Ronald Koeman: Barcelona solve nothing by sacking coach
After weeks of speculation, Barcelona have finally sacked Ronald Koeman as head coach. But will that solve anything for the Catalan crisis club?
Article initially published before Barcelona's 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid.
A second successive Champions League defeat, this time at the the hands of Benfica, plunged Barcelona, and Ronald Koeman, further into crisis.
A dreaded public vote of confidence from Joan Laporta soon followed, ahead of what was ultimately a humbling trip to the Wanda Metropolitano, where Atletico Madrid made light work of Koeman's side in a routine win.
The former Netherlands boss would limp on for a few weeks more, but defeats in the opening Clasico of the season and at perennial minnows Rayo Vallecano in the space of five days would prove to be the final straw.
Koeman had been under intense pressure following the 3-0 loss in Lisbon, which had left Barca bottom of Group E.
But there is a reason it is the world's premier club competition. It's a struggle to get results, just ask their bitter rivals Real Madrid, who arguably suffered a far more embarrassing defeat to Moldovan side Sheriff just 24 hours earlier, without the same level of outcry in the direction of Carlo Ancelotti.
In fact, Real even went on to lose to Espanyol only a few days later.
That begs the question, has it really been fair that Koeman was forced to work under such scrutiny?
Given the circumstances it has been, let’s say, a tad harsh.
A new era at Barca
A club of Barcelona's stature will, of course, be under the spotlight when losing by such a wide margin in the Champions League, but there must be some recognition of the mammoth task facing their head coach in the current climate.
Koeman said following that defeat that there was "no point" in comparing this Barca team to years gone by, and he's absolutely right.
After all, the Dutchman is at the helm during one of the toughest spells in the club's history.
Barca's farcical financial struggles after poor squad composition have been well-documented, exacerbated by the loss of the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, to Paris Saint-Germain.
Perhaps the only barometer we have to the difference between pre and post-Messi Barca is their 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich (xG: BAR 0.20 - 2.77 BAY), a rather defeated performance that was clearly influenced by an 8-2 loss to the same team in August 2020.
Some promise in La Liga
For all the panic surrounding the Catalan giants, they are just six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid after 10 games.
Admittedly, they have lost three of their past five matches, but there have been some positive signs in early season despite the predicament the previous regime left Barca in.
For instance, their defence is performing at a fairly decent level, allowing an average of 0.95 expected goals against (xGA) per game in the league this season.
Game state has played its part in that, with Barca conceding first in a few fixtures already, but given they are yet to name the same back four in successive games, then the defensive unit deserves praise.
The emergence of 22-year old Ronald Araújo as a partner for Gerard Piqué has been vitally important considering the financial situation at the club. It's hard to argue against the Uruguayan being their player of the season so far.
Unfortunately, the defender is also arguably Barca's biggest threat in attack this season.
The impact of losing Lionel Messi can't be understated. The little magician contributed to 45% of Barcelona's total xG in La Liga last term, output that is simply impossible to replace with any one player.
Barca's struggles with chance creation in the absence of Messi has, predictably, reared its ugly head away from the Camp Nou.
In sharing the points with Athletic Club and Cádiz, they recorded just 1.01 and 0.64 xG on the road respectively. In the subsequent defeats by Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano it was 0.82 and 0.90.
At home, Barca have averaged 2.42 expected goals for (xGF) per game.
Heir apparent Ansu Fati returns
It may well be harsh that one player might be expected to fill the void that Messi leaves, but that is the mindset of many, and Ansu Fati could be that very player.
Taking up the mantle of the No.10 shirt is a bold move, but we've already witnessed brilliance from the 18-year-old in his short career; a burgeoning one that has been interrupted by a serious knee injury.
After 323 days on the sidelines, Fati made an immediate impact on his belated return in Barca's 3-0 win over Levante last weekend, scoring a screamer just ten minutes after coming on.
Fati's record is already impressive, scoring every 142 minutes on average in the Champions League and La Liga, but even more impressive is Fati's conversion rate, scoring 15 times from 69 shots totalling 8.6 xG in those same games.
Despite his tender age, his return is a huge boost to whoever replaces Koeman at the Nou Camp.
Fati's infectious enthusiasm may be quickly tempered though, having claimed Barca can fight for "both La Liga and the Champions League" after that win over Levante...
Should Ronald Koeman have been sacked?
Koeman did the opposite to his teenage star, imploring everyone to remain "realistic" considering the situation at the club.
Who knows, at a club the size of Barcelona perhaps that contributed to his downfall. It's a fair point he made, though.
If a club is thought to be in the midst of a crisis, which Barcelona most certainly are, then expectations shouldn't remain the same as they were pre-crisis.
Alas, football is far from a forgiving sport. Koeman is the convenient scapegoat for Barca's failures, but the troubles run much deeper than the man in charge on matchday.
Defeat to the Madrid giants, and then in Madrid's suburbs, ultimately signalled the end for Koeman in his dream job. He will now be forced to watch on perhaps wondering what more he could have done with the task handed to him.
Maybe he will find solace in knowing his replacement will face exactly the same problems.