"Act differently!" - Former Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman slams club president Joan Laporta for the way in which he was sacked
Former Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has criticized club president Joan Laporta for being inconsiderate while sacking the Dutchman.
Koeman, who spent six years at Camp Nou as a player, was sacked as manager in October 2021 following Barca’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Rayo Vallecano. He was given the sack while the team was returning from Madrid, in front of his players.
On Hoge Bomen, a TV Show, the 58-year-old was asked to comment on the manner of his Barcelona dismissal. The club legend blatantly urged Laporta to treat the icons with dignity, blaming him for not handling the dismissal in a more respectful manner. He said:
“The way Laporta sacked me? One thing that hurt me about it was that players were sitting behind us in the plane while I had to come and sit next to him. He always shouts that I’m a club legend, prove it then…and act differently!”
Laporta brought in Koeman as manager ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. Despite enjoying some early success, the Dutchman lost his footing and could not lead Barca to the Spanish title or the Champions League.
The start of the 2021-22 campaign was even more bizarre as the Catalans fell to successive defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica in the Champions League. An underwhelming win against Dynamo Kyiv followed, but that success was quickly marred by a defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga.
Three days after that defeat, Vallecano beat the Blaugrana in Madrid, which served as the final nail in the coffin for Koeman’s managerial career.
Barcelona cruise to 4-0 win against Osasuna, close in on second-placed Sevilla
Three days after being subjected to a goalless draw against Galatasaray in the Europa League, Barcelona put on a show of intent in La Liga. Koeman’s successor Xavi led his team to an astounding 4-0 win against Osasuna, allowing the third-placed La Liga outfit to come within five points of second-placed Sevilla.
Ferran Torres, who had been struggling for goals, completed a brace inside the opening 21 minutes of the match. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then joined the party in the 27th minute to put Barcelona 3-0 up. Finally, substitute Riqui Puig capped off the goal-fest in the 75th minute, cheekily finishing off a clever Barca move.