Erwin Koeman becomes one of Ronald Koeman’s assistants when his brother succeeds Louis van Gaal as national coach of Orange after the World Cup in Qatar (in November and December).
The 60-year-old Erwin Koeman signs a contract with Orange until the 2026 World Cup. Patrick Lodewijks will also be working with Koeman again. De Brabander becomes a goalkeeper coach for the Dutch national team.
“We will soon start with a new staff, where quality and experience count heavily for me. I’ve worked a lot with Erwin and Patrick before, so then you know what you can do with each other. The three and a half years with Erwin in England have taught me that he has a good view of things and that we also work in a complementary way. Patrick is a professional when it comes to goalkeeping matters. That was already clear to me during our periods at Feyenoord, Everton and earlier the Dutch national team,” said Ronald Koeman.
Erwin Koeman
Erwin Koeman played 31 international matches for the Orange squad and, like his brother, was part of the team that won the European Championship in 1988. The eldest of the brothers worked as a head coach and assistant at, among others, RKC Waalwijk, Feyenoord, FC Utrecht, Southampton, Everton and Fenerbahçe. He himself was national coach of Hungary and Oman.
Erwin Koeman underwent heart surgery in the summer of 2020 and returned to football a year later as the trainer of Beitar Jerusalem. At the end of last year, Koeman left Israel. He then told that his career as a head coach was over. “It’s hard, but I’m doing this for personal reasons,” he said at the time. “It’s time to retire.”
Patrick Lodewijks
Lodewijks kept goals for PSV, FC Groningen and Feyenoord and worked as a goalkeeper coach with Ronald Koeman at Feyenoord, Everton and in his first period with the Orange squad. De Brabander starts his third period as goalkeeper coach with the national team. Lodewijks left after the European Championships last year.
Van Gaal has Danny Blind and Edgar Davids as assistants, Frans Hoek is the current goalkeeper coach of Orange. Davids was recently appointed as Henk Fraser’s successor.