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Ousmane Dembele got a few pats on the back earlier this week because he seemed to be training on his day off. Then he was pointed out by the knowledgeable announcer Lluis Canut: he hadn’t appeared of his own free will, Ronald Koeman had given him extra work.
Barcelona’s new coach has beaten down the roster of disgruntled and unmotivated players he inherited when he took the job in shape, and has earned the respect of those same players by doing so.
The foreman with the nickname ‘Sergeant Koeman’ has a habit of not walking lightly when he first enters a new locker room, but Barcelona players knew when he replaced Quique Setien three months ago that things were going to have to change.
Thomas Muller said when Bayern beat Barça 8-2 in those quarterfinals of the Champions League: “Before the start of the game we had been warming up 10 minutes before they appeared. They seemed very relaxed.
That damning verdict on Barca’s total lack of intensity ahead of the club’s most humiliating European result was something that made all players want a fresh start with a more disciplined approach.
Koeman has recovered training on match days. It is something in which Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique insisted on their determination to win triples in their first seasons.
Defenders say that, far from exhausting players before they have to act, it puts every player in the group on alert. It also provides set pieces coaches the opportunity to get free kick and corner work done with minimal time before it needs to be put into practice on the field.
That is not the only method of Guardiola / Luis Enrique restored.
Players are now required to sign in at the club’s Joan Gamper training ground one hour before training begins.
Dembélé has already faced this new rule. Some argued, in his defense, that he had only been 10 minutes late and was therefore still in place 50 minutes before the start of the session, but that does not wash out with Koeman, who wants players to eliminate their routines prior to training. long before the session begins.
Far from alienating the squad with the new rules, the players are delighted with it. When Ernesto Valverde was replaced last January, then-sporting director Eric Abidal said that certain players were “not working” with Valverde.
The comment is remembered because it caused Lionel Messi to openly criticize Abidal on social networks, asking him to name names because by not doing so he was putting the entire group in doubt.
Messi’s fury came from having been a Valverde fan. But clearly some high-level players had made noises regarding the low-paced training sessions that were later reflected in the performances. Abidal was not inventing anything. Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué are two of those who felt that the squad needed a new boost.
After having tried to bring in Koeman in January or Mauricio Pochettino or Xavi, the management failed to land any of their objectives and had to turn to Setien who never earned the respect of the squad and whose reign therefore inevitably led to a even less intense atmosphere around training and games.
Koeman has made things better. Some have a rocket and others have an arm around their shoulders. Philippe Coutinho has been told he has a future at Barcelona and has been transferred to his prime position just behind the striker for the first four games of the season.
Antoine Griezmann was also told nice things, although everyone’s favorite position request cannot be granted at the same time. Against Sevilla, Coutinho played well and scored. Griezmann missed opportunities to kill the game and Koeman admitted it after the match.
Perhaps due to his pedigree as a former European Cup and La Liga champion with Barcelona, such frankness has been embraced by everyone, even those who are the target of criticism.
This is the coach who upset almost everyone in Valencia in 2008. In a recent Sportsmail interview, Joaquín didn’t even dare to say Koeman’s name when he mentioned the coach in charge of him in Valencia.
But so far Koeman is charming everyone and alienating almost no one. Even Messi.
The Barcelona captain wants to win first and foremost, and he liked the way the team played in the first four games of the campaign.
The new 4-2-3-1 system is working for him right now. He starts at the top of the team, but is licensed to drop 10 or drift to the right.
Messi longs for another serious project that will produce another success in the Champions League. He is still annoyed by the departure of Luis Suárez but as the Uruguayan made clear when he left: it was not Koeman’s decision to leave him.
Koeman still has many battles to fight. It’s clear Messi’s priorities have shifted in Argentina’s favor in recent months. He’s committed to Barcelona and happy with Koeman, but things have gotten bad enough that he is now happy to go play 180 minutes for his country when in the past he has put Barcelona first in the way.
Does Koeman start with Messi on Saturday after his exploits in Bolivia? How do you deal with the lack of a left back for this weekend’s game against Getafe and when the first slip comes, things fall apart?
These are obstacles that will have to be overcome, for now Koeman feels that he has already overcome the most overwhelming obstacle: building a relationship with a team shattered by that terrible exit from the Champions League and the subsequent circus that engulfed the summer and preseason. So far so good.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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