Ronald Koeman must rekindle Dutch sense of adventure
Ronald Koeman was announced Tuesday as the Netherlands’ new manager. He faces a difficult task to return the team to their former strength.
When the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, it marked the first time since the the ’80s the men’s national team had missed out on consecutive major tournaments. The Oranje will always hold a special place in the history of the international game, but times have changed. So, now, has their manager, after Ronald Koeman was announced as Dick Advocaat’s replacement on Tuesday.
The challenge facing Koeman — if not returning the Dutch to their former glory, certainly qualifying them for Euro 2020 — is daunting. Just look at the players at his disposal. For the first time in decades, the squad doesn’t feature a single truly world-class player. Virgil van Dijk’s price tag would suggest he’s the closest they have, but he’s yet to prove himself in the latter rounds of the Champions League, or for his national side, or for an elite club (the jury’s still out after his first month at Liverpool).
Koeman’s first task, then, is simply to recognize the mediocrity he’s working with. Mediocrity is no longer an obstacle to qualifying for the Euros (if it ever was) now that the tournament has been increased to a 24-team format. Matches will be played in multiple cities across Europe, and the Dutch hope to host some, but that will not guarantee a spot in the tournament. That job is up to Koeman.
His first task is to establish his squad, which will involve phasing out the remaining elder statesmen still contributing to the side. Arjen Robben has retired, but it’s time to bid farewell to Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Ryan Babel as well. If there was any value in holding onto these player through the last World Cup qualifying cycle, it is surely gone now.
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The young talent coming through the Dutch system is not what it once was, but there’s enough there for Koeman to work with. Justin Kluivert, beginning to attract the attention of some very big clubs, Richario Zivkovic, Matthijs de Ligt, Memphis Depay, Anwar El-Ghazi and Donny van de Beek all deserve an opportunity to surround the core of van Dijk, Daley Blind and Kevin Strootman.
Koeman has a solid track record working with youngsters. He earned a transfer to Ajax at a very young age, and got to work in the club’s academy when it was still at its height. He would go on to become Ajax manager and help run the youth foundation their himself. He did the same at PSV and, more recently, Southampton, two clubs that stress the importance of giving younger player opportunities and strengthening from within.
If Koeman nurtures the young talent available to him, he will, perhaps, rekindle some of the excitement that has for so long been associated with the Netherlands. As his former manager Rinus Michels once said, “professional football is something like war. Whoever behaves too properly, is lost.” Advocaat’s over-reliance on an aging core of once great players didn’t work. It’s time, with the Oranje at their lowest ebb in 30 years, for a more adventurous approach.