Going Dutch: Koeman's shared connections with previous Barça coaches
Ronald Koeman is the fifth Dutch coach in Barça history. His predecessors are Rinus Michels (1971-75 and 1976-78), Johan Cruyff (1988-96), Louis van Gaal (1997-00 and 2002-03) and Frank Rijkaard (2003-08). Curiously, Koeman has crossed paths with all four during his career.
With Rijkaard: League champions with Ajax and European champions with Holland
Koeman coincided first with Frank Rijkaard, the most recent Dutch coach at Barça. They shared a dressing room at Ajax between 1983 and 1986, and were also teammates for Holland. The pair featured in the 1988 European Championship-winning side for their country, and then went on to do their coaching badges together.
With Michels: Champions with the Netherlands
That 1988 European Championship winning side was coached by the first Dutchman ever to take charge of FC Barcelona: Rinus Michels. A decade after leaving the Camp Nou, Michels led his country to glory, after they had missed out on participation in the 1984 European Championships and 1986 World Cup. In his final coaching job, Michels worked with Koeman and Rijkaard at Euro 1992.
With Cruyff: Cup winners with Ajax and European Cup winners with Barça
Koeman's connection with Johan Cruyff is well documented, as part of the famous Dream Team. It was Cruyff who pushed for Koeman to join the club in 1989, having had previous experience with him at Ajax in 1985/86 (winning the Dutch cup) before his move to PSV Eindhoven. In Barcelona they would enjoy exceptional success, lifting 10 trophies during Koeman's six seasons at the club (1989-95). The most special night for the pair was May 20, 1992, when Barça won their first ever European Cup with victory at Wembley.
With Van Gaal: A first foray into coaching
The last of Barça's Dutch coaches with whom Koeman coincided was Louis van Gaal. Following the 1998 World Cup, he would act as Van Gaal's assistant for approximately 1.5 years, before becoming coach of Vitesse in the Netherlands in 1999.
