Koeman: “The club hasn’t told me anything, but I have ears and eyes”

Ronald Koeman does not know if this Saturday he will face his last game as a Barça coach, although he cannot sit on the bench of the Wanda Metropolitano due to suspension and his position will be occupied by his second, Alfred Schreuder, or if this Friday was his last appearance against the media in the preview of a game, but he imagines it. «The club has not told me anything. It is true that the president was there this morning. I haven’t seen him, but I have ears and eyes. It is something that may be true, but nobody has told me anything, “he insisted.

Koeman, rather joking, entered the press room paraphrasing Van Gaal. “Dear friends of the press, how good to see you,” he joked. And he responded with “I’m still staying” when asked about his continuity. He does not say it openly but assumes that everything depends on whether the board of directors manages to find a substitute for him during the league break for the matches of the national teams.

Already in a more solemn tone, Koeman responded with “I will not answer this” when asked if he felt that he had been disrespected. He avoided defining exactly how his relationship with President Joan Laporta is, but in his gestures he did make it clear that, obviously, he is not going through a good time.

“It could be better,” he acknowledged, before returning to claim his work. I want this club. I came in a very complicated situation and now it is even more so. I’m sick of defending myself. People who know, can analyze the situation of the club, “stressed the Dutchman, annoyed at considering that from the highest spheres they have not supported him like him, nothing self-critical, he believes he deserves.

For the momentous match against Atlético, Koeman recovers Jordi Alba, who received a medical discharge, but Pedri causes a loss due to injury. The canary relapses of his muscular injury in the quadriceps of the left thigh and neither will be able to attend the call of the Spanish team to play the ‘final four’ of the League of Nations. After receiving the go-ahead from doctors and recoveries to return, Pedri played 68 minutes against Benfica.

Different styles

Koeman warned that Barcelona and Atlético defend two very different styles. “They have been champions last year because they are very competitive. It is difficult to create opportunities for them. We will have fewer chances than against Benfica and we must be fine in the last pass. If there are two or three occasions it is necessary to mark », he insisted.

He returned to defend his style again. As his situation is, he will not back down and will die with his principles. «We are going to recover important people upstairs. We will continue with our plan, although I already know that everything depends on the results. But I want to say that the template is what it is. We always talk about the system, but it is not the system, it is the type of players we have. If there are no extremes of speed, 4-3-3 is very difficult. Things are missing, but if we can recover the attackers we will have a strong squad and the youngsters are asking for ground. That is very important, “he remarked.

Koeman is still at Barça and it shouldn’t be time to take stock yet, but he didn’t put any problem when it came to expressing his best and worst moment at the club “The best is the day I signed. The worst, the departure of Messi, “he confessed.