Well, as for the two peas in a pod, Ronald Koeman of Barcelona and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Manchester United, it looks like one\u2019s just been shelled and the other one is left in the pod feeling disconsolate and unsure when\u2019ll it be his term to get the sack.<\/p>\n
The Spanish giants were rudely stunned into harsh reality from the recent hard reality slap resulting from their 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano, their first defeat at Estadio de Vallecas in almost two decades, and finally dismissed their head coach on Wednesday evening. Koeman and his peer at Old Trafford had both been undergoing almost similar crises at both camps and his dismissal comes amid intense pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job, culminating in United\u2019s nightmare result of a 5-0 home humiliation to their most bitter rivals Liverpool.<\/p>\n
While Solskjaer is fortunately in the meantime understood to have been afforded a temporary stay of execution for at least the next few immediate games at least, the incumbent heavily-beleaguered manager will take charge of the trip to Tottenham on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, last season\u2019s Serie A-winning managerial supremo, Antonio Conte, has surfaced as the hot candidate for the job at both juggernaut clubs and is reported to be discussions for the United vacancy.<\/p>\n
Barcelona announcement on Wednesday evening regarding the sacking of head coach Koeman now also paves the way for one of United’s leading managerial targets to head to Camp Nou, with the result coming three days after losing at home to rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico and just weeks after similarly-damaging defeats to Benfica in the Champions League and Liga champions Atletico.<\/p>\n
The news in the grapevine is that former Chelsea and Inter-Milan manager Antonio Conte is open to discussing any role at Old Trafford, despite being among the candidates mooted for the Barca job.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Ajax’s Erik ten Hag is another likely candidate linked with Solskjaer’s job and could also be an option for Barcelona president Joan Laporta to consider, besides former captain and midfield legend Xavi Hernandes, with the latter being the current bookies’ favorite for the Camp Nou job.<\/p>\n
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