From the days of Total Football in the 1970s to the spectacular growth of Dutch managers over the past decade, the Netherlands have long produced some of the most monumental and important figures in football.
The Premier League has seen numerous Dutch managers, such as Louis van Gaal (Manchester United), Guus Hiddink (Chelsea), and Ruud Gullit (Chelsea) who all won the FA Cup during their tenures in England. On the other side of the coin, the likes of Frank de Boer and Dick Advocaat registered some of the worst records the league has seen.
There have been eight Dutch managers in the Premier League, and with reports growing stronger each week surrounding the arrival of Erik ten Hag to United, we run through the topsy-turvy history of managers from the Netherlands in the Premier League.
Guus Hiddink
A well-known manager across the world, Guus Hiddink was the interim manager of Chelsea twice, and managed to win 16 of his 22 games in 2009, but just 10 of his 27 fixtures during the 2015/16 season.
His exceptional run in the 2008/09 season saw the club win the FA Cup and finish just seven points off first in the league. All in all, he was a memorable Dutch manager in England that if given more of a chance, could have had a more impactful career.
Louis van Gaal
One of the infamous four names in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era that have failed to win the Premier League title. In reality, no manager had a harder task than van Gaal given how poor his squad was during his two years with the club as practically all of the title-winning men during Ferguson’s era were gone.
Jose Mourinho has been United’s most successful manager since the great man departed, but the FA Cup is more meaningful to the club than the League Cup and the Europa League as the Red Devils have not won the trophy since 2004. In 2016, van Gaal would beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final to secure their first major trophy in the post-Fergie era, and it’s easily their best day in the past nine years.
Surprisingly, he was sacked days later as Mourinho became available, and van Gaal left the club with a 52.43% win rate, claiming 54 victories from 103 contests with only 24 defeats. A solid stint at the club, contrary to popular belief.
Rene Meulensteen
Rene Meulensteen is known more for his days as a coach to Ferguson at United where they won the 3 Premier League titles, two League Cups, the Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
As a manager, he took charge of Fulham, and it was a torrid time with the club despite winning his first game 2-0 against Aston Villa. Meulensteen played out 17 matches, totalling a dreadful points per game record of 0.88.
A great coach, but an underwhelming manager.
Frank de Boer
Easily the worst manager on the list, as de Boer was sacked after only five games in charge of Palace following only one win from five with just two goals on record. There’s nothing else to add, other than how some consider him perhaps the worst manager in Premier League history.
Ronald Koeman
It’s been a tough go as a manager for Ronald Koeman since his days at Southampton as he was sacked by Everton and Barcelona within less than 15 months on both occasions.
However, he recorded Southampton’s highest ever Premier League finish (6th), their highest ever Premier League points total (63), and earned qualification for the group stage of the Europa League. No Saints manager has done it better in the Premier League.
This earned him a move to Everton, where his reputation was destroyed following an abysmal start to the 2017/18 campaign that saw the Toffees fight relegation early on. He was soon sacked, but his Southampton days remain in the hearts of fans at St Mary’s.
Ruud Gullit
The first man to do it, and arguably the most successful. Gullit was appointed as a player-manager of Chelsea in 1996 and within the first season, guided them to their first major trophy in 26 years with an FA Cup final victory over Middlesbrough.
Incredibly, despite being second in the league and after getting to two cup quarter-finals the next season, he was sacked simply because much of the Chelsea hierarchy didn’t like him.
This run earned him a spot as Newcastle United’s manager, and he reached the 1999 FA Cup final with them, but lost to Ferguson’s United. Gullit resigned just five games into the 1999/00 season.
Dick Advocaat
The former Sunderland man had a topsy-turvy time in England. He came in to try and save the Black Cats from relegation, and did so after just a few games in charge towards the end of the 2014/15 campaign.
After 19 games, however, Advocaat won just four and lost nine, scoring only 25 goals along the way. He resigned just two months into the new season.
Martin Jol
One of the Tottenham Hotspur’s best managers before the Mauricio Pochettino days, Martin Jol recorded 67 wins from 148 games with the club and finished in the Europa League spot twice in a row during a three-season stay. Considering the club finished 11th and 8th in the following seasons without him, it’s fair to say he was their best man in the 2000s.
He joined Fulham in 2011, and it was a successful first season as the Cottagers finished only 12 points off the Europa League spot. But after finishing 12th the following campaign and a poor start to the 2013/14 season, he was sacked after 113 games and 47 defeats.
-Grant McQuillan
Twitter: @Grant_McQuillan