Ronald Koeman’s job has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks in light of his fractured relationship with the club hierarchy and dwindling results.
A 1-1 draw against Granada in LaLiga game pushed the Catalans further away from the league summit, currently occupied by Real Madrid, and put Koeman’s position under even more scrutiny.
The Dutchman was on the defensive during the post-match conference, claiming that the team he has inherited is different from the world-beaters of a decade ago. However, he refused to be drawn into the speculation regarding his position at the club.
“I’m not going to talk about my future anymore,”
“Today’s Barca is not the Barca of eight years ago. We played Barca’s way, but we don’t have the speed on the break because Coutinho goes inside, Demir doesn’t go too deep and that’s the way it is.
With Ansu or Dembele it’s different, you have more speed, but you have to look for alternatives.”
he said.
Nonetheless, Koeman is under the microscope presently. Rumors in the past weeks have spoken of a fractured relationship with the club hierarchy. Meanwhile, the Dutchman proclaimed himself as a saviour of the club’s future recently, but results since have been disappointing; a draw against Granada was preceded by a 3-0 loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
In light of the aforementioned factors, Barcelona have drawn up a five-man shortlist to replace the under-fire Dutchman – says Gerard Romero. On the shortlist are Xavi, Antonio Conte, Phillip Cocu, Andrea Pirlo, and Joachim Low. Out of those five, only Xavi is currently associated with a club. He is the manager of Qatar outfit Al Sadd.
Conte and Pirlo left their jobs this summer at Inter Milan and Juventus, respectively. Cocu has been without a role since being let go by Derby County last season, while Low’s long tenure as the head coach of the Germany national team came to an end following this summer’s European championships.
Barcelona currently sit seventh in the LaLiga table, five points behind Real, albeit with a game in hand over them.
