Post by bluetornados on Oct 28, 2021 22:02:34 GMT
From the BBC Site:
The biggest surprise in the wake Koeman's sacking is not the fact that they have dismissed the Dutch coach, but that it took them so long.
Koeman was a 'dead man walking' from the moment Laporta became the club's president for the second time back in March and Barcelona's tardiness in dispensing with his services tells us a lot about the current state of the club.
The decision taken following Barcelona's defeat at Rayo Vallecano - their fourth in six games - is in theory one taken by director of football Mateu Alemany and his team, although in reality the man behind it is Laporta.
Koeman's intransigence did not help his case. As good as he was at managing situations and people he fell well short as a coach trying to build a team.
Style is king at Barcelona - as important, if not more so, than substance. It is not so much the results that cost Koeman his job but rather how they came about.
And now, in this period of crisis, it's time for a leap of faith from club president Joan Laporta not dissimilar to the one he took when he promoted Pep Guardiola, then Barcelona B team boss, 13 years ago.
The difference this time is, that while he admired, respected and had faith in Guardiola, he does not have the same feelings toward the man from Terrassa, less than an hour's drive inland from Barcelona. Or not yet.
Until recently Xavi, currently managing Al Sadd in Qatar, and Laporta hardly spoke to each other. But in football as in life, needs must when the devil drives, and recently they have built their communication, albeit through intermediaries, and are by all accounts getting closer.
On Wednesday night Laporta made a call to Xavi. Job done.
Xavi certainly won't have the sort of power with Laporta in charge that he would have had if Victor Font had been elected president - Xavi was going to create a new football structure at the club with himself in charge had Font won.
But he will certainly be looking to bring some of his staff with him and hopefully tick more boxes than merely the one of That fact Ronald Koeman survived as long as he did, before being sacked on Wednesday, probably has much to do with the fact Laporta wasn't as sold on the idea of Xavi taking over as much as many others seemed to be.
Eight months ago he told journalists that Xavi was not ready to take the job as Barcelona head coach, an assumption arrived at probably not just for footballing reasons, but also because Xavi had thrown his hat in with Font during the presidential elections.
The biggest surprise in the wake Koeman's sacking is not the fact that they have dismissed the Dutch coach, but that it took them so long.
Koeman was a 'dead man walking' from the moment Laporta became the club's president for the second time back in March and Barcelona's tardiness in dispensing with his services tells us a lot about the current state of the club.
The decision taken following Barcelona's defeat at Rayo Vallecano - their fourth in six games - is in theory one taken by director of football Mateu Alemany and his team, although in reality the man behind it is Laporta.
Koeman's intransigence did not help his case. As good as he was at managing situations and people he fell well short as a coach trying to build a team.
Style is king at Barcelona - as important, if not more so, than substance. It is not so much the results that cost Koeman his job but rather how they came about.
And now, in this period of crisis, it's time for a leap of faith from club president Joan Laporta not dissimilar to the one he took when he promoted Pep Guardiola, then Barcelona B team boss, 13 years ago.
The difference this time is, that while he admired, respected and had faith in Guardiola, he does not have the same feelings toward the man from Terrassa, less than an hour's drive inland from Barcelona. Or not yet.
Until recently Xavi, currently managing Al Sadd in Qatar, and Laporta hardly spoke to each other. But in football as in life, needs must when the devil drives, and recently they have built their communication, albeit through intermediaries, and are by all accounts getting closer.
On Wednesday night Laporta made a call to Xavi. Job done.
Xavi certainly won't have the sort of power with Laporta in charge that he would have had if Victor Font had been elected president - Xavi was going to create a new football structure at the club with himself in charge had Font won.
But he will certainly be looking to bring some of his staff with him and hopefully tick more boxes than merely the one of That fact Ronald Koeman survived as long as he did, before being sacked on Wednesday, probably has much to do with the fact Laporta wasn't as sold on the idea of Xavi taking over as much as many others seemed to be.
Eight months ago he told journalists that Xavi was not ready to take the job as Barcelona head coach, an assumption arrived at probably not just for footballing reasons, but also because Xavi had thrown his hat in with Font during the presidential elections.