Looking back: Ronald Koeman's retirement as a professional footballer in 1997

In the spring of 1997, an era came to an end: Ronald Koeman hung up his football boots. At the age of 34, the 1988 European champion thought it was enough. Koeman ended his impressive career at Feyenoord, after successful periods at FC Groningen, Ajax, PSV and Barcelona.

Koeman took his first steps in professional football in 1980 at FC Groningen. There, the then seventeen-year-old Koeman made his debut as a midfielder in the starting line-up. Looking back, Koeman said that he had to hold his own early on among the older players: 'During the training I was tackled hard by the experienced men, but I was able to fight back well. That was the only way to survive.'

After his debut, Koeman ended up back in the C-team for a while, but eventually he fought his way back into the selection. Koeman, proud of his Groningen background, indicated that the public always supported him and that the confidence in a professional career was there early. His father was a professional football player and together with his brother Erwin he attended all the training sessions as a child. He took that passion with him during his foreign adventure at Barcelona and later at Feyenoord, where he often took his son to training.

Not only were there individual successes, family rivalry also played a role. On June 6, 1981 there was a special match between the Koeman brothers. During the promotion match, Ronald, as a Groningen player, stood his ground against his older brother Erwin, who played for PSV at the time. Ronald won the brotherly duel this time and thus contributed to FC Groningen's Eredivisie retention.

It is striking that Ronald, as a youth player, never played through all the Dutch teams, unlike his brother. "I was often close to it, but was always just not selected," Koeman looked back on those years. Yet he eventually managed to develop into one of the best defenders and later trainers in Dutch football history.