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After another poor performance and yet another loss, Ronald Koeman couldn’t hang on any longer as Barcelona coach.
It took less than three months after Lionel Messi’s departure for Koeman to finally succumb as the pressure kept increasing and the Catalan club’s struggles continued.
Barcelona announced Koeman’s firing shortly after the team’s 1-0 loss at Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league on Wednesday.
The loss followed a 2-1 home loss to rival Real Madrid in the “clásico” at the Camp Nou Stadium on Sunday.
Koeman had said in a post-match interview Wednesday he didn’t know if his future with the club was at risk. He soon found out. Club president Joan Laporta informed the Dutch coach of his decision after the loss.
Captain Sergio Busquets had said Koeman shouldn’t be the only one to blame for the team’s poor performances.
“We are all on the same boat,” the midfielder said after the match, before the decision on Koeman was announced.
Koeman has been under constant pressure after a poor start to the team’s first season without Messi in nearly two decades. The Argentina star joined Paris Saint-Germain in August.
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Barcelona said Koeman “will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday.”
Koeman leaves with the club in ninth place in the Spanish league standings with 15 points from 10 matches.
Among the team’s five losses this season were 3-0 results in the Champions League against Bayern Munich at home and at Benfica.
The loss to Rayo marked the team’s fifth away match without a win, something that hadn’t happened to the club in nearly two decades.
Barcelona won five matches and drew three this season under the Dutch coach who took over shortly after the team’s embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern in the Champions League last…
Source : france24
