Koeman renews the hierarchies at Barça

Koeman, during a Barcelona training session.MIGUEL RUIZ / FC BARCELONA / HAN / EFE

At age 33, Lionel Messi agreed to link his brand to that of a beer.

The Barcelona captain used to be reluctant to accept alcohol drink sponsorships.

However, the advertising slogan is not a minor detail:

, Be a king.

And so, as if it were part of a protocol of the royal house, each of the coaches who have passed through the Camp Nou bench paid reverence to the Rosario.

"I'm amazed to have the best player in the world", Luis Enrique praised him in 2014. Ernesto Valverde dedicated him similar words in 2017: "He is the best player I've ever seen."

The homage was not broken by Setién: "It will be impossible for a footballer like him to appear again, he does everything well."

Ronald Koeman copied his predecessors, although he added a nuance to it.

“Messi is the best and, in his physical form, he is very important.

He has shown it many years ago and I hope he will prove it again ”, said the Dutch coach.

He loves Messi, of course, but he loves him 100%.

And Messi already knows it after his first meeting with the Dutchman on August 21.

"Now we have to leave Messi alone," warned his friend Éver Banega on Friday.

After the rudeness to Barcelona, ​​the public confrontation with President Bartomeu and the slight to the club's transfer policy, Messi returned to routine.

He did not want to leave any doubt about the renewal of his commitment to Barça at the start of his 17th season in the first team.

He arrived at training before anyone else on Monday and Tuesday, while on Thursday he showed up to work alone.

They changed the hierarchies in the dressing room, also the rules.

Koeman recognizes the past of the group, surrenders to Messi's football, but the rules are set by him.

"You play as you train and I am very happy with the work that has been done in the first weeks," says Koeman.

The first thing he did was revolutionize the

technical

.

He only stayed with José Ramón de la Fuente.

The goalkeeping coach is the shadow of Ter Stegen.

The other five members of his coaching staff are new.

The team is headed by Alfred Schreuder and Henrik Larsson, second and third coach respectively.

The physical preparation will be in charge of Albert Roca, who already worked at the club in Rijkaard's time, complemented by Daniel Romero and Jaume Bartrés.

In choosing his coaching staff, it was key for Koeman to trust discreet people, jealous of taking care of the privacy of the group.

The coach wants to shield the locker room, a Dutch recipe: players on the pitch, coaches in the technical room and managers in the offices.

"I like discipline," warned the Dream Team defender.

In his first meeting with the group, he told the players that they had to be at the Ciudad Deportiva one hour before each training session.

“If we meet in the field at 9.30, it will be at that time, not 9.40.

If it is not respected, outside the call ”, underlined the Barça coach who is committed to meritocracy, the quarry and speed in the game.

This Saturday he opens in his first friendly against Nàstic (19:00), but he still has a pending account: the renewal of the changing room.

Only Rakitic left waiting for Arturo Vidal, Luis Suárez and Umtiti to find the exit door.

Messi stays, but with other rules.