Ronald Koeman has become the bag of all the blows of Barcelona. It was difficult for the coach to leave the Camp Nou after the classic because a group of fans crowded his car, some with the intention of taking a selfie and others to express their anger at the defeat against Madrid (1-2), until the to the point that they kicked the vehicle he was driving accompanied by his wife, Bartina. The scene compromised the Barça club’s security services, who invited the coach and the players to go out on a road that includes a traffic light before reaching the street and, therefore, exposed him to the encounter with disgruntled fans and also with fans who they didn’t necessarily go to the stadium. Koeman, in any case, was trapped by a cocktail that expresses the lack of protection he feels personally and the collective frustration that Barça experiences.
The pressure on the Dutch coach has increased precisely when his continuity has ceased to be discussed from the board of Joan Laporta. There are no more unofficial or official messages about the future of the coach, but both parties have granted a truce pending results that require fighting for the top of the league standings and access to the round of 16 of the Champions League, pending the matches against Dinamo Kiev and Benfica. Hitting the targets, however, can prove costly after the hotbed last summer, when it emerged that Laporta doubted Koeman. The subsequent endorsement, especially manifest before and after the match against Atlético, has not had the expected effect because with each match doubts about Koeman’s suitability as Barça coach increase.
At 1-2 against Madrid, Koeman responded: “We are getting closer to beating a big rival”, a statement that was in tune with the statements of the technical secretary, Ramon Planes: “You can’t ask for more. We deserved to beat Madrid on points ”. Expectations for the team to evolve, however, continue to be conditioned by injuries and also by Koeman’s own style book. De Jong and Pedri have been absent for several days and it is still not clear if Dembélé will be able to reappear against Rayo or Alavés and, therefore, replace Dest as a winger. Although a better version of each player is expected, collective responses are also expected from the coach, and above all tactics, that allow us to face simple and also committed matches with guarantees like the one that faced Madrid.
Neither money nor relief
The feeling is that Barça football does not evolve and the coach’s speech has lost strength after reiterating that if he does not win it is due to the lack of effectiveness and, therefore, that Dest did not hit Courtois before Alaba beat Ter Stegen . It is no longer known if Koeman is a victim of precariousness and also of the constant changes of the squad, which include the departures of Messi and Griezmann, or acts conditioned by Laporta’s guidelines, which are not necessarily the same as those of the former coach of Netherlands. It is enough to review, for example, the different role of Frenkie De Jong.
Assuming that it is difficult for Barça to win titles, the question that Barça fans are asking is whether they will be able to win games while building a team around promising footballers such as Gavi, Pedri or Ansu Fati. The task requires a coach who has the confidence of both the box and the dressing room and Koeman does not shake off the label of provisional coach of the Camp Nou.
The critical economic situation, as well as the lack of a replacement that expresses the sports policy to be implemented by Laporta, favor the continuity of the Dutchman, even when he has to endure harassment like the one on Sunday after the match against Madrid. The classic always tends to leave sequels on the loser’s bench and now it is Barcelona’s turn after it had affected Madrid for a long time.
The wear and tear of Koeman increases because he cannot find the turning point that allows stopping the fall of the team, impotent and lacking in rebellion, resigned to his fate in the League and the Champions League. To those who claim that not only does the team lose but that the club also loses time and respect for Koeman is lost, the board responds that the solution is not to change the coach, so that Koeman acts as the Camp Nou umbrella.
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