No worker is going to be productive in any industry if they know the manager has no authority and is set to leave, so this could be a fascinating game for Barcelona this weekend if this report is accurate:
?¡ÚLTIMA HORA!?El técnico del FC Barcelona estará el sábado ante el Atlético, pero su adiós está decidido tras el nuevo descalabro ante el Benfica
?? @ffpolo / @gbsanshttps://t.co/cB4LlVhE4l
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) September 30, 2021
They claim that the decision to sack Koeman has already been made after the humbling defeat to Benfica last night, so he will be gone after the game against Atletico Madrid this weekend.
It would be a curious decision to make because it’s hard to see the players being up for the game if there’s so much instability, while it would also be awkward if he gets them going and they get the win.
You have to think that this means some kind of replacement is lined up for next week, but surely it would still make sense to just get a caretaker in charge for the weekend rather than giving Koeman some kind of sendoff game against a direct title rival?
The report does suggest that a win won’t change the outcome here, while Barca are currently coming up with a shortlist of candidates to succeed Koeman.
Xavi appears to be the “best” candidate as he’ll get time and the backing of the fans, but Andrea Pirlo and Roberto Martinez are also named alongside Antonio Conte.
Conte could be fascinating but he won’t buy into the club’s historical style of play and he’s never going to be an appointment that takes the long-term health of the team into account, so it will be interesting to see how this actually plays out.
Appoint #RobertoMartinez OR #JoseMourinho