Ronald Koeman: Southampton are more than just this season's surprise package, rival Louis van Gaal is like a 'teacher' and I dream of managing Barcelona one day

• e-mail

Ronald Koeman is convulsing with laughter, his ruddy face creasing up as he hears a story about his one-time friend but now fierce rival, Louis van Gaal.

According to a recent book, Van Gaal took particular pleasure in building a more expensive holiday villa than Koeman’s in the same Portuguese neighbourhood. ‘Maybe it’s a bigger one, but the view from the villa is not so nice as mine,’ says the Southampton manager, still chuckling away.

Right now, Koeman could say the same about their respective clubs. Van Gaal’s might be bigger but the view from his position in the Barclays Premier League is not as nice as Koeman’s, from two places and four points above his old adversary. 

Ronald Koeman is enjoying life as Southampton boss as they ride high in the Premier League

The Dutchman has led the Saints to second place in the Premier League with 26 points from 12 games

Koeman, however, does not appear quite so interested in measuring himself against a man he was an assistant to at Barcelona but with whom he fell out spectacularly during their time at Ajax.

‘Life is too nice to make problems,’ he says, as relaxed about the two clubs’ encounter a week on December 8 as he is discussing the journey that brought him to Southampton in the first place.

It is one, the 51-year-old concedes, that could have been very different, Koeman revealing how close he was to becoming coach of Barcelona and of Holland, too.

It was not just his stature as a player that ought to earn such opportunities. It was his education, having played in a European Championship-winning side under the guidance of Rinus Michels and winning European Cups, not to mention countless other titles, with Guus Hiddink and Johan Cruyff. 

He would also serve as a coaching assistant to Hiddink at the 1998 World Cup, and Van Gaal for two years after that at Barcelona.

But he has so far had to toil at eight different clubs across Europe while his contemporaries have enjoyed greater prominence. Pep Guardiola and Frank Rijkaard were his team-mates, while Jose Mourinho was the lesser-known of Van Gaal’s assistants at the Nou Camp.

Three Dutch titles and a Copa del Rey in Spain is a decent return from 14 years in management and Koeman is now enhancing his reputation with the stunning start he has made at Southampton, who face a major test of their season against champions Manchester City on Sunday.

But he has also been forced to watch from a distance as those former colleagues have amassed five European Cups, with Mourinho and Guardiola now considered the best of their generation.

Koeman was the one time assistant of Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, picture here in July 1998

‘I could see he had qualities as a coach, of course,’ says Koeman of Mourinho. ‘But if you’d asked me at that time if he was going to have that kind of success, I would not have been sure about that.’

Such success might have come Koeman’s way had he taken the Barca job at the urging of Cruyff and new president Joan Laporta, ahead of Rijkaard in the summer of 2003, instead of staying at Ajax.

‘Cruyff told Ajax there would be no money on the table but suggested to them that they take Rijkaard, because at that time I think he had just left Sparta Rotterdam,’ he says. 

‘My feeling was I didn’t want to make problems with Ajax because I’d just signed a new contract with them. That would not have been straight, after two months, to fight to leave the club.’

If it was the decent thing to do, there must have been moments over the past 11 years when he has regretted missing out on the chance to work with such wonderful players. 

‘Sometimes,’ he says with a smile. ‘I think it might have been easier had I had Messi in my team. But Barcelona is still a dream for myself because it was my best period as a football player. We won a lot of titles and I have so many friends over there.

‘Maybe one day — I’m still a young manager. But Barcelona was more in my head at that time than it is today. Maybe then I thought more about being the coach of Barcelona. As you get older you realise this is football. You have to live day by day.’

Koeman was on the coaching staff of Van Gaal along with Jose Mourinho (left, centre) and Frans Hoek

Van Gaal, Koeman, Hoek and Mourinho during a Barcelona friendly in Amsterdam in July 1999

Koeman when he was Ajax coach greets Frank Rijkaard when he was Barcelona coach in December 2004

There were days, not so long ago, when Koeman believed he would succeed Van Gaal as coach of the Dutch team after the World Cup in Brazil. As it was, the job went to Hiddink in March. But only after Koeman had received a telephone call from Hiddink that, on reflection, leaves him feeling rather disappointed.

‘That story was a little bit strange,’ he says. ‘A lot of people were saying I would be the new national coach. I was ready to stop at Feyenoord. I had enjoyed three successful years there and I felt it was a good moment to change.

‘My agent had good contact with the Federation and Hiddink was still in Russia. That time was difficult because I was looking forward to that job, because it is an honour to be national coach.

‘Then my agent got a telephone call from the director of the Dutch Federation and he said I could be the second coach with Hiddink for two seasons and after the Europeans could then take over. I was surprised.

‘With all respect, I am not a second coach. And I was a little unhappy with the way everything went — also with Guus Hiddink. He was my coach at PSV and we’d always had good relations. I remember he called me around a year ago. My father was dying and he called me to ask about him, and then we talked about the national team. He said: “Of course you won’t be the second. You had that job at the World Cup in 1998. I can understand that”. That was so strange, given what then happened.’

For Koeman it was still the right time to leave Feyenoord for a fresh challenge. But seasoned observers in Holland, who hold him in the highest regard, remain surprised that his search ended on England’s south coast.

Koeman on the touchline alongside Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert (left) during the 1-1 draw on Monday night

Koeman thinks it is a compliment that Southampton talent scout Paul Mitchell has left to join Tottenham

‘Why?’ asks Koeman. ‘Because of the level of the club? I think in Holland we maybe don’t realise that clubs like Southampton or West Ham or Aston Villa are very big clubs in England.

‘Of course, I was coach of Valencia. I was coach of big clubs in Holland. Maybe there is a difference in possibilities to win titles or to win in European football. 

But I was interested in coaching in the Premier League and I was surprised after the first meeting I had with the club; about the facilities, about the possibilities. I met Les Reed [head of football development] and we talked only about football, about the philosophy of the club.

‘I had also done some homework. But my feeling was very good after that first meeting. It is a club that is very serious about what it is doing, and the work it has done over the last few years, here at the training ground and with the academy, is just exceptional. We are not happy, but it’s a compliment that Paul Mitchell [a talent scout] is going to Tottenham.

‘I believe Southampton are growing up. When you look at what they did over the last five years, nobody can stop Southampton.’

In the next eight days, City, Arsenal and Manchester United will attempt to prove otherwise. But even so, after the club sold almost £90million worth of players in the summer, Koeman will reflect on his first few months in ‘Europe’s best league’ with great satisfaction.

‘I couldn’t expect the results we’ve had,’ he says. ‘But I was happy with the changes we made; how we replaced good players who left the club with (Graziano) Pelle, with (Dusan) Tadic, with Sadio Mane, (Ryan) Bertrand and (Florin) Gardos. 

Saints duo Graziano Pelle (left) and Dusan Tadic are two of the new signings to excel so far this season

Left back Ryan Bertrand who has come in from Chelsea is another who has impressed so far

'In Holland we are used to change every season because young players are always leaving. I was very positive about the squad we have.

‘We’ve had a great start but, yes, it will be a tough week. But West Ham beat City, so why can’t Southampton? We won in the League Cup at Arsenal. So far I have not seen one team better than us.

‘Manchester City have players like (Sergio) Aguero. They have that quality. But we like to play offensively, we like to play good football. I look forward because it’s exciting to play these big teams.’

He does seem to have an affinity with England, and not just because he scored the winning goal, for Barcelona, in a European Cup final at Wembley. 

Koeman and England have history, that controversial role in England’s failure to reach the 1994 World Cup — he has long admitted he was fortunate not to receive a red card for a foul on David Platt prior to scoring that brilliant free-kick — of which he will forever be reminded. 

Koeman admits he should have been sent off for fouling David Platt during a World Cup qualifier in 1993

Koeman later opened the scoring from a free kick before Holland went on to beat England 2-0

Koeman celebrates the goal that effectively ended England's hopes of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup

Koeman admits once watching the infamous 'Do I Not Like That' documentary charting Graham Taylor's demise as England manager during their failed campaign to qualify for the 1994 World Cup

He did once watch some of the infamous ‘Do I Not Like That’ documentary that recorded Graham Taylor’s demise as England manager. ‘Now I’m a manager I can understand how he felt,’ he adds.

But this is not why he has such passion for English football. He owes that to his late father, Martin, himself a former international who would surely have taken as much pride in seeing his two sons, Ronald and Erwin, working as manager and assistant at Southampton as when they played together for Holland. 

‘My father would watch Match of the Day every Sunday morning,’ says Koeman. ‘We always followed English football.’

Koeman is charm personified, something he further demonstrates when he meets Rachel Baker as part of Barclays’ ‘Thank you’ campaign. Rachel is so passionate about her football club she even got married at St Mary’s, and Koeman is only too happy to welcome her to the training ground.

Koeman is clearly a people person, and he sees value in such social skills. Indeed, he says it was among Cruyff’s finest qualities as a manager.

‘First I think you have to be yourself,’ he says. ‘You have your own qualities and your own character. But I think you do draw on the good qualities of all of them. You learn from other coaches.

‘Van Gaal always had fantastic organisation. Van Gaal was a teacher. Cruyff was more like a former player, Hiddink was a bit between the two.

‘Cruyff was more detailed about football. Van Gaal is more about structure. Cruyff also had the advantage of once being the best player in the world. He inspired players and was a great manager of people; always good with players.’

Koeman was unusually close to Cruyff. ‘We were neighbours,’ he says. ‘Houses next to each other. We had a great relationship. I went to Barcelona in 1989 and the Cruyff family helped my family settle in Spain.

Koeman celebrates scoring the winning goal from a free kick during 1992 European Cup Final at Wembley

It was the only goal in a1-0 victory as Barcelona overcame Sampdoria to win the club's first European Cup

Koeman alongside another former Barcelona legend Michael Laudrup as they celebrate the win in 1992

‘We spent Christmas and children’s birthdays together. And it wasn’t difficult for him because it was away from football.

‘On the pitch he was my coach, and he was criticising me as much as anybody. He could change in a second. But away from the pitch we were friends.’

Could he imagine having such a relationship with one of his players?

‘No,’ he says, laughing. ‘But it was different. In those days clubs were not allowed to have so many foreign players and we were both Dutch.’

His admiration for Cruyff remains. But will there an issue with Van Gaal come December 8?

‘I will invite him for a glass of wine after the game, of course,’ he says. ‘I was at a managers’ meeting in Manchester last week and Louis was there as well and we shook hands and had a little conversation. No problem.

‘We spoke regularly when he was the national coach. He called me always about my players at Feyenoord.

‘OK, I don’t invite him to my birthday and I don’t expect to be invited to the birthday of Louis. But the rest of the contact we have is normal and when we meet the game will be Southampton v Manchester United, not Koeman v Van Gaal.’

A view Van Gaal will no doubt share.

During the season, Barclays are saying thank you to all those people who champion the true spirit of the game, such as Saints’ Rachel Baker (above). Join the conversation at facebook.com/BarclaysFootball