It is no longer news that things are not going well at Barcelona. The club has struggled to be their usual dominant selves for the past two seasons. They are pretty much looking like a shadow of their former selves.
Ronald Koeman was brought in over the summer to help restore the club back to their former days. Being a club legend, the Dutchman arrived at the helm of affairs to much fanfare but all of that has not gone to plan at all. Although, it must be said that Koeman walked into one of the most demanding jobs in world football at the moment, considering all factors. Lionel Messi’s summer departure to PSG coupled with the club’s massive left did leave the Dutchman with a humongous task ahead of him.
A thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich (once again) put Koeman’s future at the club in doubt, but their most recent outing has made matters even worse.
A drab 1-1 draw with Granada means Barcelona are now seriously considering handing the Dutch manager his sacking orders. In fact, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has already been named as one of the possible candidates to replace him.
It has also been mentioned that Barcelona will have to pay Koeman a compensation fee to sack him, but it seems the club are not bothered by that at the moment.
On the path of the 58-year-old manager, he has never said anything to hint at leaving his role at the club. He has now further made a clarification on that.
Koeman will remain at Barcelona – except one thing happens
Koeman has expressed his dissatisfaction at the club in recent weeks, particularly at club president Joan Laporta over recent comments aimed at the Dutchman.
Many expected Koeman to have asked to leave because of those comments, but the 58-year-old has cleared the air saying he is unbothered by those comments.
The Dutchman remains fully committed to his job as Barcelona boss but has said he will consider leaving on one condition. As quoted by journalist Fabrizio Romano, Koeman says he will step down from his role if the Barcelona players stop listening to his instructions.
In the event that it doesn’t happen, the manager is fully determined to remain Barcelona boss and try to mastermind and turn their fortunes around for the better.
Do or die period for Koeman
It is now being speculated that the next three games could be very crucial for Ronald Koeman and his future at the club. The Catalans take on Cadiz and then Levante next in La Liga before turning their attention to Benfica in the Champions League next Wednesday.
On paper, those games are winnable, and any form of ‘poor result’ in these games could spell the end for the Dutchman.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
