In what seemed inevitable for weeks, Barcelona officially sacked manager Ronald Koeman on Wednesday. This call came following Barca's La Liga away loss to Rayo Vallecano, which kept the side at ninth place in the league standings.
For months, there were many calls for Barca president Joan Laporta to sack Koeman. Laporta refused to take this route, as he instead continued to voice his confidence in Koeman to turn the tide on the season.
Now, looking back, Laporta believes that he should have sacked Koeman much sooner, which he explained during a press conference ahead of Barca's league fixture against Deportivo Alaves.
“The decision quite possibly arrived late,” Laporta said.
“We should have removed him earlier, but it's easier to analyze things with the benefit of hindsight. In September, when we backed him, we felt he deserved to be shown some confidence and be given the chance to get the injured players back.
“I take responsibility for not making the decision before. We beat Valencia and Dynamo Kyiv, but then came a series of bad results. We were drifting dangerously, and we risked losing touch in all competitions.”
Numerous reports and rumors have noted that former Barca midfielder Xavi Hernandez is in line to become the club's next manager. But for the moment, Barca B manager Sergi Barjuan will lead the team for its upcoming league clash with Alaves.
Laporta touched on these rumors during the press conference, where he did not confirm that Xavi will soon take over as Barca's new manager but rather noted that the club has options to fill this position.
“I have never changed the discourse,” Laporta said. “I have always said that he will end up being a Barca coach. I would like him to be during my presidency, but I don't know when.
“I will remain confidential on the options we have. We would not act like professionals and it could hurt the negotiations.”
For now, Barcelona will look to bounce back in La Liga play in the upcoming home matchup against Alaves, where a win is surely needed following its 15 points in 10 league matches start.
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