10 facts you (probably) didn’t know about Everton’s Ronald Koeman

Despite it being the international break, we can’t help but continue talking about the Premier League!

This weekend’s topic, Ronald Koeman.

The 53-year-old has made an impressive start to life at Goodison Park, having signed a three-year deal to become Everton’s new manager back on June 14, 2016.

Koeman, who has also managed the likes of Ajax, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, Feyenoord and Premier League rivals Southampton before moving to Merseyside, has guided the club up to seventh spot in the English top-flight after their opening 11 league games.

Okay; last weekend’s 5-0 mauling at Stamford Bridge to the hands of Chelsea may not have reflected the progress made by the Dutchman at The Toffees, but Everton are level on points with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United in the standings, with struggling Swansea City the next outfit to visit Goodison Park next Saturday (November 19).

But having featured for the likes of Ajax, PSV, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands during his playing career, and having only arrived in English football back in 2014 following his move to Southampton, Shoot!‘s Toby Bryant highlights ten facts you may not known about Koeman.

Take a look…

Floquet de Nou

When playing for Barcelona in the European Cup Final against Sampdoria at Wembley, Koeman netted the winning free-kick to win the Catalan side their first-ever European Cup.

As a result, he became a cult hero and earned the nickname “Floquet de Neu” after the albino gorilla in Barcelona zoo.

The Wipe Celebration

After winning the 1988 European Championships semi-final against the Germans, in Germany, Koeman went on to perform an incredibly controversial celebration.

He pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of German player Olaf Thon in front of the home crowd!

The Twitter Comedian

See more

Ready for #Training! pic.twitter.com/o4N7ACbOFs

— Ronald Koeman (@RonaldKoeman) July 28, 2014

Many Everton fans who follow their Dutch boss on Twitter will be familiar with his post-match, honest and critical tweets, always focusing on the performance.

However, in July 2014, after the mass exodus from the Southampton camp which saw a number of high profile players move away, Koeman turned comedian as he took to twitter.

He posted a photo of an empty training ground with the caption, “Ready for #Training!”.

“Chips without mayonnaise is no chips”

When giving a press conference at Southampton before a match against QPR, one journalist quizzed Koeman on his love for mayonnaise.

The manager responded, “Chips without mayonnaise is no chips.”

Good to know, Ron!

Koeman has caused English anguish

During the qualifying stages ahead of the 1994 World Cup, England were sat one point behind of the Netherlands with qualification in sight.

However, when the two sides met, it was Koeman’s free-kick which won the match and resulted in the Three Lions watching the tournament from home.

The Big Three

Koeman has had quite the controversial career back in the Netherlands, with a number of transfers from rival to rival, both as a player and a manager.

As a result, incredibly, he has both played for and managed the three big Dutch clubs in Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.

Prolific Defender

During his playing career, Koeman normally plied his trade as a sweeper given his superb ability to read the game.

However, he was not shy to get forward and score goals. He notched 193 times in 533 league appearances, making him one of, if not the, most prolific defender of all-time.

Everton fans will be hoping he can transfer this to Phil Jagielka or Ashley Williams!

Playing with his big brother, Erwin

Koeman’s elder brother, Erwin, who currently works with the Everton boss as assistant manager, also enjoyed an illustrious footballing career.

In fact, the two brothers even played for the international team together a number times, the first being on April 27, 1983, in a 3-0 loss against Sweden.

Fallout at Valencia

Whilst managing Valencia in 2008, Koeman feared he was losing control of the side and went to extreme measures to regain it.

He told three key players at the time; Santiago Canizares, David Albelda and Miguel Angel Angulo to look for new clubs.

This led to a number of high-profile fallouts, including Albelda seeking legal action against the club in order to terminate his contract, Angulo voicing his disapproval of Koeman and Canizares announcing that the manager’s actions made him consider retiring.

Martin Koeman

It isn’t just Ronald Koeman’s brother who was a professional footballer, his father Martin, also enjoyed a career in the sport.

Martin spent the majority of his playing career at Groningen, where both sons later played, and even has a stand named after him there.