A night to remember : Koeman fired after the loss vs Rayo (1-0)

Another frustrating evening yesterday, as Barcelona lose again, this time vs Rayo. After the match, I wanted to write a reaction article, like I sometimes do after the team loses. But something told me “Hand in there”, as there could be new events to talk about. And around 0:00 CET the club we heard the news : Koeman is fired.

Yesterday it was another embarrassing night for FC Barcelona. A goal by Falcao won the game for the small team from Madrid. Moreover, Barcelona with 1 shot on target- the penalty Memphis missed near the end. Therefore, Barcelona still doesn’t win away from home.

According to the reports, the loss vs Rayo was the final straw. Laporta said ‘Enough is enough’ and fired Koeman during the flight home to Barcelona.

Koeman will forever remain a legend in the history of FC Barcelona. He took the job in a very bad timing, and had to cope with the awful situation of the club in the last year. However, the fact that he made fans miss Valverde should be enough to understand how bad he is for the club.

Laporta fired Koeman exactly 1 year after the resignation of Bartomeu. What a closure as one of the former president’s last moves was to sign Koeman and keep him beyond the end of his term. It’s fair to say that without the high compensation, Laporta would replace the coach in the summer.

But the loss yesterday was just enough to relieve Koeman from his job.

Now what?

According to many reports, the best candidate is, of course, Xavi. Laporta always said that Xavi will be a Barcelona coach, although he would prefer that Xavi would coach in Europe first. But it seems like the conversations in the last weeks convinced Laporta that Xavi is indeed the best man for the job.

As per rumors, Xavi would like to leave his job in Qatar in good terms. He will coach a game in Saturday, and only after that he will probably leave.

Barcelona has 3 crucial games in the next 10 days, and afterwards an international break. It looks like Barcelona would like Xavi to start working during the international break, so that means we will have an interim coach for the next matches. Barcelona B coach Sergi Barjuan looks like the most probable option for that short term solution.

Time for wishes

Koeman is fired, and it’s time for a change. I do think that our squad has many problems. However, a better coach would and should take these players and turn them into a good team. I think Xavi will be able to do that. I’m not even hoping for titles this season, but let me enjoy watching FC Barcelona again.

Once the team will return to the values that made us so good once, I’m sure that the wins and titles will come. But it might take some time. Will our fanbase have the patience needed? Time will tell

Marco