If Ronald Koeman didn’t feel under enough pressure already at Barcelona, it now appears as though he’s been given just a fortnight to turn things around.
The defeat to Bayern Munich was one of the worst performances by the Catalans in years, and whilst not a humiliation in terms of the score, the fact that the hosts couldn’t even manage a shot on target in the entire 90 minutes suggests that the Dutchman has an unbelievable amount of work to do to keep Barca competitive.
According to Don Balon, president Joan Laporta has now put a deadline on Koeman’s tenure.
If Barca fail to beat Benfica in the second match of the Champions League group stage, thereby making their passage into the knockout stages difficult, then Laporta is likely to wield the axe.
Koeman’s problem appears to be his own headstrong personality and an insistence to do things his way.
Were Barca winning the big games there would be no issue, but the Dutchman consistently fails to get it right in the matches that matter.
The issue for Laporta is who he would bring in and whether the club would be in a position to pay off the remainder of Koeman’s contract.
What a mess.