A look at the career of Ronald Koeman who looks set to be appointed as Saints manager in the next day or so.

Most Saints supporters will remember Ronald Koeman as the man who was the villain who cost England a place in the World Cup Finals in the USA in 1994, but there is a lot more than that to the Dutch man who after finishing a distinguished playing career has enjoyed similar success as a manager.

Koeman who is now 51 years old started out at Groningen before joining Ajax, following that he headed to PSV and then 6 years at Barcelona before finishing at Feyenoord retiring at age 34 in 1997. Along the way he had also picked up 78 caps for Holland.

He immediately became assistant coach of the Dutch National Side on retiring alongside manager Gus Hiddink for the 1998 World Cup in France after the tournament finished he joined Barcelona as assistant coach for a two year spell before taking up his first appointment as a manager with Vitesse, he spent only one season there, leading them to a UEFA Cup spot on a limited budget.

In 2001 he was appointed head coach of Ajax, he won the Eridivisie in his first season and followed that up again with another title two years later, however the following season 2004/05 saw Ajax drop behind their rivals PSV as well as a shock defeat in the UEFA Cup and he resigned in February 2005.

There was no shortage of clubs wanting his services though and he joined Benfica, it was a mixed season for him though, only third in the league but there was a Champions league Quarter final losing to eventual winners Barcelona and a Portugese Super Cup win to suggest he was getting things going in the right direction.

However when PSV came calling in the summer of 2006 it was hard to resist and in his one and only season he won the Eridivisie for the club.

In October 2007 he became Valencia Head Coach it was again a mixed season, although Valencia won the Spanish Cup their league form was disapointing and they would finish 15th, too close for comfort for the Valencia board and Koeman was sacked in April 2008.

A year later and he was back in the game in Holland at AZ, however with AZ having won the Eridivisie the previous season it would be a hard act to follow and he was sacked in the December after only 16 games.

In July 2011 Koeman returned to managerial duties signing a one year contract to become head coach at Feyenoord, becoming the first man to play for and manage the Dutch big three.

Feyneoord were going through hard times having finished 8th the previous term, Koeman rejuventated them and took them to second resulting in an extended contract being offered and signed, his next two seasons saw 3rd and 2nd place respectively, but Koeman chose to leave the club at the end of 2013/14 in order to pursue other options.

Feyenoord fans gave him an emotional farewell acknowledging that he had taken the club back up to the top of the Eridivisie and although he had not won anything in his three seasons he was een as restoring the pride to Feyenoord and leaving them in a far better position than when he arrived.

In many respect Koeman seems to be the perfect match for Saints at this time, the club need to make a statement of intent, if they appoint a coach similar to Pochettino in that he is relatively unknown, some sections of the support will see this as a lack of ambition, but with Koeman this cannot be levelled at them, it will be seen as appointing a manager still young enough and ambitious to take the club forward, but also having the reputation that brings with it the clout to attract some of Europes best players as well as having the knowledge to bring in good players at the right price.

In short no one can accuse the club of lacking ambition if they appoint Koeman, he might not be up there in the higher echelons of Mourinho or the like, but over the past decade or so his record is up there with most managers in Europe.

Photo: Action Images

saintmark1976 added 11:06 - Jun 16 Thanks for the info Nick. If I have read your article correctly it appears that he has had seven jobs since 1998, a change about once every two years or so on average.Sorry to swim against the tide but to me this says it all. Would we not be better off to appoint an up and coming British manager of the likes of say Eddie Howe to provide stability or am i just being old fashioned again?

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GeordieSaint added 11:35 - Jun 16 Kooooooman Any managerial appointment is a gamble for any club but he seems a good fit. Attacking, possession based principles, a good record of bringing through the youth players, good knowledge of the Spanish and Dutch leagues. That ticks a few boxes for me. Have Saints ever had a manager who has previously won a league title? He did knock us out of USA 94 and get Graham Taylor the sack though.

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wazzosan added 11:39 - Jun 16 Fair point SaintMark. However, I suspect that if we did give an up and coming British manager the job, we would probably be shopping around for a replacement by Christmas. In recent times Nigel Atkins was given about 7 months of a Premiership chance and the last time we finished as high, we tried out Paul Sturrock. I can't remember how long he lasted but I don't think it was a full season. I know I mentioned it before but I want attacking football and Koeman's seems to fit the bill.

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ThereIn76 added 11:46 - Jun 16 If we get two good seasons out of him and then he moves on, c'est la vie. Let's enjoy the ride. When is the press conference?
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Zambucco added 11:47 - Jun 16 On paper ideal, my only concern is, will we be just a stepping stone. Of course if we experience success, we will want it to continue. I want stability, that's why the thought of a young English manager who would stay loyal is more inviting, but are there any decent candidates? Bottom line is even if we have 3 years of great success before he moves on Koeman is the man for me. I have another concern, my thought is he could be successful in convincing the wantaways to stay, But how will we feel towards them, now we know they are not as loyal as they had previously led us to believe? Yes I'm sure they will still play their hearts out for us, but.....

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SaintNick added 11:55 - Jun 16 The average lifespan of a premier league manager is less than two years, Pochettino was about the 7th longest serving manager by the end of last season.
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montecristo added 12:10 - Jun 16 i dont think we should jump the gun here as most are doing. I am not convinced that we have reached the end of the line where the manager search is concerned, I remain suspicious that KL has been imposing unrealistic financial principles on the club which have led to Cortese, Pochettino leaving and several players feeling unsettled and wanting out. I do not for a minute think that Koeman or any other top coach would come here without an agreed transfer budget, and this is what I feel has been the problem all along, KL insisting that transfers are financed from within meaning that several players would have to be sold before anyone is bought. It is not of course realisitic if the aim is to reach the Champions League but you try telling a German businesswoman that, Teutonic resolution and insistence on good housekeeping comes into play. So far all we know is that a contract offer has been made, presumably , but that does not mean Koeman will accept, he has to be sure that KL will retain or best players will financing further acquisitions for us to push on. What of course you dont do if you have ambition is sell your best to the opposition, first they are not easy to replace, and secondly by letting them go you send out the wrong message and also assist the bigger clubs to remain top dogs in the premiership.But I want to be proved wrong about KL !!!

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cheltenhamsaint added 12:11 - Jun 16 Whatever the length of contract (probably 3 years) we should view it as a 2 year tenure. RK is ambitious and if one of the "big" 4/5 clubs come calling he will go. But to get that he will need to make Saints a top six club at least. Right now I would take that scenario. And it is not often an agent tals sense and with honesty (see below) Ronald’s representative, Guido Albers, added: “He wants to make a next step in his career at an ambitious club with possibilities. Southampton fits in that profile. Pochettino made a solid base and Ronald is the ideal candidate to build the squad from there.”

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 12:43 - Jun 16 Koemans record is a bit sketchy, especially outside of Holland, but I'd be happy with his appointment due to the fact that his teams generally attack with some style, control possession and are exciting to watch. I'd much rather that than boring Roberto Mancini let's sit back, be cautious and win it one nil. Also, Koeman should be able to bring in some young talent from Holland and Europe and be able to attract the right calibre of player. His first job is to try to convince Lovren, Lallana and Shaw to stay. That will take some doing!!

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brady100 added 12:49 - Jun 16 I would have prefered a younger manager, Koeman looks to have rebuilt his reputation somewhat after poor spells at Benfica, AZ and Valencia. Each of his previous jobs abroad have ended in disaster and the majority of his success came with Ajax was expected given the size of the club in comparison to competitors. On the plus side Koeman has proven he can bring through young players into the first team.

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no7saint added 13:26 - Jun 16 Experience has told me not to pre-judge managerial appointments, I've done this in the past and been wrong. Three of our most successful managers of the modern era - Adkins, Poch and Strachan - were all unproven at the top level in this country and many of us had reservations when they were appointed. Yet we welcomed with open arms those we thought had pedigree, such as Redknapp and Burley and look how they turned out. From here on in I'll reserve judgement, I don't know what it is that makes certain managers click with certain clubs but it is unpredictable for sure.

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tiptop added 13:33 - Jun 16 He had some pretty good players in that Feyenoord team. 5 in the Dutch WC squad including Daley Blind. Don't know how many of those he nurtured into the 1st team or how many were there already. V similar to the (current) Saints squad in that respect. Realistically managers don't stay much longer than that anywhere these days. Lets hope its a case of Koeman staying longer or doing so well that he gets tempted by a massive club as a result opposed to being sacked cause we're shyte

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