and further refined the team. This makes the 62-year-old Koeman an important coach for them in their careers. As a player you will never forget your first time in Orange.
But as mentioned, Koeman’s contract with the KNVB football association continues until the World Cup. And that raises questions in football. Koeman addressed this at a business fair in Zeeland last week, with the incorrect assessment that his statements would remain within four walls.
The Zeeland newspaper PZC reported on the meeting in the Zeelandhallen and recorded what Koeman said about his future after the World Cup. “Then it may very well be that I stop and do other things,” was a quote from the former football player.
On Monday, when the Dutch team met for the first time this international period, Koeman was asked about it at a press conference on the KNVB Campus. “That is a possibility,” he confirmed at the time. “I think about that every now and then, but that doesn’t concern me right now.”
The Dutch team was – of course – heavily featured in Studio Voetbal on Sunday evening.
Six days later, same question, same place, slightly different answer. “I am open to a conversation with the KNVB, of course. I never said that I would stop, did I? If Nigel has ideas about that, he knows where to find me. We have good contact, we speak to each other daily.”
Expensive lessons from Jonker soap
By Nigel, Koeman means Nigel de Jong, the director of top football at the association, who did not exactly excel in acting well in a similar situation with the women. He said at the end of January, a few months before the European Championship, that Andries Jonker’s expiring contract would not be extended.
Shortly afterwards, De Jong came to the conclusion that the communication surrounding the departure had not been ideal after all. “We don’t want to end up in such a situation again,” said the former midfielder of Ajax, Manchester City, AC Milan and Oranje, among others. But how do you do it right?
So Koeman wants to wait for the World Cup. But can and does the KNVB want to do that? The longer it is unclear, the more unrest it causes and the more difficult it is to find a possible successor.
Peter Bosz, the success coach whose contract with PSV has also expired, will undoubtedly be on a list in Zeist. He has indicated several times that he is interested in becoming a national coach, but in the meantime PSV hopes to be able to tempt him to stay in Eindhoven for a longer period of time.
And what does it do to a group during a World Cup if the future of the coach is unclear? Is there a danger that players will undermine Koeman’s authority? The national coach is clear about this: “No, I don’t think so.”
