Now a record awaits

Koeman on his preferred opponent and critics

Ronald Koeman(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Ronald Koeman will be aiming for his greatest success as a coach on Wednesday in the European Championship semi-final against England in Dortmund. Yet just a few days ago, the former world-class defender was under heavy criticism. His preferred opponent in the final is Spain!

At the press conference after the 2:3 against Austria, Koeman had to face some unpleasant questions from journalists about his resignation. In the meantime, however, Koeman seems to have proved his critics wrong.

Record awaits
Now the 61-year-old can achieve something that only the German Berti Vogts has ever managed - to become European champion both as a player and as team manager. The same applies to Didier Deschamps ahead of the semi-final between France and Spain. But the aura of the former world-class player has always given the Frenchman some credit and respect, even later as a coach. Koeman is a different story.

Alongside Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, the 61-year-old is one of the European champions of 1988, the only title the Oranje have won to date. But Koeman is still constantly asked as Bonds coach: What would the great Johan Cruyff have said about this or that game?

It was even worse at FC Barcelona in 2020 and 2021. Koeman scored perhaps the most important goal in Barca's history in the 1992 Champions League final. When he later returned as coach, Lionel Messi was sold and a debt of more than one billion euros was announced. Koeman described these conditions bluntly, but the public response was that he was a defeatist, not a realist. He had to leave after just 15 months.

As a coach and a man, Koeman is difficult to grasp. His entire work is ambivalent. He criticizes his players publicly, sometimes very harshly. But experienced professionals such as Virgil van Dijk and Memphis Depay in particular appreciate the fact that he gives the team more freedom and responsibility than his predecessor Louis van Gaal. "The team builder", the newspaper "AD" called him approvingly on Monday.

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

"Nobody expected that"
Koeman is a pragmatist. And of all people, he has coached two teams in recent years where winning alone is not enough. FC Barcelona and the Dutch "Elftal" are always expected to play a beautiful and dominant game. But while this inevitably leads to conflicts in everyday life with this very coach, his approach at this tournament is perhaps the right one. "We can be proud that we reached the semi-finals," said Koeman. "Nobody expected that. But the mission is not over yet."