FC Barcelona appoint Ronald Koeman as new coach

Koeman, who has left his role as manager of the Netherlands, has signed a two-year-deal with Barcelona, who sacked Quique Setien on Monday after he presided over the club’s worst defeat ever in a European competition.

He will be officially presented at the Camp Nou stadium later on Wednesday.

The defender later became the club’s assistant coach before embarking on a career as a head coach, managing Dutch sides Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven, and Feyenoord plus Premier League sides Southampton and Everton and La Liga’s Valencia.

“Barcelona and Ronald Koeman have come to an agreement for him to be the team’s coach until June 30, 2022,” the statement said.

“A club legend and Barca’s hero at Wembley who gave fans their first European Cup, Koeman is coming back to the Camp Nou. But this time he will be in the dugout to lead the team.”

Koeman has frequently been linked with the Barcelona job in the past, in spite of a somewhat patchy club record which included disappointing stints at Valencia and Everton.

“Over the past two and a half years, I have done everything I can to achieve success with the team,” Koeman told the website of the Netherlands’ soccer association, the KNVB.

“I look back with pride on what we have achieved together in that period.

“The Dutch national team has a bright future, I am convinced of that. Everyone knows that Barcelona is my dream club. It feels very special to me to be able to become a coach there,” he said.

The KVNB’s director Eric Gudde added: “We regret Ronald’s decision, but respect his choice.”

“In the period that Ronald has been national coach, he has achieved good results and given the team color back in their cheeks after a number of difficult years,” he said.

Assistant coach Dwight Lodeweges will act as interim national coach until the KNVB has appointed a successor. (Reuters/NAN)