Koeman comes to Feyenoord's aid

'Very proud'
"I am very proud that a club like Feyenoord have come in for me," said Koeman, the 43-year-old elder brother of former Ajax boss Ronald. "It is a fantastic challenge. The fact the management of such a huge club have shown faith in me really means something."

RKC impress
Koeman guided Waalwijk to ninth place in the Eredivisie this season in his first stint as a head coach. He started his coaching career with PSV Eindhoven's reserves in 2000 before becoming assistant first-team coach at the Philips Stadion from 2001-04.

Playing success
Koeman played for FC Groningen, PSV and Belgian side KV Mechelen, with whom he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1988. He was also a Dutch international and was in the team that Gullit captained to the UEFA European Championship in 1988.

Ideal candidate
Gullit left Feyenoord after a disappointing season in which Feyenoord finished fourth, 25 points behind champions PSV. Feyenoord technical director Mark Wotte said Koeman had been their first choice and was the ideal candidate to put the club back on track.

'Regain lost ground'
"We believe Feyenoord will regain lost ground under Erwin Koeman's command," Wotte said. "But we had to pay RKC Waalwijk a fee because Erwin was still under contract until 2007 and this morning we reached an agreement with Ruud Gullit's lawyer about the settlement of his contract which was due to finish next summer."

'Tough to leave'
Koeman added: "RKC didn't make it difficult. They understood that this was an enormous career step for me, but it is still tough to leave them so soon."