He's back: Ronald Koeman will be the coach of the Netherlands national team from 2023.

After leaving FC Barcelona with poor results, Ronald Koeman is smiling again. The Dutch coach will return to lead the Netherlands national team starting on January 1, 2023, taking over from Louis Van Gaal, who is suffering from an aggressive form of cancer and will retire from the position after the end of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Koeman, who has been without a job since being dismissed from the Catalan team, has signed a contract for the next four years, until the 2026 World Cup to be held in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. This will be his second term leading the Netherlands national team, as he previously managed them from February 2018 to August 2020 before leaving to coach Barcelona.

During that period, the Dutch national team regained their good play and qualified for the 2020 Euro Cup after missing out on the previous edition and the 2018 World Cup.

I am looking forward to this new collaboration. Just over a year and a half ago, I didn't really leave the Dutch national team because I was unhappy. My time there was good, the results were good, and my relationship with the players was also good, and soon we will continue on that path," Koeman said on the website of the Netherlands Football Federation (KNVB).

Marianne van Leeuwen, director of the Dutch federation, commented that the negotiations for Koeman's return began in mid-January, less than three months after his dismissal as coach of FC Barcelona.

"I didn't want to wait to complete the succession of Louis Van Gaal. After all, the handover will come at an atypical time, at the end of the calendar year, a period when the best coaches are under contract," said Van Leeuwen.