Soccer is often summed up in a handful of episodes.

The same morning that Ernesto Valverde signed his sentence as Barcelona coach, on January 9, 2020, Josep Maria Bartomeu was walking through the historic center of Jeddah, suspecting his next maneuvers. The team lost in those semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup against Atlético in one of the most stimulating matches of the Valverde era. Nothing would prevent his dismissal. Bartomeu commissioned Òscar Grau, CEO of the entity, and Eric Abidal, the disputed technical secretary, to travel to Doha to convince Xavi Hernández to take over. The two Barça executives, hunted, concealed posing in a grotesque photo with Ousmane Dembélé , who was there recovering.

Xavi Hernández, distrustful of the offer and convinced that he should start a project from scratch, gave the Barcelona interns a chance. So the immediate move was to phone Ronald Koeman. But this one then also refused. He wanted to lead the Dutch team in the Eurocup .

From Jasikevicius to Koeman

Bartomeu, who was already sighing for Mauricio Pochettino, backed off and ended up paying attention to Abidal, who proposed Quique Setién after showing a video in which his alleged Cruyffist gifts were exhibited . The pandemic forced the cancellation of the Eurocup. Pochettino was always on the lookout. And Setién, who had never won a title, ended his nightmare with a 2-8 victory against Bayern in Lisbon. Now Koeman, the Wembley hero, is Bartomeu's alibi. A movement that finds parallels with the one carried out at the Palau with Sarunas Jasikevicius , another long-standing reference of the fans and champion of the Euroleague with Barcelona in 2003. There is no better screen than an idol.

On the morning of this Monday, Barcelona will hold the board meeting in which the post-disaster roadmap will be established. Although the issue that most worries the members is the agreement to set an electoral date - always after holding the assembly of delegates next October in which the tricky financial year of the Covid is approved - the dismissal of Quique Setién - pending the emoluments to be collected for the two years of his contract that remained - and the election of the new coach will also be on the table.

Contract with the Dutch federation

For both Josep Maria Bartomeu and Ramon Planes, Abidal's assistant in the technical secretariat, the most gifted technician to direct the transition is Mauricio Pochettino. The former Espanyol and Tottenham coach is good friends with both. However, the problem is the same as in January. His null acceptance in the Barça fans. Hence the new emergence of Koeman, with doubts as to whether Euro 2021 can be held, and that now he is willing to assume one of the dreams of his life . In his contract with the oranje team he included a clause by which he could terminate his association after the continental tournament. This would be an important aspect still to be resolved.

Koeman's candidacy, with García Pimienta always as an emergency solution , would have to receive the approval of the components of a directive in which dissident voices are almost non-existent. Especially since Bartomeu's purge during confinement.

Strong personality

Koeman, 57, who underwent a catheterization last May, is supported by his past as one of the foremen of Johan Cruyff's Dream Team. You know, always a propaganda aspect to value in a directive that has already been in charge of raising a statue in memory of the Dutch genius and giving his name to the stadium of the sports city. As a coach, despite the fact that his tactical postulates are not related to whoever his teacher was, he stands out for his strong personality and his ways with young people. Koeman has been one of the coaches who has brought the most performance to date from Frenkie de Jong , a footballer who has tiptoed through Barcelona in his first season as a Barça player.

In the offices there are also those who insist on a song that has been accompanying him since December 2007. With Bakero and Bruins Slot as assistants, he had been training Valencia for a month when he exiled three of his great references: Albelda, Cañizares and Angulo . The three spent months training apart until Koeman was fired five days after winning the Cup.

With the Barcelona squad pending a reinvention of its spine - the cases of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez are especially uncomfortable at the club - there are those who think that Koeman could be the remedy.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Quique Setien
  • Sergio Busquets
  • Spain Supercup
  • Ousmane Dembélé
  • Ernesto Valverde
  • Jordi Alba
  • sports

Champions League 2020 Infamy closes the era of Barcelona

Champions League 2020Messi against Lewandowski or Ter Stegen against Neuer: the night of the four great challenges

FootballCyber-independence attack on Barcelona: an army of 'bots' launches more than 20,000 negative impacts on social networks

See links of interest

  • Last minute
  • Spanish translator
  • Programming
  • 2020 calendar
  • Horoscope today
  • League classification
  • Santander League Calendar
  • Movies Today
  • Topics
  • Austrian Grand Prix
  • Spanish Grand Prix, live
  • Almeria - Girona
  • Sevilla - Manchester United, live
  • Real Zaragoza - Elche