“I felt liberated”- Former Barcelona Ronald Koeman has no regrets about getting sacked by the Catalan club
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Ronald Koeman celebrates the Copa Del Rey win
While criticising Joan Laporta’s management, Ronald Koeman claims Barcelona is deeply immersed in its own history as football evolves beyond its on-field identity. The former Barcelona head coach claims Laporta put him under undue pressure before firing him in October of last year.
As part of Laporta’s second stint as club president, Xavi taking over from the 59-year-old was part of a narrative that the financially troubled club would return to its roots both on and off the field. In an interview with Esport3, Koeman suggested that such a sentiment is ultimately impractical and ignorant of football’s evolution while defending his own tactical decisions as Blaugrana manager.
“I favour dominating the game,” he stated. “You cannot call playing with three central defenders a defensive system. We played the best games in recent years using this system for three or four months.” The [2021 Copa del Rey] final against Athletic was the clearest example. Barcelona is stuck in time, from 4-3-3 to Tiki-taka. Football has evolved. It’s now faster and more physical.”
“You can’t go back in time. If you’ve got Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, who they took away from me. This was extremely difficult to bear.” Koeman also alluded to the weight lifted off his shoulders following his dismissal, particularly given that he left the Netherlands national team to take over Barcelona during a period of significant financial and political upheaval at the club.
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Barcelona sacking felt like a sense of relief to Dutch legend Ronald Koeman
Laporta was elected president of Barcelona three months after Koeman replaced Quique Setien in 2020. Koeman, who is set to take over the Netherlands from Louis van Gaal after this year’s World Cup, insists that his life has become less complicated since leaving, but he has no regrets about returning to the club where he won a Champions League as a player.
“Leaving was a bit of a liberation,” he said. “It was a difficult time for the club, without a president, with Laporta’s doubts about the coach. You want to be a coach and you know that if you don’t win you have problems. I made an effort, I left the national team and if it happened again, I would do it again. I don’t regret it.“
“As president, you can always have doubts but if you say them to the public, everyone doubts. It was a big mistake on his part.”
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Sujeeth Shetty
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