Ronald Koeman has rejected suggestions that he is at Everton only because it may be a stepping stone towards a potential move towards Barcelona.
The 53-year-old took over at Goodison Park in the summer. He replaced Roberto Martinez on a three-year contract. The move was surprising considering that he spent only two seasons at Southampton. In both campaigns, the Dutch manager enhanced his reputation by ensuring that Southampton overcame their financial troubles and still finished strongly in the Premier League. Since he has made an even better start at Everton, there are suggestions that he is on the lookout for a top managerial job, preferably Barcelona.
As a player,Koeman had his most successful spell with the Spanish club after spending six years at the Camp Nou. He was one of the main players in the Johan Cruyff styled Barcelona from 1989 to 1995. He made more than 150 league appearances for the club during this period. His Barcelona roots have even helped him become a manager. Upon finishing his career with Feyenoord in 1997, Koeman developed his first experience of club football management while serving as the assistant manager at Barcelona from 1998 to 2000.
This led to his first managerial job at Vitesse Arnhem.
It is not surprising if he is linked with the managerial job at Barcelona at some point in the future. “One time when I went to Valencia. They always speak about Koeman and Barcelona.
Everyone knows I have a relationship with Barcelona. Everyone says, ‘One day Koeman will be the coach in Barcelona’. You can’t say, ‘I go to Everton in one or two years, I go to Barcelona’. No. Why? Maybe Everton will be bigger than it now is. Maybe Luis Enrique is doing a fantastic job for the next three years and they don’t need a coach,” said Koeman.
