A Dutch Football Renaissance in Barcelona with Ronald Koeman

Ronald Koeman is just the latest example of the Dutch influence; he’s bringing more too

But he comes to a team that already has his prized midfielder right in the middle; Frenkie de Jong beat his Dutch national team boss to Barcelona, and now offers him a place to begin with during this rebuild/reload for the Blaugrana. Ronald Koeman is not satisfied to have one fellow Dutchman with him however.

With reports suggesting the move for Memphis Depay of Lyon is nearly finalized, Koeman look to find a long term threat on the left wing; he can play centrally as well of course, and could replace the departing Luis Suarez in that position. Lionel Messi looks as though he’s staying for another year, against his will, in Catalonia and could finally have some more fresh, capable talent surrounding him.

Were Georginio Wijnaldum to leave Liverpool as well, that would make three first team starters from the Netherlands. Is it Barcelona? Or Oranje Holland?

Ronald Koeman: Just more proof that the two are historically intertwined

I joke, but Barcelona has long had a connection with Dutch football to be sure; the Netherlands as a nation, historically speaking, have linkS with Spain in a more general sense, dating back hundreds of years.

Remaining relevant however, from Johan Cruyff, to Marc Overmars, to Ronald Koeman himself, as well as Mark van Bommel, Patrick Kluivert and Frank de Boer to name the most memorable, the Dutch influence has been present in Barcelona’s DNA for over thirty years.

The famous tiki-taka style is after all, a creation of Cruyff’s and therefore, of Dutch origin, as well as a Barcelona trademark ever since. It was grown and developed by future Dutch managers at Barcelona, Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard before Catalonia’s own son, former player and coach Pep Guardiola innovated it further. He still credits Cruyff and the style all these years later. The variable legacies that all of these Dutchmen, disciples in one way or another of Cruyff and this Dutch school, have left with the Catalonian football giant is an amusingly curious historical tidbit for generations down the years to question and laugh at.

But coming back to the present, Ronald Koeman has a vision of the way he wishes Barcelona to play. It is very much the way Barcelona used to play, and very much he way he has had the Dutch National team playing during his tenure as boss. Hence, the strange synergy continues; it might even end up saving the Barcelona career of Lionel Messi in the process.

The Flying Dutchmen to the Rescue: Is it enough to keep Messi?

While Lionel Messi hasn’t been overly impressed with his new boss since his hiring, he may end up actually giving Messi a team at Barcelona to compete with. Ronald Koeman is no slouch, Lionel Messi will have to track back and work more than he likely has in a good few years. But should he do so, he’ll likely find a team actually competing with him as hard as he himself is competing.

Messi and Depay could be a lethal scoring combination should they become in tune. If Koeman can somehow find harmony and efficiency with Antoine Griezmann as well, Barca will not be without talent and attacking guile on the pitch. Ousmane Dembele, should he not be sold, is another remarkably talented player who just needs some belief and consistent management.

Philippe Coutinho who can play on the left if Dembele is sold and Depay plays centrally, or in the middle of the pitch with Wijnaldum and de Jong. There are many options available when just a few players are more capable, creative, efficient and precise.

Ronald Koeman is trying to acquire players he is already comfortable with playing this way, and so there shouldn’t be too great an adjustment tactics wise. Playing with Messi on the other hand always takes time for nearly everyone. But Messi too will be familiar with the system; it is the system he is most familiar with in the world, after all, a young authority himself in many ways.

Should the team play well and with some real lustre, it would not surprise me in the slightest to hear that Messi no longer wishes to leave. I think he is sceptical perhaps, but rightly so after the last few seasons at the Camp Nou, but it seems as though getting Barcelona back on track requires a Dutchman in some capacity.

Will this Ronald Koeman led Dutch Revolution work in Barcelona, Again?

The answer I believe is yes, it can; Barcelona is not as lost as it may seem they are and the way out is not so foreign. They need to play a real selfless brand of trusting football, the kind pioneered decades ago in Spain and the Netherlands; it is a brand that is now influential across the globe, wherever football is played.

But it is not all that the old Barcelona player can coach either; during his time at Ajax, he played with different shapes and hasn’t been shy on the international level either tactically. It will be a Barcelona of high footballing IQ’s, that much is certain.

If Barcelona can play smart, fast and thoughtful football, with the minds of Ronald Koeman and Lionel Messi, Barcelona will have a real shot at reloading instead of rebuilding. The collective talent of everyone on the team is too high for them to fall anywhere short of consistent competitiveness across Spain and Europe. With the personnel and tactical innovations occurring currently at the Camp Nou, there is no doubt that we may be witnessing the start of another Dutch footballing Renaissance in Barcelona featuring Ronald Koeman.