"Ronald Koeman will be the coach" of FC Barcelona, announced President Josep Maria Bartomeu on Tuesday evening in an interview on BarçaTV, the Catalan club's television channel. "If all goes well, Koeman will be the coach that we announce and who will lead this team and these players with a different project," Bartomeu said, the day after the dismissal of Quique Setién, in office since January.
"We bet on him, because we know him well, we know how he sees things, how he wants his teams to play, but also for his experience, because he was in the + Dream Team + of (Johan) Cruyff, because he knows Barça and his way of seeing football, "continued the Blaugrana president.
In Barcelona from 1989 to 1995
Aged 57, Koeman has been coach of the Netherlands since 2018. He wore the Barça jersey from 1989 to 1995 and won four Spanish league titles as well as the 1992 Champions League, the first title in C1 of Catalan club. Regarding Eric Abidal, whose sports director's contract was terminated on Tuesday, Bartomeu certified that "it was he who communicated to us that he wanted to leave his post, it is a personal decision".
After the terrible 8-2 conceded in the quarter-final of the Champions League on Friday against Bayern Munich, Barça plunged into a deep crisis. "In recent days, we have talked a lot. We are facing a sports crisis, but not an institutional or club crisis. We need an evolution, with players who have had their day, who must leave, and others who are going to happen. We are making these decisions, we have a plan of attack ", agreed Bartomeu.