With or without Koeman, it is what it is

With or without Koeman, it is what it is

Lluís Mascaró

Director de Información Deportiva de Prensa Ibérica

| sport

With Koeman or without Koeman, it is what it is. This Barca gives what it gives. And the problem is not Koeman. At least not the big problem. The huge one is a squad that’s deteriorated and some players, many but not all, who are not even good enough to be substitutes. Barca are a weak team. Very weak. Incomplete. With great defensive fragility. And without attacking possibility. Without goals. Any decent rival is capable of destroying Barcelona. Three painful defeats strip them bare - they cannot compete.

Koeman will stay until who knows when, barring a new dramatic twist. Laporta, after two conversations with him, has changed his mind. On Thursday, Koeman was sentenced. He was going to be sacked. And all that remained was finding a replacement. The coach admitted it more or less on Wednesday at his press conference. But the president ratified Koeman on Sunday. “He will continue, whatever happens,” said Laporta. And what happened was a new KO. Now what? Nobody knows. Waiting, maybe, for a miracle. What a drama.

In the 23rd minute the defence switched off. Lemar made it 1-0. Busquets and Pique blamed each other for the goal. And Koeman, raging on the phone, was furious at the error. There is no remedy. At least for now. Because the remedy is total revolution in the dressing room. Absolute regeneration, betting on the youngsters. And signing. We have to look for money, get it wherever we can, to be able to bring in the right calibre of player next summer.

Quality replacement. Stars. Not subs of subs. Cracks who can help the youths to build a new Barca. Until that moment comes we will need patience. A lot of patience. Because what we saw last night at the Wanda Metropolitano, I’m afraid we’ll see through the season. Only Dembele and Aguero can bring goals after injury. And that, honestly, would be a miracle.

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