Frank Rijkaard, former coach of FC Barcelona, has refused to lead the Netherlands, according to De Telegraaf. The one who was already national coach between 1998 and 2000, had received a proposal from the KNVB (the Royal Dutch Football Association) to be the replacement for Ronald Koeman, precisely new coach of the club culé.
The Dutch coach does not have the strength to return to professional football as a coach. This had already been announced a few years ago, when he declared that he did not have the “ambition” to return to the profession. After passing through FC Barcelona, with which he won the second Champions League in the history of the Catalan club, Rijkaard went through the Turkish Galatasaray bench, to later finish his career as a coach as the coach of Saudi Arabia. Since he was fired in 2013, he has not managed any team again, and everything indicates that he will not do it again.
According to KNVB Directors Eric Gudde and Nico-Jan Hoogma, Rijkaard was the ideal candidate to lead the Dutch National Team and someone who perfectly matched the profile they'd drawn after Koeman's departure. The team's board of players also agreed that he was chosen. Now, the association is focused on convincing the next candidate on the list, with whom they have already had contact. They hope to present him for the next international matches, which the Netherlands will play against Mexico, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy in October.