Despite having to pay a lot of money, Barcelona is looking for a replacement for coach Ronald Koeman.
Coach Ronald Koeman is expected to be fired by Barcelona today, September 17, according to some Catalan sources. An emergency meeting was held the day after Barcelona's 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage, to decide whether or not to fire Koeman.
Barcelona fired coach Koeman after a 0-3 loss to Bayern Munich
Barcelona put up a poor performance in a match where Bayern had been rated "higher level" before the game. Even when they tried to play defensively, they lost 0-3 and this big defeat came despite Bayern Munich not playing as well as usual.
After the game, there were comments in the locker room expressing dissatisfaction with coach Koeman's tactics, with some players believing Barca should have attacked again after conceding first. Barca officials were quickly informed of these remarks, and president Joan Laporta was forced to convene an emergency meeting.
Although firing Koeman is costly, Laporta suggests a few candidates to consider. The chairman had planned to fire Koeman over the summer, but decided against it due to financial constraints and the lack of a viable replacement. The issue is that Koeman is a pragmatic coach who prioritizes winning over style of play, whereas Laporta wants Barca to play the pressing game, which is already a tradition established by Johan Cruyff.
President Joan Laporta had already expressed dissatisfaction with Koeman's footballing style.
According to journalist Toni Juanmarti, Laporta contacted the son of Jordi Cruyff, the late Dutch football legend, to see if Cruyff would be interested in taking Koeman's place. After the conversation, Cruyff ultimately declined because he wanted to nominate Belgium coach Roberto Martinez (he was the best man at Martinez's wedding), but Laporta still appears to be looking for a new option, and that could help. It's possible that Xavi, who is the leader of Al Sadd in Qatar, will be given an opportunity.
Cruyff is no stranger to Barcelona, as he is not only a former player but also a consultant to the club's management. Cruyff had a successful playing career; he spent four years with Manchester United, but was plagued by injuries for the majority of that time, despite having been able to play regularly for the club for the first few months. Cruyff later joined Alaves, where he was instrumental in the club's UEFA Cup runner-up finish in 2001.
Jordi Cruyff is a Barcelona's consultant
Cruyff went on to become a director of football after hanging up his boots, and he was known for his achievements in Cyprus and Israel. Cruyff began his coaching career in 2017 as the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, before going on to have great success with Chongqing Dangdai Lifan in China. Cruyff accepted the position of coach of Ecuador last year, but resigned due to the Covid-19 epidemic, and returned to China for a short time before being brought back by Barcelona this summer.
As a result, Jordi Cruyff is best known for his team-planning skills rather than his coaching abilities, and his coaching experience is limited to small countries. The press speculates that Laporta does not want a well-known coach to replace Koeman, but rather someone who can lead Barca to the style of football that he prefers.
