Speculations were going around regarding the future of former Barcelona manager Quique Setien after the horrible defeat against FC Bayern Munchen in the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals. And finally today the Barcelona board has announced the sacking of Quique Setien from the position of the manager. Also, Barcelona has sacked their current Director Of Football Eric Abidal. The board has announced that former player, Barcelona legend, and current Netherlands national team manager Ronald Koeman is the new manager of Barcelona. Koeman will leave Netherlands National team and join Barcelona from the upcoming season. President Bartomeu announced about this in a live interview on Barca TV today.
Ronald Koeman is the new manager of Barcelona: Contract details
Koeman is appointed as a long term manager and will be given enough time to prove himself. According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Koeman will stay at Barca till June 2022.
What went wrong with Quique Setien?
Barcelona appointed Setien just one season ago from Real Betis in place of the then manager Ernesto Valverde. Setien was appointed until June 30, 2022. Fans and the management both were very much excited and hopeful about the performance of Setien, as many fans appreciated him for influencing his tactical overviews from none other than the man himself, the icon of FC Barcelona Johan Cruyff. Barcelona also started the season quite well-showing dominance in La Liga. But suddenly after some matches, things started to turn bad for the club. Barcelona dropped points unexpectedly and could not hold their lead. For this type of downfall in performance, Barcelona lost the league title to arch-rival Real Madrid.
Many important players of the team were also very much in dismay with Quique Setien. Meanwhile, the Spanish journal MARCA claimed that Setien had lost the confidence of the dressing room. One of the most important players of the team Luis Suarez also made questions regarding the playing style of Setien openly.
“It’s up to the coaches to analyse it. We’re there to do our best on the pitch. Away from home, we’re dropping important points that we didn’t usually drop in other seasons. What’s wrong with us?”
Luis Suarez, via La Liga
So the pressure was rolling upon him and finally, the saga has come to and as he was sacked just after the humiliation against FC Bayern Munchen. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed it to the Spanish journal TJcope just after the match, after finishing meeting with Barcelona director of football Eric Abidal. Barca remained without silverware this season surprisingly.
“Setién is out. We are looking for a new head coach.”
Josep Maria Bartomeu, Barcelona president
Ronald Koeman’s managerial career so far
As Ronald Koeman is the new manager of Barcelona, let’s look back at his previous managerial stints and titles.
Vitesse
Koeman started his managerial career at Vitesse on January 2000. He managed them for 71 matches led the team to a UEFA Cup spot.
AFC Ajax
Koeman joined his former club Ajax on 2001/02 season as a manager. Koeman won Dutch cup and the Dutch league title with Ajax that season which were his first-ever managerial honour. Koeman also won another Dutch league title and the Dutch Super Cup later. Koeman stayed there till 2004/05 season and managed the club for 151 matches.
SL Benfica
Ronald Koeman started his third managerial career with Portuguese giants Benfica on 2005/06 season. He won Portuguese Super Cup with them. But left the club early. Koeman managed Benfica for 45 matches.
PSV Eindhoven
Koeman went to PSV on the season 2006/07. He won a Dutch league title there. He stayed there for one year. He was in charge of PSV for 61 matches.
Valencia
Koeman managed Spanish club Valencia for a short time. He stayed there just for one year. But still won a Spanish cup with the team. He managed the team for only 34 matches. He left the club in 2007/08 season.
Other teams
Koeman also managed some other teams. He managed Feyenoord for 118 matches. He also managed another Dutch club AZ Alkmaar for 23 matches. He also managed English side Everton and Southampton for 58 matches and 91 matches respectively.
Ronald Koeman has taken charge of Netherlands national team on February 6, 2018. He has managed the team for 20 matches till now.
Ronald Koeman is the new manager of Barcelona: Can the club legend change their fortunes?
Ronald Koeman has played with glory and pride for Barcelona. He played for Barca for 254 matches. He scored 83 goals for Barca, an unimaginable stat for a center-back. Koeman was the most scoring (67) defender of La Liga before Sergio Ramos broke his record very recently. Koeman won 4 La Liga titles, 1 Spanish Cup and 3 Spanish Super Cup, and most importantly Barca’s first-ever UEFA Champions League title under Johan Cruyff. Koeman helped Barcelona with his skills, playing styles and leadership quality.
Koeman mainly uses 4-3-3 as his on paper formation. He likes to build the play with short passes and width. Fans can expect that the legend of their own will step up to take the club to another level again.
What are your thoughts on this news as Ronald Koeman is the new manager of Barcelona? Let us know in the comment section below.
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