Madrid: FC Barcelona sacked coach Ronald Koeman on Thursday just hours after suffering a 1-0 defeat away to Rayo Vallecano.
“FC Barcelona fired Ronald Koeman as first team coach tonight. Club president Joan Laporta notified him after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Ronald Koeman said goodbye to the team tonight, “reads a club statement issued shortly after midnight.
The defeat at Vallecas Stadium came just three days after Barca were beaten 2-1 at home by bitter rivals Real Madrid in the first ‘Clasico’ of the season, and the club are currently ninth in the La Liga table with 15 points from 10 games and just four wins all season, reports Xinhua.
Speaking after the defeat, Koeman said: “Other teams may have more balanced groups, but we have shown that we can compete with them.”
“Accidents and injuries are excuses, we have shown we can play at a good level, but it is not enough,” he added.
As a player, Koeman famously led Barcelona to the 1992 European Cup by scoring the winning goal in the final against Sampdoria at Wembley. The Dutchman was appointed head coach in the summer of 2020 in place of Quique Setien, who was sacked after barely six months in charge.
Koeman led Barca to the Copa del Rey with a win over Athletic Bilbao in April 2021. But Barca finished third in La Liga, seven points behind Atletico Madrid, diving into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League with a total defeat of 5-2 to Paris Saint-Germain.
Many expected these results to cost Koeman his job in the summer, but perhaps because of his work with some of the club’s young players, such as Pedri and Ronald Araujo, and perhaps because of the lack of a credible alternative, the Dutchman said in his post remained. .
Koeman’s task this season has been made more difficult by the financial problems at the club that led to the departure of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, as well as injuries to Araujo, Pedri and Ansu Fati.
He clung to his job at the start of October after a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, with Laporta giving him a public vote of confidence, but two defeats in four days eventually led to his departure.
Former midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who currently coaches Qatari club Al-Saad, is a favorite to replace Koeman, although former left-back and current Barcelona B-team coach Sergi Barjuan could be a possible short-term replacement.
Source: Telangana Today