Barcelona are a fraction of the footballing giant we once knew. In order to get back to where they belong, the hierarchy decided to depart with Ronald Koeman. Now they must decide on the right man to take back to the top of European football.
Ronald Koeman’s sacking has not come as a surprise to many, with him being relieved of his duties shortly after a 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano this Wednesday. Barcelona are currently placed ninth in La Liga and are six points behind the top four. The kind of form that they have also produced of late in the Champions League is certainly not good enough for a club of Barcelona’s reputation.
Koeman was never going to have an easy ride when he resigned from the Dutch national team in 2020 to take over the reins at Barcelona. A lot of issues at the club have come from Barcelona’s abysmal ownership from former president Josep Maria Bartomeu. During his presidency, Barcelona went from a 2015 Champions League winning powerhouse to a shell of a team without an identity and a team without the world class players of today. Arguably, Messi’s departure is the biggest disaster Barcelona have faced and probably ever will. Despite these difficulties however, Koeman has failed in his own role of getting the best out of the remaining players at the club.
The Dutchman’s tactics were never at the level needed for Barcelona, with him continuing the trend of abandoning Barcelona’s iconic Tiki-Taka approach for a more pragmatic style of play. Whilst pragmatism is certainly not a bad quality in management, this is not the Barca way. The strengths at the height of their success in the 21st century has been to totally control possession and attack with intelligence, using the world class personnel at their disposal across the board. Koeman’s biggest failure and where the frustration lies is therefore in his lack of implementing an identity for Barcelona to build on.
His heavy losses in the Champions League is the other nail in the coffin for the former Barcelona legend. The most shocking of which would be Barcelona’s 3-0 defeat to Benfica in the Champions League group stage, where Barcelona failed to record a single shot all game. Koeman also embarrassingly broke a Barcelona record this campaign, with him being the first Barcelona manager to record two consecutive Champions League losses in the group stage.
It’s apparent therefore that Koeman’s sacking was inevitable, however the task for Barcelona now is to find a suitable replacement at the Nou Camp. B team coach Sergi Barjaun has been put in temporary charge, but of course the Spanish giants are now on the hunt. The coach has nearly 400 appearances for the club and has coached at various youth levels at Barcelona as well. Whilst Sergi would certainly have the knowledge of the club that anyone could hope for, such as the case with Pep Guardiola, Sergi has only been the B team coach since June. His inexperience with first team management would mean he would likely not get the full-time gig unless he really impresses in an interim role.
Outside of Sergi, there are three main candidates who could quite likely land the Barcelona role. Roberto Martinez is a somewhat outside choice, but he is a Catalan native who has ties to important figures to the Barcelona board. Martinez is a fairly pragmatic manager, but he has had some success with Belgium and Wigan Atheletic, with him winning the F.A. Cup with the latter. Martinez could also be potentially available given he hasn’t really said he is committed to the Belgian national team in the long term, and so it could be likely that Martinez is given a chance to prove himself at a club of Barcelona’s stature.
Giovanni Van Brockenhurst is another potential contender, and the former Barcelona legend is currently available after his resignation from Guangzhou R&F. Van Brockenhurst was one of Europe’s most exciting managers when he won the Eredivisie with Feyenoord in 2017, however he has been managing in China for the last three years, and there is some doubt on his managerial ability. Should he be able to implement some exciting attacking football at Barcelona, Van Brockenhurst could be a potential hidden gem that is waiting to be discovered. Although conversely, he could also be a managerial flop, so it is a risky appointment should Barcelona pull the trigger.
The obvious pick however, and someone who will absolutely get the job one day whether it is this time around of if the job becomes available again, is Barcelona Legend Xavi. Xavi is currently honing his craft at Qatari side Al Sadd, where he is dominating the domestic scene. Xavi’s style of play would be perfect for the club’s identity, with him expressing multiple times in interviews that he is obsessed with keeping possession and forming meaningful attacks with the ball. Within his managerial philosophy, he has immersed himself in the style of football which he played under for Barcelona with great success through the 2000s and 2010s. Xavi’s reputation at the club as well as the love he would receive from the Barcelona faithful would make him a perfect fit at the club. However, Xavi is still yet to manage in a top European League and so would present a huge gamble. Xavi may also be reluctant to take up the job at this point given the instability at Barcelona and will perhaps be wanting an opportunity later down the line when it is more appealing for the Catalan legend.
Whoever Barcelona chooses to appoint, their job will be to steer Barcelona into a better style of play and give Barcelona the trophies that a club of their size expects. Joan Laporta and the rest of the Barcelona board have got to make sure that whoever is in that hotseat is the right person to provide the stability and results that Barcelona need to stay relevant in the current game.