As the end of the season approaches, Ronald Koeman has progressively managed to win over hearts of the Barcelona squad.
When the Dutchman first arrived in Catalonia, taking over from Quique Setien with the club mired in scandal and with morale at its lowest ebb immediately after a horrendous 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, one of his biggest challenges he faced was to reunite the disunited team and get them by his side and it now looks like he has achieved that, to his credit.
As per the latest reports by Sport, the Barcelona dressing room has unanimously approached the newly-elected president, Joan Laporta, in voicing their approval of the Dutch manager and asking for his continuance as their manager.
Several key figures have apparently backed Koeman with some of them even publicly appreciating his methods, with one of those being Jordi Alba who has been particularly impressed by Koeman’s direct approach when it comes to players. In his interview with Sport, Alba said,
“I have always had the support of the coach, he is a legend of the club, a coach who always goes face to face with all the players, and that is the most important thing for me.”
The left-back added that his feelings are echoed by most of his teammates. He asserted:
“Koeman’s work has been very good and the players are responding well to everything he asks of us. It is not my decision, but it is clear that he is doing a great job for the club and all of us.”
Apart from the players, Koeman has also been appreciated by higher management. The former interim president of Barcelona and the current president of the management committee, Carles Tusquets, spoke to Cadena SER and expressed his confidence in the Dutch manager:
“I hope Koeman continues. He was the first one to tell me ‘Pay me when you can’. He is a brave man and he loves the club.”
Koeman’s tendency to embrace the whole squad has been admired by the dressing room as well. He has gone all out to ensure that no player feels left out, with Umtiti – who after terrible displays was given second chances – being one of the clear examples.
Koeman’s contribution to building a great atmosphere around the squad has resulted in the results taking an upward turn and with the Catalans now on currently the longest unbeaten streak in domestic football, it would be pretty hard to imagine a Barcelona dugout without the Dutch manager for the next season, if for any reason this were to happen.