Ronald Koeman

Ronald Koeman was born in Zaandam on 21 March 1963, the son of the Dutch international Martin Koeman and the brother of Erwin. A sweeper with an exceptional shot, he played for Groningen, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, with whom he won the European Cup in 1988, Barcelona from 1989 to 1995, where he scored the free-kick that won the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley, and Feyenoord. He won 78 caps for the Netherlands and was part of the side that won the European Championship in 1988. He coached Vitesse and then Ajax, winning the Eredivisie and two cups.

He joined Benfica in the summer of 2005, inheriting Giovanni Trapattoni's champions, and stayed a single season and 49 matches, winning 28. He won the Supertaça in his first competitive fixture, and produced the club's best European campaign for many years: Manchester United were eliminated in the group stage, the holders Liverpool were beaten home and away in the last sixteen, and only Barcelona ended the run, in the quarter-finals. Domestically it was less convincing, and Benfica finished third. He left in May 2006 for PSV, whom he took to the Dutch title in his first season.

His teams played a recognisably Dutch game, positionally disciplined, with a high defensive line and possession worked patiently from the back, which sat well with the European nights and less well with the weekly grind of the Portuguese league. He went on to coach Valencia, AZ, Feyenoord, whom he made Dutch champions in 2017, Southampton, Everton and Barcelona, and has managed the Netherlands in two separate spells.