Following a shocking 3-0 defeat to Portuguese giants Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, many believed that Barcelona would sack manager Ronald Koeman. However, club president Joan Laporta has made it clear: the Dutchman will be given time to turn the ship around. Via Fabrizio Romano:
Barcelona president Laporta: “Koeman will stay. He will continue to be the coach regardless of tonight game result. He deserves a margin of confidence, he’s Barcelona legend. I appreciate how he has accepted to coach the club in these difficult times”. 🚨 #FCB #Koeman pic.twitter.com/mBwMy1SeLU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 2, 2021
Indeed, these are difficult times. Barca has lost both of their group stages UCL games thus far, conceding six times and failing to score. In league play, they haven’t tasted defeat yet, but Barcelona has won three times and drawn three. The club is certainly in a much different position than ever before, with Lionel Messi gone and lots of young talent looking to make their mark. Ahead of their La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid, the Catalans sit in seventh spot in the table.
As for Koeman, he took over last summer and guided Barcelona to a third-place finish last term. It was a busy transfer window for the side, bringing in the likes of Luuk de Jong, Memphis Depay, and Eric Garcia, but with the exception of Depay, none have made much of a difference.
Laporta realizes that Barca is heading in a much different direction right now and there is simply no point in firing Koeman. After all, he is a Barcelona legend and deserves the chance to salvage the season before it’s too late, especially in Europe.
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