Ronald Koeman Quotes, a complete collection

Ronald Koeman is a manager and former Dutch player who is currently the head coach of FC Barcelona. Widely considered as one of the greatest defenders of all time,

spent the best years of his 17-years long career at Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona. He was one of the stars of the famous Barcelona dream team under legendary manager, Johan Cruyff that won many major titles in the 90s including the 1991-92 Champions League.

During his illustrated career, Koeman won almost every major title at the club and international level including 4 La Liga and 4 Eredevise titles as well as two European Cups. Koeman was a member of the Netherlands national team for almost 11 years and won the 1988 European Championship with the Oranges.

Ronald Koeman has the greatest scoring records among the defenders in the history of the game. During his career, he scored around 250 goals in over 7000 games.  Since retiring from football, He has had a very successful career as a manager. He has managed teams in the Eredevise, Premier League and La Liga. Ronald Koeman is truly among the most influential figures in the history of the beautiful game. In the following article we present you with a complete collection of

Ronald Koeman quotes

.

Best Collection of Ronald Koeman quotes

We present football fans with the Best collection of Ronald Koeman quotes which includes his quotes about his personality and career as well as his comments on Messi and Ronaldo.

Ronald Koeman quotes about his personal life

Ronald Koeman was born into a family of football fans from Zaandam in the Netherlands. According to himself, he started playing in the streets from the age of 8. Koeman is a true family person and has a close relationship with his siblings and parents. He has been in a long-time relationship with his current wife, Bartina Koeman and has two kids. His brother, Erwin was also a top professional player who is working as a manager. It is certainly interesting to know more about Ronald Koeman quotes on his own childhood, personality and private life.

On his childhood, Marriage and kids

When my two boys were growing up and asking me about what I did and what kind of player I was I showed them all the matches from the European Championships in 1988 when we beat

in the semi-final and won the final against Russia.

On his hobbies and preferences

I want a quiet life.

When I was a player it was not normal that I would cook at home but now that I have more time, I do sometimes. I like it, I like to cook and maybe sometime I would like to have some lessons.

I sort of collect watches.

On his personality, beliefs and objectives

When you build the house, you don't start with the roof.

A new project can offer you a new challenge.

I like my life and I like to be positive.

It's easy to give your opinion in front of the television without any responsibility.

If you are a happy man then you can give your best.

I don't speak about rumours every day in the press, because it's not necessary to tell everybody the same answer.

We have to be confident. If we are not you can't win.

My whole football life is pressure. If I don't get pressure from outside I put pressure on myself.

I'm always a big advocate for adapting to your new team, your new country and your new team-mates.

I don't have any problems with criticism.

If you don't have that ambition you start to be sloppy and that is not what I like to be.

What I don't like is talk about rumours.

You cannot plan what is going to happen. You cannot plan your life.

Ronald Koeman quotes about football and his playing career

Ronald Koeman is known the most for his amazing free kicks, penalty kicks and shooting abilities. A versatile set piece specialist, Koeman was nicknamed the King of free kicks, and was capable of striking the ball with power from long range free kicks, or curling shots on goal from close range. As a manager, he has been praised for his bravery in giving the youngsters a chance to play at the highest level. It is very interesting to know more about the

top quotes by Ronald Koeman

about football and his playing career.

On football:

In football, as in life, as in business, everything can be talked about and discussed.

The Europa League is a different calibre than the

.

You can have Guardiola as a manager, you can have Koeman as a manager, anybody as a manager, but the players inside the white lines win the game.

You need luck, you need your key players, you need to be in the best shape, you need all of that to be champions.

We are football players and we like to win games.

Great coaches can't win always in life.

If you win games you will have good possibilities to maybe play in Europe, you never know.

I love English football because of its brilliant atmosphere, intensity of the competition and the culture of respect that fans and players have for the game.

The Premier League is different. Sometimes the Bournemouth game can be more difficult than Liverpool or Chelsea.

There are so many other examples in the Premier League of players who are the best in their country and make a move because they are really ready for a level higher. If they come to the English top flight, it turns out they need a period to adjust in terms of pace, aggressiveness and physicality, especially as a midfielder.

If you have expectations as a club, then coping with criticism is part of your job.

We all like being part of the Premier League. There is a lot of attention and we enjoy that but football is always the same. If you win, you have friends. If you don't win, you are looking for friends. That's the game.

It is not so easy to turn yourself into one of the big clubs in the Premier League and also the Champions League.

From what I saw in Spain and Germany most of the teams drop back and then they have all of the time to build up and have the movements. In the Premier League it is more physical and about set plays. It is more difficult.

That's the difference between outside and playing in the Premier League.

In life everything is possible. In football everything is possible.

I think it's normal that you will lose players if you don't play every season in the Champions League, because that's the intention for every player to be part of that.

I think we have very good facilities for the youth in Holland. We have very good youth coaches and I think that is some of the reasons that always Holland has very good football players.

I respect and admire the Premier League.

On his club career with Ajax and Barcelona

The entire world knows what I have with Barcelona and what Barcelona have with Ronald Koeman, so if I could become

coach one day, I would be delighted.

I still have the newspapers of my first match at Barcelona. It was a disaster. We lost 2-0 and everybody was questioning my arrival.

I'm in love with Barcelona, life there is fantastic. It was my best period playing.

Ronald Koeman quotes on Messi and Ronaldo 

In every generation, young football fans argue endlessly about who is the best player of the history of football. In our generation the debate is between

and

fans. Koeman played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and against Messi many times during his career at Manchester United. He has praised Ronaldo and Messi in many of his interviews, although he has stated that to him Messi is the best player in the world. Here are

Ronald Koeman quotes on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

.

Everything would have been different for Barcelona without Messi.

Messi is the greatest, but he has always been surrounded by other great players.

If anyone has to overtake me, I'm glad that it is Messi.

It's not only Van Dijk who can stop Ronaldo. But Ronaldo is good enough to create against really good defenders.

We know it's impossible sometimes to have good defending against Cristiano Ronaldo but we want to keep the ball, with good possession, as then he can do nothing in attack.

Still hard to understand that you will not play for Barcelona anymore, Thanks for everything you have done for our club Leo. I really enjoyed the full season we worked together. I am impressed with your work ethic and desire to win. It makes you the best player in the world. For now, I wish you and your family the best!

I think in general [Messi’s departure is] painful for all Catalans, I understand what Messi has done for this club and the type of player he is. We miss him given he’s such an important player in the history of Barcelona. But you don’t want to live in the past. These things happen. Players change clubs and young players come through. Messi is the past and you can’t live in the past.

Top quotes by Ronald Koeman about famous football players and teams

In this part of our article on we will have a look at the top quotes by Ronald Koeman about other football great stars and teams, including his comments on Romario, Lukaku and Memphis Depay.

On Romario:

I played with Romario. Sometimes you think he's sleeping, then in one split second he's scoring. It's a big quality. That means a lot of concentration for defenders. He's always fast, always on the line of sight. That's his best quality.

On Louis Van Gaal:

When you have

in charge, it is a fact that there is fear in his team. The players have a fear for mister Van Gaal. That is not always good.

When you bring Van Gaal in the house, you bring in quality. But you also bring in someone who thinks he knows everything. And that will cause clashes.

On Daley Blind, Georginio Wijnaldum and Kevin Strootman:

Daley Blind, Georginio Wijnaldum and Kevin Strootman too. They are examples of how you should behave as a top player.

On Sergio Aguero:

The best player to compare to Aguero is Romario.

On Romelu Lukaku:

His potential is greater and higher than Everton as a final destination. If Romelu was to play at Everton until the end of his career I know he has left something behind.

Lukaku sees football and lives for his game the way I think a top player should live for it.

On Zlatan Ibrahimovic:

I managed Zlatan when he was young and sometimes also difficult! But, okay, that is normal.

On

Depay walks around like he has won 10 European Cups. This attitude... what's it all about?

He's great, he's turning into a top player. That's great, we need that, especially in attacking positions, and He's showing that at Lyon, and at Oranje now as well.

I once talked to him when we wanted to bring him in at Everton from Man United and we immediately had a connection.

He has freedom at Barcelona, that's what he needs to be the best Memphis. He can do that in this team. When he's a lone striker he tends to drift back too much, so we have a hole up front.

On

Pedri is impressive, he has shown his personality even though he’s very young. He will be a great player for Barca.

On Martin Braithwaite:

He’s an example of a professional, He always works for the team and has improved his game. He has speed and is difficult to stop. I’m delighted to have a player like him.

On Manchester United:

Manchester United are always a team that try to play football, try to play football from the back.

Old Trafford is not really intimidating, no. I think the Man United fans are always behind the team and it's a fantastic place to play football.

Best Ronald Koeman quotes about his philosophy of football and managerial career

We wrap up our article on Ronald Koeman quotes with a look at the

best Ronald Koeman quotes

about his managerial career and his philosophy of football.

On his philosophy of football:

I like young players when they are still open to learn and behave normally, not driving a Porsche after three matches in the first team.

Normally I keep criticism of my players inside but sometimes people need to know what the manager is thinking.

It is not always possible, but the best plan is always to keep hold of your best players.

I hate players who always play the ball back to the goalkeeper.

What I don't like too much really is individual comments about the performances of the players after the game.

I like to play attacking football, but I think the big difference is that we expect a lot more from our strikers, to do more pressing and to keep compact. We like to play a high line defensively and press the ball.

I don't step back, that's football. It's about winning.

That's the nicest part of football; you can't do everything to stop a player.

In football a championship team is never bought, it's built with time and patience.

I know what it is like when a player has big ambitions.

I accept that everyone is entitled to his opinion and as a coach, I don't run away from criticism.

Some players need pressure to get the best out of themselves.

I'd prefer to have 10 players scoring 10-15 goals than one scoring 25.

We have to respect the opponents but we also have to believe in ourselves.

I know English football people say you have to look out for young players, that maybe they can play 15 or 20 games but not more. They are afraid. I am not afraid to put young players in. I am not afraid but maybe they are.

I know myself that I am a manager who really gives young players a chance when they deserve it. It is all about the talents of the young players. If they have the talent you have to give an opportunity. If they don't have the talent then, OK, you have to look elsewhere.

I see differences in how I like to work with young players and how I like to give young players a chance maybe more than English managers.

I was always most of the time working in clubs as player and coach to win titles.

What I like is to bring the best team for the fans, and if we have that then we need to perform and we need success, but that is what I like and what I have had all my life in football.

It is always difficult when there is a lack of confidence and a lack of belief but it can be good for me to see the reaction of the team in a difficult time.

If players know their role it is easier to keep to them.

I still believe in 'how you train, how you play.'

It's always important with a young one in your team that he needs to be comfortable in the position he plays.

It's all about the qualities of the players. The better the players, the easier it is for the manager.

It's an easy answer, as a manager, to say: 'I need time.'

If you have a lot of injuries for a long period, that makes it more normal to bring in new players.

There are times when it's not important to play well or create opportunities, rather getting the result at the end of the game.

On his managerial career

One of the things I'd bring to Villa if I was in charge is the idea that winning is important in football, but winning while playing offensive football is the best of all.

In Holland we have always viewed Villa as an important club with a tradition of being powerful in Europe when I was younger, so I would be very interested in managing them if the job was offered to me.

I've coached in Holland, Portugal and Spain and not only won trophies each time, but taken sides to the latter stages of the Champions League.

Full compliments to everybody in Southampton because the support of the fans was amazing and the spirit and the belief of the players, it's very enjoyable for the manager.

I had a good contract at Southampton, the managers in the Premier League are very well paid, but in football you need ambition.

Becoming Netherlands coach could be a nice end to my career.

When I spoke to Everton, the plan, the project, the history of the club was interesting. If I didn't see ambition in Everton I wouldn't come to Everton and that's maybe a good message to all of the players.

Within 24 hours of my departure from Everton, I had already received the first offer. Then they kept coming, but I keep it all away from me.

I love coaching and I love Barcelona. Who does not want to coach Barcelona?

Everyone knows I have a relationship with Barcelona.

If someone states that Ajax played a negative game then maybe we are smarter than Manchester City.

So here was our article on the

Ronald Koeman quotes

. Which part did you like the most? Any quotes you want to add to the list? Let us know in the comments section.

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