Former Southampton and Everton boss Ronald Koeman has left his role as the Netherlands head coach after the Oranje suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Morocco in the last 32 of the World Cup.
A disappointing ending
The Netherlands’ last-32 exit was a disappointing way for them to leave the competition after topping Group F. Their group-stage campaign included a 5-1 hammering of Sweden, suggesting they could be a threat to many teams in the competition.
They looked set to qualify for the last-16 when they were leading Morocco 1-0, only for Issa Diop to score a stoppage-time equaliser to send the tie to extra-time and a penalty shootout.
Koeman’s decision to leave the job
Koeman announced his decision to step down from the role on Instagram. The message stated that leaving the role was not an easy decision, but that the 63-year-old had made it because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
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The former Barcelona legend took the job in January 2023. It was his second stint as the Oranje boss for the veteran head coach, who was also in charge of his national team from February 2018 until August 2020.
Koeman has enjoyed a long managerial career, including becoming the only head coach to ever manage all of the Netherlands’ big three clubs, Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.
His time in England with Southampton and Everton brought some mixed results.
He obviously feels like this is an ideal time to recharge his batteries. However, no doubt he will return to the management game in the future, while the Netherlands take stock and look for his predecessor as the national team boss.
The Dutch media suggest that the KNVB will turn its attention to another veteran head coach, Louis van Gaal, as Koeman’s successor. Like Koeman, Van Gaal has experience coaching the Netherlands national team. In fact, the 74-year-old has already had three spells as the Oranje head coach, with his latest one ending in December 2022.