Danny Blind has been relieved of his position as Netherlands head coach and the big question now is who will replace him. Michael Bell takes a look at some of the options the KNVB has.
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Louis van Gaal
Would Van Gaal be tempted into a third term as Netherlands coach? His name may have been tarnished from his time with Manchester United, but the 65-year-old will always be remembered fondly by Oranje fans for his masterplan which led Netherlands to the World Cup semi-finals in 2014. Van Gaal denied retirement earlier this year and the KNVB would probably love to have him back given his track record during his second spell in charge.
Van Gaal is currently the favourite with some bookmakers at 5/2.
Frank de Boer
Apart from Louis van Gaal, Frank de Boer is probably the first name which comes to mind as a possible replacement for Blind. De Boer was heralded for his work with Ajax early in his management career which led them to four straight Eredivisie titles. However, his last year in Amsterdam brought doubts about his tactical abilities and his spell with Inter Milan earlier this season was a disaster.
The 46-year-old now has a point to prove and he would certainly maintain the 4-3-3 legacy of the national team, but whether that is what’s needed is another question.
Ronald Koeman
The KNVB’s big mistake was not appointing Koeman as successor to Louis van Gaal after the World Cup in 2014. The then Feyenoord boss openly stated that he wanted the job and expected to get it, but for some reason, the KNVB chose Guus Hiddink and announced Blind as his successor.
Koeman has went on to have success with Southampton and is now in charge of Everton in the Premier League. The KNVB would probably love it if Koeman decided he wanted to take charge of Oranje now, but with Barcelona sniffing around they may have missed their chance to appoint the 54-year-old.
Ron Jans
Jans has already confirmed that he is leaving PEC Zwolle at the end of the season to work at the KNVB to help train the next generation of coaches. Would the KNVB consider Jans for the top job?
Jans transformed PEC Zwolle from Eerste Divisie side to Eredivisie mainstay and guided them to their first major trophy and Europe. This season may have gone south for the coach, but he would certainly bring character and passion to the national team if given the chance.
Jaap Stam
A rookie in management but Stam is doing a great job in England with Reading, who he has turned into a potential Premier League side. Stam learned his coaching trade at Jong Ajax and would help sort out the leaky Oranje defence which has cost them dearly in Blind’s reign.
Stam has spoken out against the uncertainty at Reading and only has a contract with the club until the summer. West Ham have been linked with the former defender, but Netherlands could also be a potential destination.
Martin Jol
If its experience that the KNVB wants then Martin Jol could be the man. The 61-year-old has coached Ajax, Tottenham, Hamburg and Fulham to various degrees of success but has never accepted a job in international football.
Jol is available after leaving Al-Ahly last year.
Ruud Gullit
The KNVB tried to offer Gullit a position as Blind’s assistant manager but talks fell through. They clearly believe Gullit has some potential with coaching so could they return to the former midfielder with an offer for the top job?
However, the 54-year-old hasn’t held a coaching position since a short spell with Russian’s Terek Grozny ended in 2011. His spells at Newcastle United, Feyenoord and LA Galaxy before that were hardly successful either.
Jurgen Klinsmann
A foreign coach hasn’t been ruled out by the KNVB and one name doing the rounds in the Dutch press is Jurgen Klinsmann. He was sacked as coach of the United States after five years in charge, but he was held in high regard after his spell with the German national team before that.
Klinsmann got Germany back to playing attractive attacking football and may be the man to rejuvenate Oranje.
Claudio Ranieri
Ranieri was the man behind Leicester City’s shock Premier League win last season but couldn’t follow that up this campaign and was shown the door. The Italian doesn’t have a good track record in international football after a horrible spell with Greece, but he has a point to prove and would probably see Netherlands as a good project.
Ralf Rangnick
Currently sporting director at Bundesliga surprise package Red Bull Liepzig, Rangnick is a big believer in the Dutch way of playing football and that was a big influence during his spells in charge of Stuttgart and Schalke, which saw both clubs lift trophies. The German is yet to manage away from his own country and probably wouldn’t be a big enough foreign name for Oranje fans to accept.
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If the KNVB appoint a foreign coach, then we are done. That is a sign that Dutch football is dead. We are a land of 20 million coaches, how could we bring in foreign coach to manage the team.
Please, no,no,no,non, no, no
You’re wrong to my opinion! To play 4 3 3 formation, thats typical dutch, first of all you must have the players to suit it, you must have the best sneijder to give the creativity in midfield, you must have nigel de jong in his glorious days to cover the difense, quick wingers etc etc, now you have none of them!
When LVG got third in the world cup in Brazil, he played 5 4 1 that looks more like italian cattenaccio than dutch style he was the hero and no one mentioned the tradition!
Now Holland needs a coach to send it in russia indipendently if he is foreign or dutch!
Obviously Koeman is the best choice, but I see no reason why he would want to leave Everton for this mess. He’s said many times he’d consider it only much later in his career.
LVG would be a good short term fix and would certainly get some accountability out of these players, but whether they qualify or not they’ll be back in the same position in a couple years, as retirement is clearly on the horizon for LVG.
They need to choose a coach who isn’t so stubborn about the 4-3-3. There may be occasions to use it, but for the most part it isn’t working for them and hasn’t for almost 3 years now.
Gullit at this point in time would be my pick. We need something out of left field and someone who is not from the KNVB establishment. Someone who will do it his way, on his terms. He will bring much needed passion and enthusiasm and give the lads confidence and freedom to play – this is whats needed right now. Not someone like De Boer who will be better than Blind but it will be more or less the same style of play- sideways and back passes dominating the play.
I would then try and convince Van Bronkhorst or Stam at the end of the season to join him.
Koeman is the best coach the Dutch have but it highlights the joke that is the KNVB that when he put his hand up to coach they ignored him. I hope he can see out his project at Everton and bring them to the top of English football along with a few Dutch players in the process-the value of which cannot be understated as so many players are making wrong choices. In a way we need him where he is. I hope he suceeds at Everton and then goes on to coach Barcelona and continue the Cruyff legacy; again bringing more Dutcch players to the top level. Then when he has achieved these things he takes on the Qatar campaign. If the rest of Dutch football has got their act together during these years then it will be time to lift the Jules Rimet trophy.
De momento la mejor opcion es Luis Van Gaal para lograr la clasificacion para el mundial que es posible todavia y esta en sus propias manos, jugadores tiene de calidad en cada una de sus posiciones, despues tratar de convencer a Koeman
Pienso que van Gaal es el ideal porque tiene esquemas que pueden reemplazar al 4 3 3 que la seleccion no tiene los jugadores de ese perfil pero sin embargo tienen muy buenos defensas de renombre entre mejores como van Dijk, Bruma y de Vrij y medios campistas como Stroomant, Winaljdum, Klassen, van Ginkel, Prooper etc que pueden hacer un papel muy importante, esto no quiere decir como para ganar la copa del mundo pero si para clasificarse, estoy seguro que muchos paises quisieran tener a jugadores con ese nivel para competir, aqui el prblema mayor es la Federacion Holandesa que no tiene la menor idea de como manejar a la seleccion nacional, todavia hay tiempo de hacer los ajustes y cambiarle la cara a la oranje
I agree that holland has a wealth of coaches, but too often the Dutch are mired in a tradition that is archaic and the rest of the world is ready for.
We need coaches who are flexible and willing to create a new Dutch system, so that there are options in our playing style. If that means a foreign coach, then go for it as long as the under coaches are Dutch and learning from the manager’s process. The oranje need a philosophical overhaul as much as a managerial/ player one.
Also, we could benefit from a period of time where the best players stay in holland, with only a few teams, like Spain in the 2000’s or Ajax in the ’70’s
Koeman won’t, Van marwijk won’t. Gullit would be a terrible choice. Not sure of Fred Rutten’s current situation but I think he’d be good but Frank de boer is the obvious choice.
Unfortunately Frank has said no…well his agent said no. I don’t think Ruud Gullit is the way to go. Bert and Koeman is a no and LVG is an advisor. Martin Jol is not a bad option, Henk te Conte was an interesting idea brought up by Ronald de Boer. Stam would work it from the net out and probably wouldn’t give the attack minded team we hope for. Cocu? Van Bronkhorst? Maybe Jans. A lot to choose from, but few (with the time given) could turn this team around! Te Conte, Jans, or Jol
Erwin Koeman, Wauters, ten Hag
Please no Louis van Gaal, the team doesn’t need a temporary manager that only improves results in the short term. For once I’d like to see the KNVB appoint someone that is prepared to build the team into the powerhouse we should be. The KNVB screwed up by passing over Koeman after WC 2014 for whatever reason. I don’t want to see another Hiddink because that kind of appointment doesn’t show a firm commitment to rebuilding the team