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Tag: koeman

  • Again, Ronald Koeman slams Barca president Laporta

    Again, Ronald Koeman slams Barca president Laporta

    Former Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has taken a new swipe at president Joan Laporta.

    Koeman has recalled how he was axed earlier this season.

    He said, “How did Laporta fire me? One thing that hurt me was that the players were sitting behind us on the plane, while I had to go sit next to him.

    “He is always saying it, that I am a legend of the club… Prove it then!

    “I immediately understood that I was not Laporta’s coach. He didn’t choose me. They didn’t give me the same time they are giving Xavi. Then he told me a thousand times that he would never choose him because he lacked experience. However, I am happy that the team is better now, I also see (Frenkie) De Jong more involved in the game.”

  • Ronald Koeman didn’t deserve Barca sack – Jordi Alba

    Ronald Koeman didn’t deserve Barca sack – Jordi Alba

    Barcelona fullback Jordi Alba insists former coach Ronald Koeman didn’t deserve to be sacked.

    Despite being dismissed and replaced by Xavi Hernandez, leaving the Blaugrana in a troubled position domestically and in the Champions League, Alba didn’t want to have a bad word said about his former coach.

    “No,” Alba said, asked if he thought the change to Xavi should have been made earlier. “I think Koeman did a very good job.

    “We won the Copa Del Rey when nobody expected us to, and every coach has their own style. I’m grateful to Koeman for what he did with me and the whole team.”

    Despite his affection for Koeman, Alba did express his excitement with Xavi’s arrival on the bench.

    “Now we have a new coach because the president decided to have one and I’m happy that Xavi is here,” Alba added. “He had to come here, because he knows the club.

    “I’m very happy with his arrival and I’m sure he’ll help us a lot.”

    Speaking more about Xavi, Alba admitted that he has limited knowledge of the former midfielder as a coach.

    “I’ve only known him [as a coach] for a week,” Alba said. “He was always very intensely into football as a player, and now as a coach.

    “He has emphasised the importance of talking to everyone, especially those who don’t play.

    “That’s a positive for the whole team to buy into and to get back to being ourselves. We did well against Espanyol, now we have to improve a lot. I think he has good ideas.”

  • La Liga: I should’ve sacked Koeman earlier – Laporta

    La Liga: I should’ve sacked Koeman earlier – Laporta

    Barcelona president Joan Laporta has explained his decision to sack Ronald Koeman.

    Laporta was clear that the targets for this season did not look like they were going to be met.

    “The situation was not sustainable. We needed to act. We were not on course to achieve the objectives of the season, which is to win trophies,” he stated.

    Laporta nevertheless feels that the sacking of Koeman could have arrived a little earlier.

    “Possibly we should have dismissed Koeman earlier and I take responsibility for that,” the Barcelona president commented.

    “We beat Dynamo [Kyiv] and Valencia but the situation was unsustainable. We thought he needed backing. But we were drifting.”

  • La Liga: Barcelona sack Koeman after Rayo Vallecano defeat

    La Liga: Barcelona sack Koeman after Rayo Vallecano defeat

    La Liga club Barcelona have announced the sacking of coach Ronald Koeman.

    The board has relieved the Dutchman of his duties as head coach on Wednesday following the 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.

    After months of speculation regarding his future, the defeat to Real Madrid in Sunday’s Clasico coupled with the loss away at Rayo on Wednesday proved to be the final straw.

    Despite Koeman being a club legend himself during his playing days, a disappointing end to the 2020/21 LaLiga Santander campaign, coupled with an even worse start to the current season – where Barcelona find themselves ninth in the table – convinced the board that the Dutchman would not be able to turn the tide.

    In a statement on Wednesday evening, Barca announced:

    “FC Barcelona has relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first team coach. The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva.

    “FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the Club and wishes him all the best in his professional career.”

  • I want to enjoy my time left at Barca – Koeman

    I want to enjoy my time left at Barca – Koeman

    Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman says he wants to “enjoy the time I have left” as Blaugrana manager as he faces mounting pressure following the defeat by Real Madrid in El Clasico.

    Barca were beaten 2-1 at home by their biggest rivals on Sunday, which leaves them ninth in La Liga.

    They travel to in-form Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday and Koeman says his side “cannot afford back-to-back losses”.

    “I’m a grown up and I know how these things work,” Koeman said on Tuesday.

    “I want to enjoy the time that I have left, if it is eight years, six months, one year, or some weeks. I think it’s important that we win this game in Madrid, we cannot afford back-to-back losses.”

  • La Liga: Barca players unhappy with coach, Ronald Koeman

    La Liga: Barca players unhappy with coach, Ronald Koeman

    Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman is losing support of the dressing room.

    AS says Koeman’s criticism of the players in public, along with some aspects in training, have left the players unimpressed.

    Barca players are baffled by Koeman’s refusal to prepare for opposition teams in terms of playing style and tactics.

    However, it is the coach’s public criticism which has frustrated players most.

    Koeman hammering Nico Gonzalez after defeat at Atletico Madrid has not gone down well. Indeed, the senior leadership group have already had one player speak to Nico after the coach’s comments in order to assure him.

    Koeman said last week that winning the Champions League would be “a miracle” for Barcelona and was not so optimistic about their chances in LaLiga also. Comments which have left his squad unimpressed.

  • No manager could do better at Barca – Koeman

    No manager could do better at Barca – Koeman

    Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman insists no other manager could do better than he has with the current squad.

    Ahead of their Atletico Madrid clash this weekend, Koeman was asked if another coach would do better with Barca this season.

    “I don’t know what another coach would do, do I also have to talk about another coach? The squad in three months will be the same. There is a lot of talk about the system but the system is based on the players we have,” he said.

    “And we don’t have wingers with one on one and that’s why I put wing-backs. With the money bag I would still have Messi here. It is to prepare the game with what there is. If people recover we can have the strongest squad. But the young players deserve more opportunities.”

    Koeman was asked if he had been insulted.

    “No need to answer. What do you think? You are very important. You can help, you can criticise. It is not a question of being good or bad, it is the treatment.”

  • Changing Barca coach not the solution – De Jong

    Changing Barca coach not the solution – De Jong

    Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong insists coach Ronald Koeman should be kept on after their Champions League defeat to Benfica.

    De Jong was one of the better performers on a difficult night for Los Cules, however the club’s Champions League campaign is in danger of being a total disaster after losing to both Bayern Munich and Benfica in their opening two group-stage matches.

    “I don’t think changing the coach is the solution,” De Jong declared in his post-match interview.

    “I can’t talk about Koeman, it’s not my place.

    “We have to keep fighting, stay together and overcome this situation. We can only escape this with hard work and being united as a team.”

    De Jong felt that Barcelona’s performance in the first half wasn’t too bad, but it was the missed chances which cost the Blaugrana.

    “It’s a difficult moment right now, they scored the first goal very early,” he added.

    “That always makes things difficult.

    “In the first half we didn’t play badly; we created chances but we didn’t score. After the second goal the game was too open and we didn’t react well.”

  • Barca board to meet today about Koeman position

    Barca board to meet today about Koeman position

    Barcelona’s board are set to meet today to discuss coach Ronald Koeman’s future.

    Sport says Barcelona’s board of directors

    weren’t willing to make a decision on Koeman’s future while the team is still in Lisbon, despite the hammering Benfica handed them at the Stadium of Light.

    Any call on whether Koeman stays or goes before Saturday’s LaLiga game against Atletico Madrid will be made on Thursday instead.

    After the 3-0 loss to Benfica, Barça are in a complicated situation, bottom of their Champions League group with no points from two games.

    The club will now take some hours to reflect and on Thursday a decision could be made on Koeman’s future.

    The Dutchman’s been under pressure for weeks after dropped points against Granada and Cadiz, in addition to the defeat to Bayern Munich.

  • UCL: Benfica thrash Barca to heap pressure on Koeman

    UCL: Benfica thrash Barca to heap pressure on Koeman

    Benfica swept aside Barcelona to heap more pressure on boss Ronald Koeman, whose side have made their worst start to a Champions League campaign.

    Barca have lost their opening two matches for the first time, and sit bottom of Group E.

    Benfica opened the scoring inside three minutes, when Darwin Nunez cut inside and finished low into the near corner.

    Rafa Silva then clipped in a second and Nunez netted a penalty in a comfortable victory for the home side.

    Nunez also hit the post from out wide after rounding stranded Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who made a rash decision to charge out of his area.

    Luuk de Jong missed a glorious chance to level for the visitors early in the first half when presented with a seemingly open goal.

    Things got worse for Koeman and the La Liga side when Eric Garcia was sent off for a second booking with three minutes remaining.

    Defeat means Barcelona are in danger of failing to reach the knockout stage for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when they did not qualify for the Champions League.

    The last time they failed to progress from the first group stage when playing in the competition was in the 2000-01 campaign.