After getting publicly confirmed as the manager, there is so much to cover in regards to Laporta’s decision to keep Ronald Koeman.
When Joan Laporta stood in front of those microphones to confirm he was keeping Ronald Koeman in his job, the entire Barcelona fan base went crazy. They had been pushing for the Dutchman’s exit for weeks because they don’t see him as the ideal candidate for the job. As a player, Ronald was one of the most defensive midfielders from his generation. It makes no sense for anybody to think his playing philosophy would be any different than what he grew up with.
His background as a professional manager didn’t help him either as he never really offered any signs of coaching at an elite level. Koeman finished a dismal spell in Valencia where everybody ended up hating him. Having said this, it became impossible to understand why Laporta made the last-minute decision to confirm Ronald Koeman was getting a chance to redeem himself this season. Laporta decided he is not moving forward with signing a new manager mostly because the club doesn’t have money to spare for Koeman’s severance. But there’s another major reason he made this decision from left field.
Somebody convinced Laporta to keep Koeman.
Given the recent division between manager and president at FC Barcelona, there was one mediator who stood between them. Rafael Yuste is a major player within the club’s board of directors. He is the man who convinced Laporta that Pep Guardiola could possibly do important things at the club back in 2008. Due to their previous decisions made together, Laporta decided to listen to what Rafa Yuste had to say.
‘Mas Que Pelotas’ reported that the advisor was the one who convinced Laporta that giving Koeman another chance was a good idea. They also report that the club was already close to making a deal with Xavi Hernandez to become the new manager. But an encounter with Koeman changed everything just hours before Barcelona’s match against Atletico Madrid. We all expected Koeman to get sacked after the game but this hasn’t happened yet. There is still hope that Xavi could get to Barcelona but only if Ronald Koeman keeps delivering poor results.
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