Ronald Koeman.
Barcelona’s Unexpected Savior?

|THREAD|

Koeman has been hired to become the new manager, replacing former boss and pragmatist, Quique Setién.

In this thread we’ll look at:
• Koeman’s tactics
• Fixing the Spine
• The Messi Problem
• The Neymar Void
• Straying From the Norm

Koeman’s Tactics

As Netherlands coach, prior to joining the Catalonian powerhouse, Ronald Koeman’s win percentage stands at a decent 55% which is lower than Setién’s for Barca (64%).

His Dutch team lined up in an asymmetrical 433, as shown in their match vs Germany.

Off the ball they defended in a 352 formation with Dumfries and Bergwijn being deployed as wingbacks and Fdj screening the defence. However their wingbacks were easily pinned back by their German counterparts.

I won’t go too much in depth with this match but I just wanted to point out some basic weaknesses and strengths in the Dutch team.

Strengths.
- fluid formation
- great at keeping possession
- counterattacks
- large volume of passes came from Blind
- movement of attackers

Weaknesses.
- individual errors
- don’t exploit halfspaces enough
- susceptible to overloads on their wings
- passing without purpose

Fixing the Spine.

Every team has a spine they’ve built their team around.
- PSG: Silva, Marqui, Verratti, Presko, Neybappe (average age: 27.5)

- Bayern: Thiago, Müller, Alaba, Lewa, Boateng, Neuer, Kimmich (average age: 29.8)

Barcelona’s spine consists of: MTS, Messi, Suarez, Alba, Pique, Busquets.

The average age is 32.1. It’s obvious that some discs in the spine must be replaced.
Choosing who needs to stay must be their priority.

Messi, MTS, Pique and Busquets (I’ll explain why) must be kept.

The Messi Problem.

The second problem is “What to do with Lionel?”. Don’t get me wrong, Messi is a legend but are Barça really getting the best out of him? He’s linked to leave (obviously won’t happen) so they must convince him to stay and have total confidence in Koeman.

But that’s not the main issue. Messi needs to go through with his next stage of his tactical evolution.

He needs to play as an 8. Think about this. His talents should be used as a playmaker rather than both goal scorer AND play creator.

Di Maria and Bruno Fernandes are two players that play in this advanced 8 role and have been amazing, especially Di Maria. His willingness to change for the betterment of the team has allowed Tuchel to squeeze the last bit of talent out of him.

Messi will be closer to the midfield. He can drift in between the lines and Barcelona will be able to execute counter attacks much faster. I can say this and nothing will happen but Messi is an 8 is a step in the right direction.

The Neymar Void.

367 million.

That’s how much Barça have spent on trying to replace Neymar. This has to change. Their obsession with him is causing the club to spend money they don’t have.

It’s time to give up the idea that Neymar has to be replaced, because he simply cannot.

Instead of trying to find a replacement, they need to focus on building a proper spine for the club. A base where they can build off from because Neymar was supposed to be that when Messi retired but now they’ve allowed themselves to be fully dependent on Messi.

They need to stop expecting players like Dembele to produce Neymar like numbers because he just can’t. He can’t even get a full season of football because of injuries and the amount of pressure he’s under.

The obsession with a Neymar return is killing Barça from the inside out.

Straying From the Norm.

Cruyffista football. Tiki-Taka. Whatever it is that Barça implements, their philosophy, it needs to be adapted. They can’t expect to go into every competition wanting to play the same brand of football under a new coach and get different results.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - Albert Einstein.

That is Barcelona for the last few years. Koeman has the chance to do something new that Barça hasn’t had in a while.

He has the opportunity to implement something new in their philosophy....signing a black midfielder. Kidding!

He needs to sign pace and power players. He needs to look beyond Cruyffista ideologies and start to implement physicality and grit into the midfield. Here’s why.

Sergio Busquets is almost finished as a professional. He has ran (more like walked) his last legs. He can pass and his vision is still remarkable but against a physical team he’s useless. The solution to help him is signing a ball winner.

Someone like Ndombele, Haidara, Roca, Ascasibar... these guys can be a last crutch of hope for Sergio.

PSG did it with Motta and Matuidi.

Juve did it with Pirlo and Vidal.

A ball winner in their squad would be good. Vidal is aging and we saw Paulinho do well.

Conclusion.

I’m sure Koeman will implement none of these suggestions because I’m just a 19 year old yute on twitter, but still imo these are things he should implement as a coach of the club. I know Barça are just going to use the same philosophy and be in the same position.

Here’s what my team would look like.
- Koeman said FDJ will play 6
- Messi as an 8
- Mukiele forms a back 3 in possession when needed
- Grimaldo playing the Alba role
- Roca as a ball winner and can dictate tempo with FDJ
- Dembele as the main creator (besides Messi)

Anyways I’m sure no one will read it but I just wanted to give my opinion. It’s not a bad move for the club but they need to change something deeper than just the coach.

Anyways rts appreciated pls and thanks. Sorry it was so long and boring lmao

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