All about Ronald Koeman, the new Barcelona coach

Although for many it is an unknown name, Ronald Koeman has long resonated in the world of football. And the fact is that the new director of Barcelona already has a long history both as a manager and as a sports player. The news that he would be the new coach of Blaugrana came weeks before the bomb this week that Messi would leave the ranks of the team, but this does not mean that he is less important.

Koeman seems to have arrived to impose a new order within Barcelona. According to As, in a recent meeting he had with Messi, he told him: “Your privileges in the squad are over, you have to do everything for the team. I'm going to be inflexible, you have to think about the team” . The words were apparently the final blow for Messi to decide that his departure would be final, although Koeman had assured the Argentine that he was the linchpin of his new strategy.

It is true that Koeman has been relentless in his pursuit of this new strategy. So far as a coach, he has already said goodbye to four players: Arturo Vidal, Luis Suárez, Samuel Umititi and Ivan Rakitic. Suárez was reportedly fired by phone in a call that lasted just under two minutes. His replacements have yet to be defined, but Koeman is known to have contacted Philippe Coutinho to tell him that he wants him on his team.

The dark situation that the Blaugrana team is going through is not a secret to anyone, with the resignation of its president and the departure of its biggest star in the same week. As such, Koeman finds himself with a team that will be more demoralized than ever. But do you have what it takes to reform it?

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The Dutchman's career

Koeman was a player for several soccer teams, including Groningen, Ajax and Barcelona itself, with which he won a Copa del Rey in 1989, and La Liga from 1991 to 1994. His nickname as a player was Tintin, as his strength was compared to that of the comic book character.

As a coach, he has been on a wide variety of teams, including Ajax, Benfica, PSV, Southampton, Everton, as well as the Netherlands national team, of which he was coach for the last two and a half years. He has won three Eredivisie titles, two with Ajax and one with PSV. He also won a Copa del Rey with Valencia in 2007.

Koeman then has a long career as both a player and coach, but unfortunately he comes to the team at a time of transition in which he will undoubtedly receive a lot of negativity. Will he be able to show off his talents as a technical director in a post-Messi Barcelona?