How things stand in Oranje's search for a new manager
The old bondscoach is gone. Long live the bondscoach. Whoever the heck it’ll be.
When Ronald Koeman stepped down after Oranje were knocked out of the World Cup by Morocco, most people would have expected to have had a pretty good idea of who would replace him by the time the tournament ended, just under three weeks later.
After all, the last time that the the side lost a manager before the KNVB had a replacement lined up, it took just nine days for it to become clear that Louis van Gaal would replace Frank de Boer.
However, it’s now been three weeks, and there is still no such clarity. The KNVB have been silent, and there’s been precious little in the way of reliable updates from the press.
That being said, the media have provided some insights, some candidates have spoken out, and there have been a fair few unsubstantiated rumours.
Based on all of the above, this is how things stand.
A shrinking field
The first bit of substantial reporting on the KNVB’s search came from Maarten Wijffels of Algemeen Dagblad, who said that their dream candidate was Jurgen Klopp, but the German had already been snapped up by his own nation.
Wijffels also said Pep Guardiola would most likely be approached but was unlikely to be interested as he wants to enjoy some time away from football. When the Spaniard rejected an offer from Italy a few weeks later, the journalist said: "It was all already clear: KNVB, Italian federation, maybe even other clubs/federations, Guardiola listened to them politely, but had already decided for himself that he's taking a break."
Two of the three Dutchmen touted as the top candidates, PSV manager Peter Bosz and ex-Ajax and Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag, also dropped out of contention not long into the search.
It’s an open secret that Bosz held off on signing a new PSV contract earlier this year because he’d hoped the KNVB would ask him to replace Koeman, but the call never came, and unwilling to risk being out of work entirely if the Oranje job became free but he wasn’t offered it, he reluctantly signed a new two-year deal.
Even after that, it was obvious that he harboured dreams of leading his nation, with him choosing not to comment instead of outright denying the possibility of replacing Koeman in his first interactions with the media after the World Cup. However, a few days later, he said that he’d think about coaching a national team again in two years.
Ten Hag, now the FC Twente technical director and the second, ruled himself out not long afterwards: "I am not available. I deliberately chose to take this step. I will be fully focused on this for at least the next two years. I am enjoying my time here and want to help the club move forward."
That left Mark van Bommel as the second-most accomplished realistic Dutch option - I can’t imagine Louis van Gaal or any other veterans would be interested in returning - but the former Oranje captain has now been taken off the market by Belgium, who moved very quickly to appoint him as Rudi Garcia’s replacement.
Two-horse race?
So many good options being unavailable isn’t ideal, but thankfully, one of the best candidates is still in the picture: Arne Slot.
Being the best available Dutch manager, Slot seemed the most likely next Oranje manager from the moment that he departed Liverpool, and it looked like things were going to go as expected when Sky Germany reported in the first week of July that the KNVB had already held initial talks with him.
However, the most concrete updates since then have been Wijffels of AD saying there were concerns about Slot’s commitment, with him reportedly preferring to manage in club football while he’s still young, and Valentijn Driessen of De Telegraaf saying that a deal hasn’t been reached because Slot wants a two-year contract and the KNVB want someone who will commit to being in charge for both Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.
I agree with the popular sentiment that the KNVB should just give him what he wants given the lack of alternatives right now and the fact that Bosz, Ten Hag and maybe even Guardiola would be available after the Euros if Slot did walk away, but I do also understand their reluctance to do so.
It wasn’t long ago (2020) that Koeman ruined our hopes of winning the Euros by stepping down to take charge of Barcelona shortly before the tournament started, and I can see why the KNVB would be worried about history repeating itself if Slot only has a two-year contract to buy out should a club come calling - that’s not a lot of money for him or said club to pay. It’s also worth noting that Slot was sacked by AZ for agreeing to join Feyenoord behind their backs.
I still think a deal being reached and him being the next Oranje manager is the most likely outcome, but I also think under-21s boss Michael Reiziger has a real chance.
He’s the only other option that the press have reliably reported is being considered. Martijn Krabbendam of Voetbal International has stated that he was their “dream” successor to Koeman prior to the World Cup, and various other pundits and publications have claimed Nigel de Jong is a big fan of him.
I like to think that his poor results with Jong Oranje have taken him out of the running, but the KNVB love appointing someone that they’ve worked with before, as shown by the returns of Dick Advocaat, Van Gaal, Guus Hiddink and Koeman in the past.
If a deal can’t be reached with Slot, I’d say Reiziger is very much the favourite.
Outsiders
Beyond those two, is anybody else in contention?
Ruud van Nistelrooy would make a lot of sense on paper; he’s worked with the KNVB and got a lot of praise from players and other insiders for his work as Koeman’s assistant at the World Cup. However, the only news I’ve seen on him is that he’s set to leave his role, which would suggest a promotion isn’t being considered.
I read an article claiming that De Jong wanted Reiziger or Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was most recently part of Gareth Southgate’s England coaching team, but that others from the KNVB were pushing for Robin van Persie; however, the website that article was on is notoriously unreliable and didn’t cite any sources.
Other Dutch options that spring to mind are Van Gaal and Sarina Wiegman, but the former surely wouldn’t have the appetite to return again and the latter is reportedly not interested in leaving her role as the coach of England’s women’s team.
If foreign options are being considered, Xavi and Ernesto Valverde would make sense given they’re both available and both have a connection to the Dutch school, with Valverde being coached by Cruyff and Xavi being coached by Cruyff-disciple Guardiola, but neither has been linked with the job.
Ultimately, all signs point towards it being Slot or Reiziger.
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