Koeman will be Barca's next coach, Messi to stay - president

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Koeman will be Barca's next coach, Messi to stay - president

 

Soccer Football - Ronald Koeman arrives at Barcelona Airport - Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Barcelona, Spain - August 18, 2020 Dutch coach Ronald Koeman arrives at the airport wearing a mask REUTERS/Albert Gea

 

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Ronald Koeman is set to become Barcelona's next coach and the Dutchman will construct his team around Lionel Messi, president Josep Maria Bartomeu said on Tuesday.

 

Koeman, who is revered by Barca fans for delivering their first European Cup as a player, will be expected to lead the club's rebuilding work after they were thrashed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals last Friday.

 

"If there is no change then we will announce Koeman as our next coach and he will lead this team and these players forward with a different type of project, led by a coach who all Barca fans know," Bartomeu said in an interview with the club's official television channel.

 

Koeman's imminent arrival will be the third phase of a restructuring of the club which began with Quique Setien's sacking on Monday and continued on Tuesday as sporting director Eric Abidal agreed to terminate his contract.

 

Koeman, 57, arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday after spending the morning at the Netherlands' headquarters to negotiate being released from his contract with the national team, who he has coached since 2018 and led to qualify for Euro 2020.

 

Koeman is fondly remembered at Barca for the role he played in Johan Cruyff's hugely successful side known as the 'Dream Team' and for scoring the only goal against Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup final.

 

The defender later became the club's assistant coach before embarking on an eventful career as a head coach, managing Dutch sides Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord plus Premier League teams Southampton and Everton and La Liga's Valencia.

 

"We are betting on him because we know him very well, we know how he thinks and how his teams play, but also because of his experience and as he was in Johan's 'Dream Team' he knows Barca and how we understand football," Bartomeu added.

 

Bartomeu also said captain Messi was not about to leave the club and would be an integral part of the team under Koeman.

 

"Messi wants to end his career at Barca, he has said that many times. I've spoken to Koeman about him and he has told me Messi will be the pillar of his project," Bartomeu said.

 

"Messi has a contract with Barca until 2021. I speak to him and his father regularly and they know that we have a solid project, that a new coach is coming and that he will count on him."

 

Bartomeu, who on Monday announced that the club's presidential elections will take place in March 2021, three months earlier than planned, also defended his running of the club after facing calls to resign after the defeat by Bayern.

 

"We have a sporting crisis but not an institutional one," he added.

 

"We've had a very negative result in the Champions League but the club is in a good place in a social and financial sense."

 

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-19

 

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[trainman34014]

Poison Chalice.  The Club is run by the players and if they don't want to play the Managers way they won't !

[Andrew65]

I thought he did well at Southampton.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Barcelona appoint Koeman as new coach to lead recovery from disastrous season

 

Barcelona unveil new coach Ronald Koeman - Auditorium 1899, Barcelona, Spain - August 19, 2020 Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman during the unveiling REUTERS/Albert Gea

 

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona have appointed Ronald Koeman as their next coach, the club said in a statement on Wednesday, as the Catalans look to rebuild after their 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week.

 

Koeman, who has left his role as manager of the Netherlands, has signed a two-year-deal with Barcelona, who sacked Quique Setien on Monday after he presided over the club's worst defeat ever in European competition and a first trophy-less season for the club since the 2007-08 campaign.

 

Koeman, who will be officially presented at the Camp Nou stadium later on Wednesday, is dearly loved at Barca for his role in Johan Cruyff's hugely successful side known as the 'Dream Team' and for scoring the goal that delivered the club's first ever European Cup in 1992.

 

The defender later became the club's assistant coach before embarking on a career as a head coach, managing Dutch sides Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord plus Premier League sides Southampton and Everton and La Liga's Valencia.

 

"Barcelona and Ronald Koeman have come to an agreement for him to be the team's coach until 30 June 2022," said Barca's statement.

 

"A club legend and Barca's hero at Wembley who gave fans their first European Cup, Koeman is coming back to the Camp Nou. But this time he will be in the dugout to lead the team."

 

Koeman has frequently been linked with the Barcelona job in the past, in spite of a somewhat patchy club record which included disappointing stints at Valencia and Everton.

 

But he worked wonders with the Dutch national team, leading them to 2019 UEFA Nations League final as well as earning qualification to the postponed European Championships after they had failed to reach Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

 

"Over the past two and a half years, I have done everything I can to achieve success with the team," Koeman told the website of the Netherlands' soccer association, the KNVB.

 

"I look back with pride on what we have achieved together in that period. The Dutch national team has a bright future, I am convinced of that. Everyone knows that Barcelona is my dream club. It feels very special to me to be able to become a coach there."

 

The KVNB's director Eric Gudde added: "We regret Ronald's decision, but respect his choice. In the period that Ronald has been national coach, he has achieved good results and given the team colour back in their cheeks after a number of difficult years."

 

Assistant coach Dwight Lodeweges will act as interim national coach until the KNVB has appointed a successor.

 

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Toby Chopra and Christian Radnedge)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-20

 

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