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Tag: koeman

  • Ronald Koeman insists Benfica clash not decisive for Barca

    Ronald Koeman insists Benfica clash not decisive for Barca

    Manager Ronald Koeman insisted on Tuesday that FC Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League visit to Benfica could not be classed as decisive in the early stages of Group E.

    Barca endured a tough start to the Champions League against Bayern Munich, failing to attempt a shot on target for the first time in the competition since Opta records began in 2003/2004.

    The Catalan club are looking to avoid losing their first two matches in a European campaign for only the second time in their history.

    They have previously lost both legs of their UEFA Cup first-round tie with Porto way back in 1972/1973.

    However, Koeman was in confident mood ahead of the trip to Portugal after crushing Levante 3-0 on Sunday, while shunning claims that Wednesday’s tie was a must-win.

    “Impossible, it is the second of six, it cannot be decisive,” Koeman initially responded to reporters on Tuesday before outlining his intentions.

    “FC Barcelona always plays to win the game. Our intention is to control, have the ball and look for spaces with the players we have.

    “We expect a difficult game. I know the atmosphere that can be in the stadium and the strength that [Benfica] have at home.

    “They play at home, and they will have the environment in their favour, they will try attack to win. It is not a team that plays not to lose. And we have the same intention at home or away, to take control of the game to win.”

    Koeman remained secretive as to whether the recovering Ansu Fati, who has now been involved in 17 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions following his strike against Levante, would feature.

    Memphis Depay has scored in his past two games against Benfica in the competition.

    Now he is expected to lead the line once more, though he did not attempt a single shot on matchday one against Bayern Munich.

    Whoever Koeman selects up top, Blaugrana centre-back Ronald Araujo is backing his side to compete and challenge for titles in both the Champions League and La Liga this term.

    “We are FC Barcelona, and we have to aspire to all the titles,” Araujo told reporters.

    “We cannot go to see what happens, we have to go to win and try to win as many titles as we can.

    “It’s an important game against a great rival, but we are going to win. We come from a great game at the weekend and I think that’s the way to go. We have to go for the three points.”

  • Fati scores as Barca win eases pressure on Koeman

    Fati scores as Barca win eases pressure on Koeman

    Barcelona eased some pressure on absent manager Ronald Koeman with a comfortable La Liga victory over winless Levante at the Nou Camp.

    Memphis Depay’s sixth-minute penalty gave Barcelona the lead after the Dutch forward was fouled by Nemanja Radoja.

    Compatriot Luuk de Jong then raced on to Sergino Dest’s pass to score his first goal since joining on a season-long loan from Sevilla.

    Substitute Ansu Fati hit the third on his return from a long-term injury.

    Barcelona climb to fifth in La Liga and are five points behind leaders Real Madrid with a game in hand. Real were held by Villarreal on Saturday.

    The pressure had been growing on manager Koeman after two wins from five La Liga matches this season had left them well adrift of the early pacesetters.

    And although Koeman was absent from the dugout on Sunday, having been dismissed for dissent in Thursday’s goalless draw with Cadiz, his players had little trouble in putting an end to a three-game winless run in all competitions.

    Levante failed to register a shot until the 81st minute, while Depay was thwarted by several good saves from Aitor Fernandez.

    A return and goal for 18-year-old Fati – wearing Lionel Messi’s number 10 shirt on his first appearance since November 2020 after undergoing knee surgery – completed a fine success.

  • La Liga: I can’t win the battle with the press – Koeman

    La Liga: I can’t win the battle with the press – Koeman

    Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman blasted match referee Carlos del Cerro Grande after receiving a red card during his side’s 0-0 draw with Cadiz, claiming: “In this country, they send you off for nothing!”

    Barca extended their recent winless run to three matches in all competitions after a stalemate at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on Thursday night.

    “One of the problems is in Spain they send you off for nothing,” Koeman told La Liga TV. “They don’t say why, they just say attitude. Everyone saw the moment there was a second ball on the pitch. Everyone has to see that.

    “I am strong of course. I can’t win the battle with the press. I will put my energy into the team and with the players. I still see a fantastic attitude of the players and for me that is most important. I can’t stop what the press are writing. We have to continue, that is my job.”

    The pressure is building on Koeman after a start to the season which has seen the Catalan giants draw three of their first five league games and lose 3-0 to Bayern Munich in their opening Champions League group-stage game last week.

    The former Barcelona midfielder has not been helped by the club’s perilous financial position, which saw Lionel Messi exit the club in the summer and has left the manager with a young and inexperienced squad.

    TheNewsGuru reported earlier that, Thierry Henry has emerged as a candidate for Ronald Koeman’s job at Camp Nou, his name has been raised inside Barca boardroom.

    Henry is currently assistant coach to Roberto Martinez with Belgium national team.

  • Koeman sent off as Barca play goalless draw

    Koeman sent off as Barca play goalless draw

    The pressure continued to grow on Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman after his side were held to a frustrating goalless draw at lowly Cadiz.

    Frenkie de Jong’s red card saw the visitors play the last 25 minutes with 10 men, with Koeman dismissed in the dying seconds for dissent.

    Barcelona now have just two wins from five La Liga matches as speculation mounts over Koeman’s future.

    Memphis Depay went closest for Barca, miskicking from just yards out.

    But it could have been worse for a visiting side lacking any creativity, as they needed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to pull off several impressive saves late on.

    Koeman was left furious after two harsh yellow cards for De Jong in four minutes after the break led to Cadiz creating numerous late chances to win the game, having defended deep for the majority.

    Alvaro Negredo, Salvi Sanchez and Anthony Lozano were all denied by Ter Stegen, while at the other end Depay was guilty of squandering several good opportunities for a Barcelona side lacking in quality but full of fight.

    The frustration got the better of Koeman in injury time as he was sent from the sidelines for arguing against a late booking for Sergio Busquets.

  • Barca board discussing Thierry Henry to replace Koeman

    Barca board discussing Thierry Henry to replace Koeman

    Former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry has emerged as a candidate for Ronald Koeman’s job at Camp Nou.

    Henry is currently assistant coach with Belgium and Mundo Deportivo says his name has been raised inside Barca as a replacement for Koeman.

    Despite his struggles with AS Monaco and Montreal Impact, Henry is regarded highly at Barca after his time with the club.

    It’s been suggested Koeman could be sacked if Barca lose tonight against Cadiz.

    For his part, Henry has stated he’s happy to keep the door open to a return to club management while working for Belgium.

  • Messi was a tyrant in training – Ronald Koeman

    Messi was a tyrant in training – Ronald Koeman

    Ronald Koeman says Lionel Messi was like “a tyrant” during training at Barcelona.

    The Argentina star raised the bar at the Camp Nou club as he developed into one of the greatest to ever play the game before departing to join Paris Saint-Germain this year.

    Barca coach Koeman has lifted the lid on the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s conduct during practices with the team, revealing he would get very angry if he did not win games during the sessions.

    “Lionel Messi has obscured everything. He was so good and he won,” he told Voetbal International.

    “Of course he had good players around him, but he made the difference. Everyone seems better than they are because of him. This is not a criticism, but an observation.

    “I knew how good he is, but it’s still nice to see it up close every day. Everything you would like to teach a football player, in recognising situations, in taking the ball under pressure, in ball speed, in finishing; with Messi everything is a 10. Not normal, not normal!

    “When we did a finishing practice during training, there were sometimes players who started to hit easy balls, a bit of fooling around. But with Messi everything was: boom, boom, boom, boom. Never frills, everything functional. And always wanted to win everything.

    “We always play a rondo before training. If the ball goes around 20 times, then the players in the middle must have an extra turn. If that happens three times in a row, the players will form two lines and the two who were in the middle then walk through and get taps on their heads and such.

    “I asked Messi if it had happened to him once. ‘Yes, once,’ he said. In all those years. With him, the older players never lost an exercise against the young. It happened once and Messi was seriously angry about that for a week. Really, a tyrant.”

  • Ronald Koeman walks out of news conference

    Ronald Koeman walks out of news conference

    Ronald Koeman did not answer questions at an FC Barcelona news conference on Wednesday, instead reading out an earlier prepared statement.

    FC Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Granada at Camp Nou on Monday, with Koeman’s team resorting to desperate measures to rescue a point courtesy of centre-back Ronald Araujo.

    With Lionel Messi having left due to Barca’s dire financial circumstances, the Blaugrana also allowed Antoine Griezmann to rejoin Atletico Madrid late in August.

    They now look far off mounting a title challenge in LaLiga this season.

    The club also lost their opening UEFA Champions League match, going down 0-3 to Bayern Munich.

    Koeman seems to be under mounting pressure, with president Joan Laporta reportedly keen to replace the Dutchman.

    Roberto Martinez has been touted as a potential replacement.

    However, reports suggest Koeman would be set for a large pay-off should he be dismissed, casting doubt over Barca’s ability to change coach.

    Koeman was set to face the media on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s league meeting with Cadiz, but instead he refused to answer questions and read from a statement.

    In the statement, he urged Barca fans to have patience with the process and insisted that the club’s hierarchy was behind him.

    “Good morning everyone, the club is with me in a situation of rebuilding,” Koeman said.

    “The financial situation of the club is linked to the sporting activities and vice versa, and this means that we have to rebuild the team without being able to make any big financial investments.

    “This needs time, the young talent today can end up being the next big stars in just the next few years. The good thing is that young people will be able to have opportunities like Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta had in their day, but we must ask for patience.

    “What’s more, to remain in a high ranking position in LaLiga would be a success, this is a great footballing school for this talent.

    “In the Champions League you cannot expect miracles. The defeat against Bayern Munich must be taken from this perspective.

    “The process that we’re in right now, the staff deserves unconditional support in words and in actions. I know the press recognise this process, it’s not the first time in FC Barcelona’s history that this has happened.

    “We count on your support in these difficult times. We as a squad and players are very happy with the support we had from the fans like we had against Granada.”

    Heading into Thursday’s match, Barca have failed to win five of their last eight LaLiga games (W3 D4 L1).

    This is as many as in their previous 24 matches in the competition (W19 D3 L2).

    They also have poor recent history against Cadiz, failing to win in their last two LaLiga games against the Andalusian side (D1 L1).

    If they do not win this match, it will be their longest winless run against them in the competition.

  • Koeman on hot seat as Barca struggle to late draw

    Koeman on hot seat as Barca struggle to late draw

    Ronald Araujo’s injury-time header rescued a point for Barcelona against Granada, but it does little to paper over the cracks of another poor home display from Ronald Koeman’s side.

    Centre-back Araujo – playing as a makeshift striker – found the net right at the end of a half Barca dominated.

    But having being humbled by Bayern in the Champions League last week, it will do little to lift spirits.

    Granada had led from the second minute through Domingos Duarte’s header.

    And they will be disappointed not to have picked up a first win of the season – and second victory in two seasons at the Nou Camp – after dealing so well with the home side’s aerial bombardment.

    However, It was reported earlier by pundit José Alvarez that Laporta could take “drastic action” if Barca flop against Granada.

    If Barca produce an “underwhelming” performance, Laporta is prepared to dismiss Koeman.

  • Laporta to take ‘drastic’ decision if Barca lose tonight

    Laporta to take ‘drastic’ decision if Barca lose tonight

    Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman’s job is on the line tonight against Granada.

    Koeman is under huge pressure after last week’s home defeat to Champions League opponents Bayern Munich.

    Barca president Joan Laporta has been encouraged by members of the board to sack Koeman, though he has so far refused to pull the trigger.

    However, speaking on El Chiringuito, pundit José Alvarez reports Laporta could take “drastic action” if Barca flop against Granada tonight.

    If Barca produce an “underwhelming” performance, Laporta is prepared to dismiss Koeman.

  • I’m not worried about my Barca future – Koeman

    I’m not worried about my Barca future – Koeman

    Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has revealed that he is not scared of losing his job ahead of Granada game.

    “I’m only thinking about the match and the team,” the Dutch said.

    “The rest is out of my hands. I’m relaxed and confident about winnings matches. We need to get some players back so we have more guys to choose from, but I know that we have to win. The results are what count.

    “I’m not worried about my future. The club and the president will make the decisions”.

    Injuries have meant Barcelona are short for options in the left-back position, but Koeman isn’t concerned.

    “We have [Alejandro] Balde, who played well the other day with quality and energy,” he assured the fans.

    “We also have [Sergino] Dest and [Oscar] Mingueza, but I prefer a natural left-back. Balde is young and has to learn, but I’m not scared to start him.”

    He was also asked about how the fans’ perceive what is going on at the club.

    “I don’t know what they’re thinking,” said the Dutchman.

    “There will be realists, opportunists and some who are unhappy with the current situation.”