Ronald Koeman’s spell at the Premier League had two different sides. The first one is about overachieving, building good sides in difficult situations. It was like this at Southampton, where the club saw star players leaving every season and were still able to perform at a high level, more that was demanded from them.
At Koeman’s first season at the South Coast, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Callum Chambers all left the club, players that played a huge part in the previous season under Mauricio Pochettino. Koeman found himself in a rebuilding proccess, both in the squad and in the managerial front. Despite all the changes made, Southampton recruited smartly and were able to finish in the Top 7, something that was arguably above the expectations.
In his second season it wasn’t so different. Morgan Schneiderlin left for Manchester United, Nathaniel Clyne left for Liverpool and Toby Alderweireld ended his loan spell and joined Tottenham. Again, the three players were hugely important for the team and Southampton managed to replace them all with the likes of Cedric, Oriol Romeu and Virgil Van Dijk. That year Southampton defied the odds once again, finishing 6th, qualifying for Europa League in two consecutive seasons.
After two really successful seasons, Koeman had an opportunity he could not let go at Everton. A big club with a rich history, and a quality that if he was able to lapidate, could have turned into something really special. Similarly to when took over at Southampton, Everton have seen big players go, in the likes of Tim Howard and John Stones. Once again, smart recruitment was the key for Koeman and Everton, as he saw his side finish 7th in the Premier League, managing to qualify to Europa League and bring optimism back to the club.
Now it comes the other side of Koeman’s Premier League career: Inability to perform.
He did a great job in turning Everton’s fortunes around after two mediocre seasons under Roberto Martinez. He also did great job in developing the likes of Mason Holgate, Calvert-Lewin and Idrissa Gueye. The most important thing he did at Everton was bringing hope back and it was the turning point. If he wasn’t able to deliever anymore, he would end up getting dismissed.
Another big money transfer window came, which saw the likes of Davy Klaasen, Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford, Wayne Rooney and Gilfy Sigurdsson joining the club. The loss of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United turned out to be huge in Koeman’s final days at Everton, as well as a lack of an explosive winger, something that Everton hugely missed after the injury to Yanick Bolassie.
Everton were playing ugly, lethargically and with no confidence, despite all the expectation built around them at the start of the season. The biggest parcel in this is from Koeman, but he was really unfortunate to not being able to deliever the expectations that were demanded. He proved previously what a good manager he is and his brilliant work at Southampton, and his first season at Everton, are proofs of that.
Of course, he was sacked by Everton after just season in charge. Maybe the club made the decision in a hurry to turn their fortunes around. It’s pretty clear that with the quality available at Everton, Koeman would eventually turn it around. Instead, the club made the decision thinking in the short-term, putting stability aside, something that has been lacking at the club since David Moyes left.
Today it was announced that Ronald Koeman would take over as the Netherlands National Team boss. If we compare the situations in which he took over at his two previous jobs, this one is not totally different.
A rebuilding process is really necessary for Holland in the international stage. Since Louis Van Gaal left to manage Manchester United, just after he guided the national team to a 3rd place finish in the World Cup, it has been downfall for one of the biggest nations in football.
Since Van Gaal left, Holland had three different managers in Guus Hiddink, Danny Blind and, most recently, Dick Advocaat. That number of managers in such a small period of time would be huge in club football, but it’s even bigger at international stage.Bringing stability is a part of the game that Koeman was recognised for, something lacking at Holland since 2014.
Failing to qualify to the Euros 2016 was just the start of a big decline. In group formed by Czech Republic, Iceland, Turkey, Kazakhistan and Latvia, Holland was the uncontested favourites to win the group. However, they were unable to deliever and eventually ended up not qualifying to Europe’s biggest international tournament.
More recently, they were also unable to qualify to World Cup in Russia, a big crying for help for a national team with big expectations and ambitions. This shouldn’t be happening with a side like Holland and their move to appoint Koeman is trying to prevent something worse.
We all know that Holland is country known for creating the best football talent. There are numerous example of that. Holland’s actual football generation is really talented and have to be developed carefully, a part of the game Koeman does really well. With the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Stefan De Vrij, Memphis Depay and Quincy Promes all entering in their prime, expectations should be high for Holland and Koeman hopes to make that come true.
Koeman proved himself at Southampton, being outstanding in two seasons in which he defied the odds all over again. His first season at Everton showed again his talent and the impact he can have over a team.
At Holland, Koeman gets another chance to prove himself. And this is not the only thing about this job. He needs to rebuild a great footballing country and guide them into the stability and success they have been in need for four years. This job may be the biggest in Koeman’s career and his biggest chance to prove himself.
The Final Whistle 