Bert van Marwijk has resigned as coach for the Dutch national football team. The Dutch football association and the trainer took the decision on Wednesday evening at Van Marwijk’s initiative. His contract was due to end after the 2016 European Championships.

The Dutch team were among the favourites to win Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, but were knocked out of the competition in the group phase, after losing all three games against Denmark, Germany and Portugal. After the elimination, Van Marwijk said he “had failed”. He had two evaluation meetings with the KNVB on returning to the Netherlands. The football association called the meetings “open, frank and constructive”. On Wednesday, Van Marwijk decided there was no reason to continue.

Two years ago, the story was quite different. Van Marwijk took Holland to the final of the World Cup in South Africa and the Dutch were even ranked best team in the world after the Spanish started slipping down the ranks at one point. Van Marwijk helped Holland convincingly secure a place in this year’s European Championships, but the competition ended in disappointment.