0:05 – Ronald Koeman has been fired as coach of FC Barcelona. The Catalan club announced in the night from Wednesday to Thursday that the contract of the Dutch coach has been torn up. The defeat against Rayo Vallecano (0-1) turned out to be the proverbial straw.
The Barcelona leadership convened an emergency meeting after the defeat in Vallecas, in which it was decided to say goodbye to Koeman. It was no longer believed that the Dutch trainer could turn the tide. In the Spanish League, Barcelona have won just four out of ten games this season, resulting in a disappointing ninth place. In the Champions League, Barça have to pull out all the stops to hibernate.
Barcelona is in a major sporting crisis, which cannot be separated from the worrisome financial situation. The club was forced to say goodbye to a lot of players last summer, including Lionel Messi. Everyone in Barcelona knew that the post-Messi era was going to be tough, but nevertheless, Barca were expected to rival Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Although the clubs from the Spanish capital have already dropped the necessary points, Barcelona is in even worse shape.
Koeman has been coach of Barcelona since the summer of 2020. In his first season, the Catalans won the Copa del Rey and competed for the Spanish title for a long time. Still, the Dutchman will be in the books as the worst trainer of the Catalan club of the last eighteen years. Under Koeman, Barcelona captured 94 points in 48 league games (28 wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats). That equates to an average of 1.96 points per game.
Successor
Now that Koeman is no longer a coach of Barcelona, the question arises: who will succeed him? Xavi is the favorite to fill the vacant position. Negotiations with the former midfielder and Al Sadd, his current club, are expected to open soon.
