Spanish club Valencia have appointed legendary Dutch defender Ronald Koeman as their new manager. Koeman succeeds Quique Flores, who was sacked by Los Che on October 29, following a string of bad performances. This is not Koeman’s first managerial stint in Spain- he served as Louis Van Gaal’s assistant at Barcelona between 1998 and 2000.
Koeman has reportedly signed a three year contract with the club. He was managing PSV in his native Holland when the Valencia offer came in. Koeman now joins Guus Hiddink as the only other Dutchman to take charge of affairs at the club.
Koeman’s job won’t be easy. Valencia last won the title in 2003-2004, and are currently lying in fourth place in the league. The 1-5 and 0-3 losses to Real Madrid and Sevilla would certainly not have pleased the fans, who would have wanted to see more fight from their players.
Marcello Lippi and Jose Mourinho were also allegedly linked with the post, but the arrival of Koeman have put to rest those rumours.