Football Barcelona fires Koeman and finalizes the arrival of Xavi Hernández
Opinion Koeman, the plagued hero
Ronald Koeman's
passage
through
Barça
has been quite a roller coaster. Once again, as it happened before at
Valencia
or
Benfica
, the club has decided to dispense with their services before their contract was fulfilled. In the little more than
14 months
that his time on the Barça bench has lasted, the Dutchman has given time to leave a legacy that can have a decisive influence on the future of the entity:
his commitment to young people
.
In terms of titles and results, it is very clear that Koeman's passage through the Camp Nou bench
will not be memorable
. Last season he managed to win the
Copa del Rey
, but, both in the previous campaign and in the present, his team crashed again and again against the greats. In the time he has been at the helm of Barça, he has never been able to impose himself on the eternal rival,
Real Madrid
, or to beat
Atlético
. And, although he beat
Juventus
almost by surprise at
home last year,
Vecchia Signora
and
PSG
humiliated him in the Champions League. Something that, this same course, both
Bayern Munich have done
as a set on the inferior role like
Benfica
.
Messi's absence
It is true that, this year, he has had to deal with a matter as complicated as directing a team for the first time orphaned of what was its great star for more than a decade:
Leo Messi
. But, also, that his pulse did not tremble when showing the starting door to a
Luis Suárez
who continues to beat from the ranks of Atlético de Simeone. Their big bets as signings,
Sergiño Dest
and
Memphis Depay
, curiously, plummeted after signing seemingly promising starts. And
Luuk de Jong
, hired to revolutionize the games by coming off the bench, cannot hit the key of the goal, no matter how hard he tries.
The commitment to young footballers, with a huge future ahead, of course, is what can last the most from Koeman's time at Barça. He, precisely, was the one who by force bet on a
Pedri
who became essential both in Barça and in the Spanish team. Not surprisingly, this same summer he played both the
Eurocup
and the
Olympic Games
. From the hand of the Dutch coach, in addition, players such as
Nico or Gavi
have burst into the first team with force
. And other star projects, such as
Alejandro Balde or Yusuf Demir
, have also taken their first steps in the elite. The Austrian, however, had disappeared a bit from his plans in recent times. As much as a
Riqui Puig
who, as much as the president,
Joan Laporta
, and many other Barcelona
fans
is very fond
of, has not finished making a hole either with Valverde, with Setién or with the former Barça coach himself.
Nostalgia for Wembley
In the sentimental sphere, things had also become very rare with a Koeman who was one of the great props
of Johan Cruyff's
Dream Team
and, above all, the Wembley hero. The image of the tremendous shoe with which he scored the goal that, in the end, would give Barça its
first European Cup
is something indelible on the retinas of many of those same
Catalans
fans
who have ended up openly wishing his dismissal, seeing the erratic team behavior. The Dutchman also had to live an extremely unpleasant situation when, after the defeat in the classic against Real Madrid last Sunday, and with his wife sitting next to him,
dozens of uncontrolled young people insulted him
and they hit his car while trying to leave the Barcelona facilities.
All this, however, has not tarnished Koeman's affection for Barcelona.
To such an extent, that everything invites you to think that you plan to live in this city when you decide to permanently hang the notebook.
Not long ago, he bought a house very close to the apartment he already had in the exclusive
Pedralbes
neighborhood
.
Now, once removed from the tremendous demand that leading Barça implies, sure, the complicit smiles and admiring glances will return every time a Barça supporter crosses him on the streets of Barcelona.
The
Wembley hero
, they will think, surely deserves no less.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Ronald Koeman
Leo Messi
Joan Laporta
Quique Setien
Sergiño Dest
FC Barcelona
sports
LaLigaThe first day of a new era: what were our lives like the year Messi debuted in the classics?
Champions League Barcelona limits itself to surviving
LaLigaThe martyrdom of Koeman
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