Ronald Koeman has been battling the flow since taking over as Barcelona coach last August, but it now seems that he may be “sunk,” as one Spanish newspaper put it on its front page on Thursday.
The 3-0 defeat at Benfica on Wednesday night was their second in the Champions League by that margin, following a thrashing at home by Bayern Munich a week earlier.
Barca sits bottom of Group E and sixth in La Liga, where they have yet to lose, despite three draws in six games putting them behind table-toppers Real Madrid.
The defeat to Benfica could be the final straw for Koeman, with the Spanish press drawing a gloomy picture of him on Thursday.
On the top page of AS, there was only one word: “sunk.” “Against The Ropes” was announced by Mundo Deportivo, “This Is A Nightmare” by Sport, and “Siniestro Total” by Marca may be translated as “Total Catastrophe/Disaster,” “Ominous,” “Total Crash,” or “Complete Write-Off” – take your pick, none of them are positive.
It’s difficult to imagine it wasn’t all doom and gloom from the start. Koeman arrived after the Netherlands’ 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich, resigning his position as coach to enter into a civil war.
Six days after Koeman was appointed, Lionel Messi stated his desire to go, according to Argentinian publication Diario Olé, which claims the new Barcelona head coach warned the six-time Ballon d’Or winner “your privileges here are over.” According to reports in Spain, he could be fired on Thursday, and ESPN reported last week that Barcelona is already considering potential options, with club legend Xavi Hernandez and Belgium coach Roberto Martinez among the frontrunners.
Xavi has long been touted as a potential Barcelona head coach, but the Al-Sadd coach turned down the club’s approaches in 2020 and may be hesitant to return to Catalonia this time around given his former club’s current state.
Martinez is said to have been backed by Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff, however, the possibility of another former Everton manager failing to lead Belgium’s “golden generation” to a major title is unlikely to pique the Catalans’ interest.
Andrea Pirlo is also 11-4 with some bookies, despite having only one season of managing experience, a campaign in which Juventus’ nine-year winning streak came to an end with a fourth-place finish. As per Inews.
