Dutch coach Ronald Koeman he has stopped directing FC Barcelona after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano (1-0), in the eleventh day of the Santander League, as reported this Thursday morning by the Barça club. Thus ends the stage of the hero of the first European Cup, which has lasted a little over a year.
“FC Barcelona has fired Ronald Koeman as first team coach tonight. The club’s president, Joan Laporta, has announced this after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Ronald Koeman will be fired from the squad this Thursday. Ciutat Esportiva: FC Barcelona would like to thank the club for its services and wish him the best of luck in his life and career “, the club said.
The former player arrived at Barça in August 2020 as a solution to the disaster of five days before in the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Bayern Munich and the remembered 2-8 that opened a institutional and sports crisis. Josep Maria Bartomeu, who in mid-January this year had entrusted the management to Quique Setién after dismissing Ernesto Valverde, also stopped the Cantabrian and opted for Koeman, who met with a complicated situation with the bureaufax of Leo Messi asking to leave the club.
“Everyone knows that Barça is my home, I will have the opportunity to coach a team as big as this. It’s a challenge, it’s not easy to be at Barcelona because you always demand the maximum. That’s how I like it, there’s quality enough to be able to demand maximum results and titles, “he said on the day of his presentation, after signing for two seasons.
Koeman was in charge of ending the stage as Barça of key figures such as Luis Suarez i Ivan Rakitic, and finally was able to count on Messi for the challenge of his first campaign, which also did not start in the best possible way.
Irregular in his football, started with a 4-3-3 and then changed sometimes to 3-5-2, Barça bounced back in the domestic tournament, while in the Champions League he was eliminated in the round of 16 against PSG, winner 1-4 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of the tie. In the King’s Cup he survived with agonizing goals before lifting the title, the only one in its stage, against an Athletic Club that had snatched the Spanish Super Cup.
And while trying to fight for the League, Koeman also had to contend with his future on the bench after Joan Laporta’s victory in the presidential election. The Dutch coach he was not the favorite of the new chief executive. However, he expressed his confidence in him, and the coach managed to get Barça to reach the final days ready to play for the league title. In fact, he had the option of becoming the leader, but lost at the Camp Nou to Granada (1-2) and signed a bad final straight that ended up leaving him third.
Laporta kept it
Despite this setback, the new president ended up reiterating his confidence in the Dutchman. “Koeman has shown what we already know, that he is a great professional. We had to look for solutions to the small differences we could have and they have led us to the conclusion that Koeman is the best for Barça,” he said after confirming a second year. of contract by the technician surrounded by doubts.
However, the club’s delicate financial situation was another slab for Koeman, who this time he did lose Messi; the last day of the market was also left without Antoine Griezmann. The start of the season, despite the hopeful 4-2 against Real Sociedad, did not go well and the Champions League debut against Bayern and the 0-3 ended with a message from the coach: “This is what ha “.
Another resounding defeat to Benfica (3-0) already put his position in question, however Laporta ratified it just before visiting the Metropolitan Wanda, where the Barça team left another poor image that ended in defeat (2-0). The victories against Valencia and Dinamo Kiev seemed to give him air, scarce because the defeats in the Classic and Vallecas have ended up making him fall.
Koeman leaves the Catalan team in the ninth position in the League, six points behind the leader. He has led 14 games this season with the three Champions League titles, with a record of five wins, three draws and six defeats, and has accumulated a total of 39 victories, 12 draws and 16 defeats during his time on the Barça bench. These are very poor figures for FC Barcelona, which is used to fighting for all the titles year after year; he now has to look for his third coach in less than two years to redirect his course. Xavi Hernández is Laporta’s favorite.
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