Ronald Cooman: biography, photo

Everyone knows that the ancestors of football are the British. But what can not be said is that the representatives of Foggy Albion are the strongest players, because there are a lot of countries in Europe where football is the sport of number one. One of these powers can be considered Holland. It was on this earth that some of the greatest football players of the world were born, including the legendary Ronald Kuman. About his life and sports career will be discussed in our article.

Birth

The future wizard of the ball was born in the city of Zandam on March 21, 1963. However, just a few months after his birth, Ronald Kuman and his family moved to a town called Groningen, located in the north-east of the country. The reason for this move was the signing of the contract by the head of the family with a football club from this city. Therefore, we can say with confidence that our hero, like his "colleague in the shop" Italian Paolo Maldini, is the representative of the whole football dynasty.

Childhood

It's easy to guess that the young Dutchman quickly became attached to the "game of millions." He and his elder brother Ervin from early years became players of the children's team "Helpman". And the brothers played pretty well then, apparently, after all, genetics has done its work. When they reached adolescence, they found themselves in Groningen, a club where by then their father had become one of the coaches. It is noteworthy that Ronald Kuman quickly became physically and technically stronger than his elder brother. Their game was also different: Erwin preferred a technical game with a long hold on the ball and a subsequent sharp pas. Ronald, in turn, was more straightforward, but at the same time and much more reliable in defense. He could not pass almost no attacker. Not surprisingly, as a result, the younger representative of the family became a defender.

Special talent

Ronald Kuman, whose striking force was simply prohibitive, and the accuracy was beyond praise, very often during his playing career was involved in punched free punches. For the Dutchman, there was no problem hammering the ball into the goal from a distance of 30 meters or more. Many goalkeepers were afraid of him. And once he even managed to score a goal, punched the free kick from forty-four meters.

Confrontation with brother

Ronald Koeman quite often during his performances played against his older brother. So, for example, in the 1980-1981 season, playing for Groningen, Ronald acted as an opponent for Erwin, who at the time defended PSV Eindhoven. The match ended with the victory of the Ronald team with a score of 2: 0.

First successes

In 19 years, Ronald literally plunged the football community of Holland. He succeeded in something that no one had ever done before from defenders: he scored 15 goals per season. This result is quite respectable for attackers. The first season at a high level was successful for the child prodigy.

Debut in the national team

On April 27, 1983, the Kumana brothers first entered the field in the form of their national team. Erwin was then at the position of the left midfielder, and Ronald served as the so-called "cleaner". That game can not be called successful for the Dutch, because they lost to the Swedes with a score of 3: 0. But nevertheless the family tandem continued to continue to play for the main team of the country. In addition, Ronald was offered to go to the legendary "Ajax", which he did not fail to take advantage of, leaving the average "Groningen".

Stunning achievements

Already in the first season for himself in "Ajax" Kuman Ronald, photo of which is given below, became one of the most effective players of the club. He managed to score 9 goals, while the then leader of the team Marco van Basten scored 23 goals at the gate of rivals. But even more effectively Ronald showed himself in PSV Eindhoven, where he spent three seasons, starting in 1986. During this period, the defender was able to score 51 goals. The club at the same time became a two-time champion of Holland and the owner of the Cup of the country, and in 1988 the team won the European Cup, beating the Portuguese "Benfica" in the final fight. Then the next meeting of brothers took place on the football field. Erwin, speaking for the Belgian "Mechelen", won the Cup Cup Winners' Cup. As a result, the Belgian and Dutch teams, for which Ronald spoke, determined the strongest club on the continent, having held two meetings. The result of the confrontation was the victory of "Mechelen" with a score of 3: 2.

Moving to Catalonia

The best goals of Ronald Koeman fell on the period of his performances for the Spanish "Barcelona". In this club, the Dutchman was invited by Johan Cruyff. In the team, Kuman was given the role of a free defender familiar to him, who, if necessary, made sorties into someone else's penalty area, punched on goal from a distant distance, and executed free punches. Already in the first season, speaking for the "blue-garnet", Ronald scored 14 goals, which was just one goal less than the best result of the team, which belongs to Julio Salinas. Four years in a row, "Barca" was the strongest in her country.

On May 20, 1992, Cooman scored a goal that entered his name in gold letters in the history of football. That night, the final of the European Champions Cup was held. The venue is Wembley (London). In extra time, the Dutchman brilliantly executed a free-kick and scored a goal against the Italian "Sampdoria", which brought victory to his club. In the same year, "Barcelona" became the owner of the Super Cup, after the German "Werder Bremen". But two years later, Kumana was facing a tough test, as the Catalans were defeated by Milan 4-0 in the final of the European Champions Cup.

As a player Ronald completed his career in the Dutch "Feyenoord", after spending two seasons there and scoring 19 goals. If you add up all the goals that he scored for all the performances in the Netherlands and Spain, you will get the result of 193 goals. According to this indicator, Kuman went around many attackers.

For the national team, the legendary football player played 78 matches and scored 14 goals. In all official games, Kuman scored 252 goals, which is an absolute record for the defender for the entire football history.

Coaching activities

Ronald Koeman is a coach who already today can boast of serious achievements. He began training in 1997. In the period from 2001 to 2005 he was at the helm of the Amsterdam "Ajax", which twice during this time won the national championship, as well as the Dutch Super Cup.

In 2005, under his leadership, the Portuguese "Benfica" won the national Super Cup.

To date, England - this is the country where Ronald Koeman lives and works. "Southampton" is the same club in which he is the head coach. He was appointed to this post on June 16, 2014. The Dutchman's contract with this team is valid until the end of June 2017.

The successful work of a specialist from the Country of Roses did not go unnoticed, and by the end of January 2016 he was recognized as the best coach of the English Premier League.

Few facts

At the World Championship held in 1994 in the United States, they sold the original cocktail called "Kuman's Thunder".

Ronald - the second footballer for the entire football era, who played in three major Dutch clubs: "PSV", "Ajax" and "Feyenoorde."

A mop of reddish-blond hair brought Kumana a sonorous nickname Snowball.

In his entire career, Ronald had no serious health problems. Only in the season of 1990-1991 he missed a few weeks because of a small damage.