Koeman's exit exposed by Monterrey loss in his final match, Mossou says

Ronald Koeman's spell as Netherlands manager concluded Monday night with a loss in Monterrey, a defeat that journalist Sjoerd Mossou describes as a painful farewell exposing the coach's dated Dutch pragmatism and lack of ambition that defined his final years.

Mossou the contract ended Monday night with a "treurspel" in Monterrey and that the match against Morocco revealed Koeman's approach as "dated Dutch robustness, fear‑wrapping in pragmatism, football like a fantasieless 70s row house".

He notes that despite a selection full of top players from the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, Koeman never managed to beat a top nation during his recent years in charge.

Mossou acknowledges Koeman's half‑century of respectable achievements in top‑level football, but argues that his last period lacked any development, structure or "schwung".

The columnist adds that Koeman may be a house friend of the Cruijff family, yet he is far from a true Cruijffian, reacting out of fear and imposing a system the Netherlands had not used for years, merely to limit damage.

Comparing the two coaches, Mossou claims Louis van Gaal was the superior figure on all fronts, pointing out that Van Gaal worked in 2014 and 2022 with teams that were qualitatively more limited yet achieved better outcomes.

He concludes that the biggest tragedy of Koeman's trek through the United States and Mexico was the absence of "holy fire", noting Koeman's defensive reply to criticism: "That doesn't interest me point by point", and labeling his style flat, conservative and uninspired.