The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Ronald Koeman, Barcelona's new coach: "I don't know if I have to convince Messi"

2020-08-19T18:58:07.479Z


The 57-year-old Dutch coach signed a contract with the culé team until June 2022.08/19/2020 - 13:20 Clarín.com sports On June 17, 2008, when Pep Guardiola was introduced as Barcelona's technical director, the picture was similar. A man who had shone in shorts with those colors now donned his sweatshirt and had a priority mission: to be the driver of a renovation. "We planned the squad without Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o," said Pep. “If they were at their level, they would be ...


08/19/2020 - 13:20

  • Clarín.com
  • sports

On June 17, 2008, when Pep Guardiola was introduced as Barcelona's technical director, the picture was similar. A man who had shone in shorts with those colors now donned his sweatshirt and had a priority mission: to be the driver of a renovation.

"We planned the squad without Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o," said Pep. “If they were at their level, they would be with us. But if they end up staying, I'll give my life to bring them back to their level ”.

Twelve years later, the one who sits in the chair is Ronald Koeman, a hero at Wembley 92, who left an indelible mark as a defender of the club (1989/1995) and represents another link in the school that Johan Cruyff knew how to forge and defend the Guardiola himself. His priority mission will also be to restore identity to a team that is no longer what it was, that needs to reset and show new faces.

It was clear in his first words. “Today is a day to be very happy, to be proud. For me, Barsa is my home and having the opportunity to train such a great team is a challenge. It is not an easy thing. It is a club that always demands the maximum and I like that. Now I have signed and I am the manager of Barcelona. I think changes have to be made. The image the other day is not what we want, neither the president nor I nor anyone else. We must work to restore the prestige of the largest club in the world. For me it is a dream come true ”.

Immediately the names were sprouting and Lionel Messi was obviously the first. "I don't know if I have to convince Messi," Koeman said. But of course, I want the best player in the world on my team and not on the opposing team. I'm going to talk to him too, he's the captain. And hopefully he will continue here for more years, that he wants to stay ”.

What are you going to tell Leo? “If I say it here, I don't need to meet him. They are private things and talk about what he thinks of Barsa, how he wants to continue and I am the coach to make decisions not only for him but for other players. He has a one-year contract but you want him on your team ”.

Before the cross-questions of the journalists who consulted him about the renewal of the squad, the DT did not want to enter into controversies but made it clear that it will only have players who want to continue in the club. At this point he downplayed the ages: "A player with 31 or 32 years is not finished. It depends on how hungry the player is to still be here. There are 20 year old players without hunger or work. We need the best team to win. parties. Working with people who want to give their best and nothing else, "he said.

And he continued: “I don't like to talk about the players, we have to look for the strongest squad possible. I already know that there are players that at a certain age you can have. There are doubts about the returns but you have to respect everyone. If there are decisions to be made, we will. I don't like to say names out of respect for the players. "

With a chinstrap, Ronald Koeman signs his contract as Barcelona's new technical director. Photo: REUTERS / Albert Gea

Asked about the style he wants to give the team, the DT did not hesitate: "I am Dutch." And he remarked that he is the tenth coach from that country to take over at the club. “What I want is to have the ball and not run after the ball. Soccer is to be enjoyed, it is the first thing that I am going to say to the players. You have to look for both: work and enjoy. And they have to be proud to be in this club ”.

New faces

Some chips moved fast after the humiliating elimination in the Champions League at the hands of a superb Bayern Munich. The 8-2 left no room for doubt about the departure of a Quique Setién who arrived without a margin of error. In addition to the change of coach, the club fired Eric Abidal, the sports director, questioned about the buy / sell policy in recent markets and with whom Lionel Messi had already had a strong short-circuit after the departure of Ernesto Valverde. The presidential elections were also brought forward to March 2021.

Koeman signed his bond with the club until June 2022 in the President Sunyol box together with the institution's boss, Josep Maria Bartomeu with whom he sealed the agreement with a salute between elbows to respect the coronavirus prevention protocols. Both kept their chinstraps on, went together to the local Camp Nou dressing room, toured the facilities and then the press conference was held in the 1899 Auditorium.

“We knew that one day Ronald was going to coach Barsa and the time came. I thank you for the challenge because we all know that these are not easy moments ”, Bartomeu acknowledged.

Meanwhile, the president clarified that "the club is in a good economic moment and the problem is sports, that is why we have hired Koeman."

✍ @RonaldKoeman 👌 pic.twitter.com/18YyXiWv7H

- FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 19, 2020


A heavy decision for a big challenge

Leave the selection of your country to lead a team. You don't have to go too far back in the tape to find a similar case. Or even rarer. Julen Lopetegui was preparing to be the coach of Spain in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. There was only one day to go before the start of the competition when the Federation learned of his advanced negotiation with Real Madrid and decided to fire him. He packed his bags and left Russia for Spain. The experiment went wrong.

Koeman's case is more verbose. The call came to the Dutch when in a time out with his team. The Qatar 2022 World Cup looms far away and the feeling that unites it with Barsa completed the dotted line to decide to take a swerve. At 57 years old, he had already let the polls that the Spanish team had done for him at the beginning of the year run when he decided to fire Ernesto Valverde. The train passed a second time and Koeman did not hesitate.

"It has been an honor to be the national coach of the Netherlands. For two and a half years I have given everything to succeed. When I look back, I am proud of what we have achieved together during this period. The Dutch team has a good future, I am convinced of it, "Koeman said in his farewell statement from the KNVB and after having led 20 games.

It will be his second experience in the League where he was the coach of Valencia in 2007/2008. He has been a coach for more than 20 years since his debut on the Vitesse bench in the Netherlands in 2000, and has won eight titles. 

MFV

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-08-19

You may like

Sports 2024-02-20T22:01:54.135Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z
News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.