Barcelona should have sacked Ronald Koeman earlier, says former Liverpool manager Arsene Wenger. There is no doubt that the Dutchman was not performing well enough on the pitch at all since his arrival in Catalonia and this has led to criticism from some quarters.
The “what happened to ronald koeman” is a question that has been on many people’s minds. Barcelona should have sacked Ronald Koeman sooner, but it was too late for him.
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Barcelona’s “drifting dangerously” under Ronald Koeman, according to Joan Laporta, who admits he should have fired the Dutch coach before Wednesday’s loss to Rayo Vallecano.
After a 1-0 setback in Vallecas in midweek, Barca president Laporta fired Koeman, leaving Barca in ninth place in the league with only two victories in their past seven games.
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Koeman, who won the Copa del Rey in his debut season at Camp Nou, had also presided over a dreadful start to Barca’s Champions League campaign, with the Catalans picking up only three points from their first three games.
Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez has been set up to replace Koeman, according to ESPN sources, however Laporta would not comment on talks to bring the club star back to Camp Nou.
After dismissing Koeman on the aircraft back from Madrid on Wednesday, Laporta stated in a press conference on Friday that the decision “very probably came late.”
“We should have removed him sooner, but with hindsight, it’s easy to analyze things.” When we supported him in September [just before the international break], we thought he deserved to be given an opportunity to bring the injured players back.
“I accept responsibility for failing to make the choice sooner. After beating Valencia and Dynamo Kiev, we had a string of poor performances. We were on the verge of losing contact in all of our contests because we were drifting dangerously.
“We’re thankful to Ronald for taking on the position at such a tough time. He’s a club guy, and here is where he’ll always call home. He’s a Barca icon in our eyes, but if he hasn’t been retained in the post, it’s due to poor outcomes. The situation was untenable, and we believed that failing to act would jeopardize our prospects of accomplishing our goals, which include competing for every prize.”
Only two of Ronald Koeman’s last seven games in command of Barcelona were victories. Getty Images/Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto
Xavi, who left Barcelona in 2015 and has been coaching in Qatar since 2019, is the favorite to succeed Koeman, with sources telling ESPN that discussions to bring him back to the club are far advanced.
When questioned about Xavi, Laporta replied, “I’m going to keep my mouth shut about the choices we have on the table because it may jeopardize the appointment process.”
However, the Barca president said that he has been in communication with Xavi on a daily basis in recent months and that he feels the former midfielder, who played 767 times for the club, is ready for the role.
“As a coach, Xavi is doing nicely,” Laporta remarked. “I have excellent recommendations from individuals who are more knowledgeable than I am in that area. I communicate with him on a regular basis. Despite what certain media sites have reported, we have and always have had a terrific relationship.
“I know what he thinks about our team and what we need to accomplish, and I respect his perspective.” He is a fantastic instructor in my view. I haven’t seen [many of his games] with Al Sadd, but I have witnessed Barca games with him on the phone.
“But I’d rather not talk about Xavi. He’s a possibility, but we have a few others.”
According to sources, Xavi’s quick hiring has been stalled at the Qatari end, with Al Sadd eager for him to supervise their next two games. Before a one-month break, they play Al Ahli on Saturday and then Al-Duhail in a match that sets the top two in the Qatar Stars League against each other.
Meanwhile, Sergi Barjuan, the B team coach, has been selected as Barca’s temporary manager, with Laporta stating that he would be in charge for Saturday’s match against Alaves and Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Kiev.
In an interview with Laporta, Barjuan announced that Ansu Fati would miss the Alaves game due to a knee ailment, but also disclosed that Ousmane Dembele might make his season debut after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Frenkie de Jong is also expected to miss out due to a hamstring issue, while Pedri, Ronald Araujo, and Martin Braithwaite are all still injured.
Barca sit in ninth place in La Liga with 15 points from ten games, nine points behind Real Sociedad, who have played one more game.
Barcelona should have sacked Ronald Koeman sooner. The Dutchman has been in charge for just five months, and his side are already out of the Champions League. Reference: barcelona coach.
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