Ronald Koeman has been officially in charge of the Netherlands team since January 1 and today, at the presentation ceremony, he distanced himself from Louis van Gaal, his predecessor in charge.
“The idea is to go back to the old system, with four defenders and not five,” explained Koeman in reference to the tactics used by Van Gaal at the World Cup in Qatar, a competition in which the Oranje lost on penalties quarterfinals.against former champion Argentina
Koeman, who has signed a contract until the 2026 World Cup, said he would work with his “own ideas and experience and did not consider it “interesting” or “necessary” to talk to Van Gaal before returning to take over a position he already held in February from 2018 until August 2020, when he left the Dutch team to continue managing FC Barcelona.
Appointed in April
In October 2021, he was dismissed by the Barça board and Koeman was appointed in April 2022 as the successor of Van Gaal, who had already announced for his part that he would retire after the World Cup in Qatar.
Therefore, Koeman has been working for several months with his eyes focused on the Oranje team and now he revealed that “I have spoken with some players, especially about the system that will be implemented. Their opinion is important.”
Emulate an undefeated Van Gaal
Ronald did point out that Van Gaal is “unbeaten in his 20 games in his position. It would be great if I could do that too, but I want to do it in a different way.” And he admitted that “during the World Cup I said to myself many times: ‘It must be changed!'”.
Koeman’s first big challenge is the final stage of the Nations League. The Netherlands will be the hosts and their opponents for the title will be Spain, Italy and Croatia. The draw for the semifinals is this Wednesday in Nyon.
The final stage of the Nations League as host
“His goal is to win a great title,” declared Koeman, be it the Nations League, Euro 2024 or the 2026 World Cup. In his first spell, Ronald was runner-up in the Nations League in 2019 and his country qualified for Euro 2020, but he was not present at the tournament when he was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and signed for Barça.
In his second tour in charge of the Netherlands, he will have the help of his brother Erwin who, in addition to his career at club level, has been the coach of Hungary (2008-2012) and Oman (2019).
Her brother Erwin, by her side again
“Who can I trust more than my brother, who has the same football ideas as mine but with a very different character,” Ronald emphasized. Erwin was Ronald’s deputy at Everton and Southampton.
His debut in charge will be on March 24 against France in Saint-Denis. The ‘bleus’, runners-up in the world after losing the final in Qatar against Argentina on penalties, are included in group B of the qualifying phase for Eurocopa de Germany 2024 along with Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar. The first two will qualify for the final stage.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
