Barcelona have sacked head coach Quique Setien 3 days after their embarrassing 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich.
Former Barca player Ronald Koeman, who played for the Spanish giants from 1989 -1995, is set to take over the reigns of the club after agreeing a 2-year deal.
Following Setien’s sacking, Barca released a statement saying there would be an official announcement on the new coach soon, while also hinting at further changes at the club.
“It is time for us to review and take the decisions which are needed for the future. This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days,” the official club statement read.
While the appointment of Koeman may come as a surprise, the sacking of Setien most certainly didn’t. After finishing second in La Liga, 5 points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid, the humiliating thrashing in last week’s Champions League quarter final was the final nail in the former Real Betis coach’s coffin.
Barcelona will now need to pay compensation to the Dutch FA for Koeman’s services, as the former Everton manager is currently under contract to coach the Netherlands national side.
Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was said to be interested in the vacant role and the Argentinian was the preferred choice of some members of the Barcelona board. However, his time as player and manager of Espanyol – local rivals of Barca – is said to have cost him, with sections of both the media and the club’s fan base opposed to Poch’s appointment. Seemingly, the Blaugrana instead decided to take the safer option by going with club legend Koeman.
The club also announced it’s bringing forward the date of the next presidential elections. These usually take place in summer, however the club said this was not feasible and they will instead commence in March 2021.