Ronald Koeman has been appointed as the new Barcelona manager, taking over from Quique Setién who was appointed in January, 2020.
Quique Setien’s short-lived reign as Barcelona head coach is expected to come to an end on Monday after the Catalan giant held a board meeting.
The 61-year-old only took over from Ernesto Valverde in January but has presided over one of the worst periods in the club’s history.
After exiting the Copa del Rey early and finishing second to Real Madrid in La Liga, Barca suffered a humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the last eight of the Champions League.
The new coach, Koeman was a former Barcelona player, and assistant manager, and will leave his role as Netherlands coach to take over at the Camp Nou in time for the new season.
Setién’s days looked numbered even before the humiliating 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich on Friday and he will leave after seven uncomfortable months.
Barcelona finished five points behind Real Madrid in the league and lost to Athletic Bilbao at the quarter-final stage in the Spanish Cup. It is the first time in the past 12 years that the club have ended a season trophyless.
Koeman had already turned Barça down in January, when the club were looking for a replacement for Ernesto Valverde, but this time he could not resist the challenge.
The original preference for the Barça president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, was to hire Mauricio Pochettino but some board members were against that considering the former Espanyol manager once said that he would rather go and work on a farm than manage Barcelona.
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PHILLIPS OluBiyi
August 17, 2020 at 9:57 pm
This is not the best of times for Barca…Leo leaving? That implies the end of the golden era for the most thrilling team the world has ever seen on the football pitch in modern history.The end was gradual but inevitable with maestros like Xavi,Iniester,David Villa,Eto,etc leaving.Messi has paid his due to his clubs from childhood.His ferocious passion,dedication& love for Barca is uncommon! The reality of Barca’s current travails lies squarely on Bertomeu led Barca board.Visionless business men& politics ended Barca’s fear factor in Europe.The clueless board kept engaging third rated managers after Enrique left..This same irresponsible board refused to buy young,dynamic& ambitious players the Real Madrid did but rather kept faith with spentforces like Suarez,Arturo Vidal & Griezmann! It’s doubtful if Leo can achieve the dizzying heights he commanded@ Barca in any other clubs…On a personal note, Barca’s President & members of his board should lead the clear out at the club that once gave joy to mankind with it’s exquisite tikitaka style of play!