After Quique Setién, the coach, in the turn of Eric Abidal, the sporting director ... The rout (8-2) of FC Barcelona against Bayern Munich in the quarter-final of the Champions League, Friday August 14, had already led the dismissal of the Spanish coach on Monday, the former French international, aged 40, (67 selections) followed the same path this Tuesday, August 18.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu cuts heads before his is also in the hot seat in the elections to be held in mid-March 2021. The crisis is only just beginning indeed. And Eric Abidal was unlikely to resist it. Living legend of the club when he was a player there (2007-2013), he never made the transition to becoming a manager. The supporters criticized him for his lack of vision, his expensive purchasing policy over the past two years, as well as his mismanagement of the cases of Dembélé and Umtiti, his two compatriots who were highly paid and still injured, and on whom the influence of Abidal n 'had no hold.
Brawls with Xavi and Messi
His spat with Xavi and Messi, through the media, did not help matters. Catalan failures, their second place in La Liga, the Spanish championship, and especially their drowning against Bayern, sealed his fate. “FC Barcelona and Eric Abidal have reached an agreement to end the contract between them. The club would like to publicly thank Eric Abidal for his professionalism, his commitment, his dedication… ”, Barça said in a statement.
The new coach is expected to be named this week and in all likelihood it should be Ronald Koeman. The current coach of the Netherlands, who would leave his post a few months before the Euro, would have been preferred, in particular, to Mauricio Pochettino. Former Dutch international defender (78 caps, 14 goals), Koeman notably offered Barça the first European Cup of Champions Clubs in 1992, where he spent six seasons (1989-1995), notably winning four Liga under the orders from Johan Cruyff.