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The Argentine pushed on until the end of Tuesday’s 3-0 home loss to Juventus, but those around him disappointed him once again.
Barcelona’s interim president Carles Tusquets doesn’t have the power to fire the coach, and that’s the only reason Ronald Koeman still has a job right now.
Make no mistake about it: in a normal season, the Dutchman would leave. But this is not a normal season and Barça is in an extraordinary situation, an unprecedented mess.
Koeman, of course, is not solely responsible for the many problems of the Catalans, far from it.
However, while he knew he was being played a bad hand when he agreed to take over as coach after a summer of utter chaos at Camp Nou, he has played it horribly.
Of course, Barca already made it to the Champions League round of 16 before Tuesday night’s chaotic 3-0 loss at home to an average Juventus side, but now they have given away their best seeded team. the Bianconeri, which means the Blaugrana will face a group winner in the knockout phase.
It doesn’t matter who they draw, Barça has little chance of passing, not Koeman’s Barça anyway. You are not influencing the games in any positive way, shape or form. Not once this season have they come back to win, and they never seemed to do it here.
Of course, Koeman could be fired in February, if cash-strapped Catalans can afford the bounty. That is certainly not a fact.
But one wonders how long after the January 24 election the new president will decide that a manager change is essential, because this cannot be allowed to continue for much longer.
Any hope that Barça had to convince Messi to stay is almost over. It would take remarkable powers of persuasion to convince the six-time Ballon d’Or winner that he can claim another victory playing for this team, under this coach. Don’t be surprised if you push to move in again in January.
He’s been accused of throwing in the towel, of course, but that’s unfair. He was once again Barça’s best player against Juve. He had more shots (11), more shots on goal (seven), more touches (125) and more duels (19) than any other player on the field.
However, it ended goalless; his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored two, both from the penalty spot.
And really, that’s all that matters. Messi now plays for a team in decline with Koeman, while Juve is improving with Andrea Pirlo.
Barça had the best of all the most important statistics, except the one that really counts, on the scoreboard. This is because this team specializes in the kind of self-destruction that the board has become famous for.
The first penalty may have been tough, but it was a clumsy challenge from a young defender who only played because Barca are painfully short of coverage at the rear, which is why Clement Lenglet is now showing the effects of playing all the time.
A central defender who was once famous for his reliability has turned into an accident waiting to happen, so it came as no surprise when the clearly mentally fatigued Frenchman literally gave Ronaldo another penalty in the second half.
The truth is that Juve didn’t do much after an impressive first quarter, but they didn’t have to either. Defend yourself well against this Barça and it is always probable that they will give you a goal.
Remember, they entered this game after a ridiculous 2-1 loss in Cádiz that has placed them ninth in La Liga, an embarrassing 12 points behind leader Atlético de Madrid.
The only saving grace for Koeman after Barca’s worst start to the season in more than 32 years was his perfect Champions League record.
However, the Barça group was desperately weak, with Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros as the quintessential drivers, and Juve in transition with rookie coach Pirlo.
The blaugrana could have been defeated 2-0 and still lead the group. However, in the end they were lucky to lose only by three.
Like Koeman he’s lucky that he can’t get fired after another pathetic show from a team that’s only getting worse on his watch.
