Ronald Koeman’s time at Barcelona could be coming to an end. The Dutchman only signed on for his former club last summer, but a disappointing end to the season has put his immediate future in doubt.
According to a report by ESPN, Barcelona are looking to replace head coach Ronald Koeman before the next season. However – the report continues – president Joan Laporta does not want to sack the Dutchman before a replacement has been confirmed. The Blaugrana are keen to avoid a repeat of the situation last season when they sacked Ernesto Valverde midway before lining up a substitute. Quique Setien came in to replace his countryman, albeit the experiment was unsuccessful, and the team ended up losing the LaLiga title race.
Previously, Joan Laporta had addressed the early season disappointment regarding Ronald Koeman. Laporta gave an interview to RAC1 to discuss his project before being elected as the club’s president. However, he spoke glowingly of Koeman and stated that the best was yet to come – which turned out to be partly true as Barcelona went on a long unbeaten run after the turn of the year.
“Koeman’s Barça is work in process, they haven’t reached their (best) point yet,”
“They are working and I value positively that he uses the youngsters, that work is done in training…It is about maintaining the players motivated to be able to win. Koeman has some margin.”
Laporta had said in an earlier interview.
Koeman and Barcelona’s title hopes were broken this past weekend when they were beaten by Celta Vigo. The Blaugrana had missed a couple of opportunities to overtake Atletico Madrid on the top of the table previously but failed to take advantage. Their misery was compounded when a Santi Mina punished them with a brace on Sunday, ending their title bid completely.
Despite turning his team’s performances around midway through the season, the club hierarchy still held reservations regarding Koeman’s abilities to lead the club over a longer term – the report states.
The report deduces that Barcelona won’t take any drastic decisions involving their head coach until they have a replacement lined up. To that end, president Joan Laporta previously considered the likes of Hansi Flick and Julian Naglesmann for the role, although both have since taken up important roles elsewhere. Another option for the head coach position is former player Xavi, who has been linked with a return to the club several times in the past.
Xavi is currently presiding over Al Sadd in Qatar and has led them to the league title. The ex-Barcelona man was the face of Victor Font’s presidential bid, although the candidate ended up sidelining that part of his project towards the end of the race. Laporta – who won that particular race – did speak about Xavi and his potential return to the club in the future in the same interview with RAC1.
“Víctor Font has deactivated the Xavi card, which surprises me because I thought he was the cornerstone of his project,”
“He, and he explained it very well, is an asset of Barça, he lives for football. It is normal to wait [to] see what happens.
“Players like Xavi, Guardiola, or Iniesta are ready and, apart from learning, they need a period of maximum confidence. If he says he is ready, he is. He must find the time to take the step to become a first-team coach.”
Laporta said.
A recent report from the Spanish media outlet Sport, confirms that Barcelona have already begun negotiations with Xavi to take over as the head coach from Koeman. The Spaniard is in talks with Laporta and Mateu Alemany, with both parties currently laying down their plans for the long-term future of the club.
