Thursday 23 October 2014 16:35, UK
Ronald Koeman’s successful start to life as Southampton manager has come as no surprise to Feyenoord’s international relations manager Gido Vader.
Koeman left Feyenoord to take over at Southampton last summer and has guided the south coast club to third in the Premier League.
Vader credits Koeman with also reviving Feyenoord’s fortunes and revealed he hopes the former Ajax and Valencia boss will return to the dugout at De Kuip stadium at some stage.
“Ronald is doing well at Southampton and I didn’t expect anything different. He is a great manager,” Vader told Sky Sports.
“They are a great club with very loyal fans like ours and Ronald has already proved that it is a skill to be a manager. It’s not just about throwing money around, there is something more behind it.
“When he came to Feyenoord we were in the middle of a difficult spell. He hadn’t had the best of results at his last teams so we basically came back to life together.
“We owe a great deal to him for that because within a year he moulded a team that came second and had a chance of winning the championship.
“We both acknowledge that and we were very proud to see him make that step. We wish him all the best at Southampton and as he said himself once you’re a Feyenoorder you are always a Feyenoorder so maybe he will come back one day.”
Vader also believes the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) missed a trick by opting to replace former manager Louis van Gaal with Guus Hiddink rather than Koeman.
He added: “I only wish the Dutch FA had been smarter and picked Ronald to be the national team manager because he would have been the right man for the job. I think he deserved the job but I’m happy for the people at Southampton because he is doing so well.”
