Past master was schooled by the Dutch greats but has turned to youth as he tries to return his country to football’s top table

Ronald Koeman looks to bring something old and something new to Netherlands

Watching Ronald Koeman’s press conference before the Netherlands’ friendly against England on Friday, it almost felt as though someone should have looped David Bowie’s “Ch-ch-ch-changes” in the background.

The late, great Bowie was a master of reinvention – a concept of urgent need in Dutch football at the moment as it tries to swim against the ebb of a football tide that seems to have surpassed the small country.

And the man handed this challenge is perhaps the one Dutch football would end up resembling were it to be condensed, warts and all, into human form. Ronald Koeman: pasty, blond-haired, talented but stubborn and a mouthy player in his day. He is someone who played alongside Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard in the first Dutch side to win a major honour, the 1988 European Championships, and who coached alongside Louis van Gaal.

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He was himself coached by Rinus Michels as well as Johan Cruyff, in the famed Barcelona “Dream Team” and also Guus Hiddink in the legendary treble-winning PSV side. And if that is not enough, the 55-year-old remains the only person to have not only played for but also managed the Dutch “Big Three” of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord – and in that order.

On Friday, Koeman will add to that trivia by making his “second” debut for Oranje, 35 years after his first, this time as head coach.

In a way, the appointment was a long time coming. In 2014, the then-Feyenoord manager was considered and eventually passed on, as the KNVB – the Dutch FA – sought a successor to Van Gaal. Koeman’s own tactics were a factor in how the Dutch played in Brazil; in April that year, Van Gaal was in the Philips Stadion as Koeman’s Feyenoord side emerged 2-0 winners, having played a tight 3-5-2 and struck PSV on the counter.

Of course, the intervening four years have been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster, and the KNVB may hope Koeman’s eventual appointment has served as some atonement. In addition to the new head coach, there are changes behind the scenes: the former Feyenoord general director Eric Gudde and the former Heracles sporting director Nico-Jan Hoogma have taken up similar positions at the Dutch FA.

Koeman’s managerial career has seen extremes, from despair at Valencia, where the winger Joaquín described the Dutchman’s 4-3-3 as “running around like headless chickens”, to tactical-nuance-powered over-achievements at Feyenoord and Southampton. Koeman, who has been managing for nearly two decades now, seems to oddly maximise output from teams which lack top resources, and struggle when given the luxury of talent. Considering the set-up of the current Dutch squad, some might say this is a good omen.

Speaking at the newly-renovated and swanky team hotel and training premises at the Zeist, Koeman highlighted the need to be realistic.

Quick guide Three Dutch players to watch Show Hide Matthijs de Ligt (18) – Ajax: It is no mean feat to be the best centre-back in your league and deserve the armband for your boyhood club; and even more so at 18. The sheer speed of his rise over the last year, coupled with an extraterrestrial consistency, is almost frightening. He may not feature if Koeman opts for a centre-back pairing, but promises to be the bedrock of the national team for the next 15 years. Justin Kluivert (18) – Ajax: Ten father-son duos have played for the Dutch national team, but the Kluiverts can become the first to have both made their debuts as teenagers. Justin, chosen ahead of Steven Bergwijn by Koeman for being more of a “true winger”, was afforded a lot of patience at the start of the season, and has now come good. A menace on the ball, Kluivert Jr also has an incredibly strong shot. Guus Til (20) – AZ Alkmaar: The attacking midfielder has become a pivotal cog of arguably the best midfield in the Eredivisie this season, and is the third-youngest player with 10 Eredivisie goals for AZ. With creative midfielders increasingly rare, Til offers a new dimension, and could repay AZ’s investment in their academy. Photograph: Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock/Rex Features

With the record caps holder Wesley Sneijder having recently retired, there were questions (including from Sneijder himself) about why he was not included in the squad for one last hurrah. But Koeman simply said that “with all due respect to Wesley”, there were more pressing objectives.

The current goal in sight is the Uefa Nations League, due to start in September. The Dutch have been drawn in a group with Germany and France – the only upshot of which is that neither opponent will be as ‘rested’ as the Dutch after the summer. While Koeman said he had already thought of a team for the match against England, he revealed neither the system nor his captain.

This is one of very few instances in more than a decade where none of Sneijder, Arjen Robben or Robin van Persie is in the squad. Having piggybacked on that generation, the current crop must now finally be shaken into life.

The good news is that there is quality – and leadership – in the squad. Both Virgil van Dijk, who has stepped authoritatively into the Liverpool defence, and Stefan de Vrij, once Koeman’s captain at Feyenoord, have said that captaincy would be a dream. Georginio Wijnaldum captained PSV to a league title, while young Matthijs de Ligt has usurped Joël Veltman to wear the Ajax armband recently with formidable aplomb and maturity.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is one of the captaincy contenders. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

At the other end, Koeman has high hopes for Memphis Depay, and revealed he invited the 23-year-old to his house last January in an attempt to sign him for Everton. Koeman said he gained a better impression of Memphis after their conversation then, and that he is looking forward to working with the Lyon forward, but said: “It takes two. I will [work hard], but he must also join me in that effort.”

Koeman’s squad already provided a whiff of a fresh beginning. Five new players, including the youngsters Justin Kluivert and Guus Til, who have impressed in the Eredivisie, have been included and the head coach spoke of wanting such players to rise to the occasion.

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“I want to create clarity for the players, but also for myself,” he said on Monday, shortly before leading his first training and joining the players in rondos. “When we start the Nations League, I want to have done the experimentation phase. Then, there must be a team and a style of play. Our goal is qualification for the European Championships in 2020. The road there begins now.”

This road is unlikely to be hunky-dory, and most changes will take time to implement. Inevitably, the tiresome debates about the “Dutch school” and the “right way of playing” will surface again. However, it may be worth giving Koeman, who is not an ideologue, some patience to create something with a clean slate. Lest, as Franz Kafka put it, “because of impatience we cannot return”.