Ronald Koeman (born March 21 1963 in Zaandam) is a former Dutch football defender and current manager of PSV Eindhoven.

Career

In 1980 Koeman started his professional career at FC Groningen. After playing for Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and FC Barcelona, he finished his career in Feyenoord Rotterdam. During his career he won 2 UEFA Champions League titles, 5 Dutch championships, 4 Spanish championships, 1 Spanish Cup and he was also in the winning Dutch national team at the 1988 European Championship.

In 1988, after the semi final against Germany (2:1) in Hamburg, he, in front of German supporters, provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon as if it was toilet paper, an action Koeman later regretted. "Cheeseheads vs Krauts": 30 Years of Enmity, Ajax-USA.com, June 14, 2004

Having retired as a player after his stint with Feyenoord, Koeman became member of the coaching staff of Guus Hiddink during the World Cup 1998 along with Johan Neeskens and Frank Rijkaard. After the tournament Koeman was appointed the assistant coach of FC Barcelona. In 2000, he was handed his first managerial job as the head coach of Vitesse Arnhem where he led the team to a UEFA Cup spot on a relatively limited budget.

Koeman was appointed the manager of Ajax Amsterdam in 2001. Ajax' fortunes suffered a steady decline after Koeman got off to a successful start at the ArenA, winning a domestic double in 2001/02. Despite regaining the title in 2003/04, Ajax had fallen behind rivals PSV Eindhoven as the Netherlands' top team, and Koeman resigned after the Amsterdam side were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by AJ Auxerre.

Koeman bounced back quickly from a disappointing end to his reign at AFC Ajax in February 2005, taking up the vacant position at Portuguese champions SL Benfica following the departure of legendary Italian Giovanni Trapattoni. In Benfica, against whom he won the 1988 European Cup final as a player with PSV Eindhoven, Koeman only won the Portuguese Supercup: the team finished the Portuguese League in third place (behind rivals F.C. Porto and Sporting) and was knocked out of the Portuguese Cup in the quarter-finals (after losing to Vitória de Guimarães). This, along with an offer from PSV Eindhoven, sufficed for the manager to leave one year before the end of his contract, even though Benfica reached the quarter-finals in the Champions League before losing to FC Barcelona that ended up winning the trophy.

Besides being a steadfast defender at the centreback position, Koeman was also renowned for his freekicks and deadball situations where he scored many vital goals for the team, and it was from a free-kick that he scored FC Barcelona's winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final. He represented his nation in the World Cup 1990 and 1994 and picked up a total of 78 caps for Holland, scoring 14 goals.

After scoring the winning free kick goal in the 1992 European Cup final, he became the first player to score a goal in two consecutive Cup Finals of different European competitions.

He is married to Bartina Koeman, they have three children.

Footnotes