#1 Ronald Koeman (Everton)
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Ronald Koeman was arguably the best player of the current bunch of Premier League managers. Son of Dutch footballer Martin Koeman, Ronald was a sweeper in the heart of the defence. He could defend, dictate play from the heart of midfield, score the occasional spectacular goal and shoot accurately from the spot. The former Southampton manager started his career at Groningen, his father’s former club before playing for the country’s ‘Big Three’ football clubs.
He played for a brief time at Ajax under Cruyff before making a controversial move to PSV Eindhoven, also earning a call-up to the national side then. Koeman eventually moved to Barcelona in 1989, reuniting with Cruyff as part of his ‘Dream Team’ alongside Guardiola. While his trophy count in Spain is similar to Pep’s, he has many more from his time in the Netherlands, especially a European Cup victory with PSV in 1988.
Koeman is famously remembered for his part in Netherland’s only major victory on the international stage when they won the 1988 European Championship. He also holds the record for the most goals scored by a defender. He is Barcelona’s all-time highest scoring defender with 90 goals and is second only to Lionel Messi when it comes to goals scored from free kicks with 26.
