Ronald Koeman has admitted that he is excited after taking on the Netherlands job but knows it will be a difficult challenge.
- By Michael Bell
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Koeman was Everton coach at the start of the season but was sacked after a string of poor results. After some time off he then decided to become Netherlands head coach and will take charge of his first game on Friday against England.
At his press conference on Monday, Koeman said, “The End at Everton was very difficult, then you need time to relax afterwards. I am really looking forward to this again. I am proud and look forward to qualifying for the European Championships. After my departure at Everton, I have been crazy about football. This is the right moment for me to do the national team. For Orange, but also for myself. It is a big challenge. We did not qualify for the last two tournaments. We have to work on that. ”
On tactics he added, “I want to go with the fact that the Dutch national team can play in several ways. I’ve always had that. In the Champions League I played with Ajax with three or five defenders, how you want to call it. It may be accompanied by good football, but the goal is qualifying for the European Championship 2020.”
On those who say that Netherlands are behind the likes of Iceland, he responded, “With all due respect, I think we should be better than Iceland, but it is great what they do. They show that they have a very good and strong team with fewer individual qualities. With us a number of boys say goodbye, they had something extra.”
On a new Oranje captain, Koeman said, ‘I’m going to determine that. I’m not into voting, so I’m going to decide. Do not believe that it must necessarily be a new leader. It must be someone who has dominance in the group and plays in a certain position. Do not make a keeper captain or a striker. Virgil van Dijk is a possibility as a captain.”
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