Former Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has become the new head coach of the Netherlands and has announced that he will change the system of play used by Louis van Gaal at the World Cup in Qatar.

Koeman imposes his system of play on the Netherlands national team

On November 28, 2021, Koeman’s Barcelona era came to an end after a 1-0 defeat against Rayo Vallecano. After a year and two months, the Dutchman was presented as the new technician of “Machine Orange”, where he returns after the first term between 2018 and 2020, writes AS.com.

Arrows to former manager Louis van Gaal

In his introduction as coach, Koeman spoke about the style of play he will adopt, recalling the performance of the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“There were moments at the World Cup when I thought: we have to play differently. But it was the coach’s choice. I want to do things differently. We will go back to the system we used before, 4-3-3,” Koeman said.

Louis van Gaal is traditionally a fan of the 5-3-2 system.

Ronald Koeman will make his debut on the Netherlands bench on March 24, at the start of the Euro 2024 qualifying match away from France.

In his previous spell with the national team, he had 11 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses in 20 games, losing the Nations League final against Portugal.