Koeman resigned

Ronald Koeman has officially left the post of head coach of the Netherlands national team. The specialist made the appropriate decision after the team's early and unexpected exit from the 1/16 finals of the World Cup. and prematurely completed their performances at the tournament. The 63-year-old specialist announced his resignation on Tuesday on his personal Instagram page. He decided not to renew his contract, which was supposed to expire after the World Cup. "I have decided to end my term as the head coach of the Netherlands national team. We all dreamed of a World Cup where we would have created history. It did not happen. No one is more disappointed by this than I am. As a head coach, you have this responsibility," Koeman wrote. Relegation at such an early stage was a real blow for Dutch football. Before that, Oranje had reached at least the last 16 at eleven previous World Cups, including reaching the quarter-finals four years ago in Qatar. In addition, this is the third tournament in a row when the Netherlands leave the World Cup precisely because of a penalty shootout defeat (the "lottery" was fatal for the team this time as well). At the tournament itself, Koeman faced a fair amount of criticism from pundits and fans alike for setting the team up for an overly defensive and cautious style of play. Despite the bitterness of the defeat, the coach expressed sincere gratitude to his colleagues and wards. "I am grateful and would like to express my sincere gratitude for the commitment shown by everyone associated with the team during both of my periods as head coach," he said. Koeman also shared his plans for the near future, emphasizing his desire to retire from football: "Of course, it's a shame that our World Cup campaign ended so early. But once I have time to reflect on it and look back, I'll mostly remember the great collaboration and the many great moments we had together. I've decided that now is the time to spend more time with my wife, children and grandchildren. At the moment, it seems the right and most natural decision." It will be recalled that this was the second period of work of the former star midfielder of Barcelona and Ajax at the head of the national team. He returned to the bridge of the team, replacing Louis van Gaal after the 2022 World Cup (where the Netherlands lost on penalties to the future champions - Argentina). Koeman's main achievement during this tenure was the team's entry to the semi-finals of Euro-2024. It was the first time the Netherlands had reached the semi-finals of a major international tournament since the 2014 World Cup.