Ronald Koeman has been fired as Barcelona coach after 14 months at the helm of the Catalans. Barcelona has accumulated only 15 points from 10 matches in La Liga, and moreover, has lost 2 meetings in the group stage of Champions League. The loss to Rayo Vallecano was one more reason to convince President Laporta that Koeman is not the right man to bring Barcelona back to success.
Meanwhile the fans of the Spanish club have a reason to celebrate, as the team legend, midfielder Xavi Hernández, has accepted an offer to be the new coach of Barcelona. The agreement is expected to be confirmed after the termination of Xavi's contract with the Qatari club, Al Sadd.
Xavi has applied the famous "tiki-taka" of Barcelona, in the game of his team, and this has brought a lot of success to the club. But the former player had been skeptical before when it came to taking over Barcelona. Local reports say the Spaniard is already ready to take office, as Laporta has provided him with a long-term plan, and the freedom to do things his way.
Meanwhile, in an official statement on the dismissal of Koeman, the Spanish club announced:
"The president of the team, Joan Laporta, informed him (Koeman) about the decision, after the loss to Rayo Vallecano. "Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the team soon."
The former Dutch national team coach, Everton, and Southampton could not lead Barcelona more than third place in the league last season. The departure of Leo Messi and the difficult financial situation did not help the coach at all, but anyway, much more was expected from him at the helm of Barcelona.
The introduction of Xavi as the new coach of the club, is expected to take place after the match against Alaves at home.
