| Reading time: 2 minutes
Messi’s whereabouts? Ronald Koeman is thrilled
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has praised superstar Lionel Messi in the highest tones. He is the best player in the world, said Koeman of the exceptional player from Argentina, who after much speculation will play for Barça in the coming season and has been back in training this week.
In the first game under the new coach Ronald Koeman, FC Barcelona knows how to convince. Lionel Messi, willing to change, is there as captain. And the ex-Dortmund Ousmane Dembélé is also attracting attention.
Welt footballer Lionel Messi led FC Barcelona to victory as captain in their first test match in preparation for the new season. With a 3-1 win over Gimnàstic de Tarragona, Barça got off to a good start into the era under the new coach Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman had taken over from Quique Setién, from whom the Catalans parted after the disastrous 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Although the season in Spain started this weekend with a goalless draw between SD Eibar and Celta Vigo, FC Barcelona will only start the new season on September 27 with a home game against Villarreal.
Again with the joy of playing: Lionel Messi
Source: AFP
Previously, Messi, who was originally willing to change, had given in to the transfer posse with his club. The six-time world footballer had to bow to the will of his club and will now stay in Barcelona at least until the end of the season in accordance with his contract.
Dembélé’s strong performance
When Koeman made his debut on the Catalan national holiday, the ex-Dortmund Ousmane Dembélé, who played his first game since November 2019 and took the Barça lead after just five minutes, caught the eye. Ten minutes later, the Frenchman Antoine Griezmann with the new number 7 on the jersey extended the lead with a converted penalty.
After the guests scored, Koeman brought a completely different team onto the field in the second half, including Philippe Coutinho, who had returned from Bayern on loan. The decision came from an own goal by the visitors after a cross from Nelson Semedo.
Starkes Comeback: Ousmane Dembélé
Quelle: Getty Images
After two days of individual training, Messi trained with the entire FC Barcelona team for the first time on Wednesday. The 33-year-old, who had assumed last week that he could leave his long-term club and skipped a corona test and the following group training, was fully back to business, wrote the sports newspaper “AS”.
After the debut, the newspaper ruled that Messi had promised to give everything for Barcelona in his final year of contract. The next few weeks will show to what extent this is true after the last disappointing performance and the embarrassment against FC Bayern in the Champions League.
.
