At a glance
- FC Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman gave his backing to successor and current head coach Hansi Flick.
- The German has come under criticism for refusing to negotiate on his high defensive line.
- But it is a style that can taste European glory according to Koeman.
FC Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman backed successor and current manager Hansi Flick to win the Champions League with his style of play.
The German is under fire from some corners for refusing to change his high-defensive line, which some believe contributed to two red cards as the last man and ultimately a Champions League quarterfinal defeat against Atletico Madrid.
Appearing at an event for the launch of the sixth edition of the Koeman Cup golf tournament, the scorer of the winning goal that delivered a first UCL crown to Catalonia at Wembley in 1992 tackled this topic.
“He can be champion with this style,” said current Netherlands coach Koeman, in quotes carried by MARCA.
“The only thing, if you analyse the matches, is at key moments you can play with a very high defensive line but with effective pressure on the opponent. The opponent creates three or four plays for you. It’s a very nice system, it’s a pleasure to play. But on the other hand the defensive system, if you don’t put pressure on the player who has the ball, it’s very risky,” Koeman warned.
Koeman finds Barcelona’s lengthy quest for the trophy to be “strange”
Amid Catalans’ obsession with the big-eared trophy and a quest for it now stretching to 11 years, Koeman noted that it’s “many”.
“For a club like Barca and seeing the team they have, with Messi‘s years there, it’s strange. Nowadays winning a championship is complicated, and winning the Champions League more so. There are fewer games, knockout rounds. But the danger of being there and not winning such a big title is easier.”
“Barca is still a big club in the world,” Koeman continued. “For a player, the best thing is to win a national championship. Second, a title like the Champions League is very important for a matter of money. For teams like the English, Italians, Spanish… next year five will enter.
“Every year it is more important and they give less value to winning a league. That means you’ve been better for a while. On the other hand, I understand that the Champions League can be the greatest. They are young, the team is strong and they learn things.”
Regarding young players, of which he promoted many during his tenure in the Camp Nou hotseat, Koeman spoke highly of Lamine Yamal.
“He’s a great player, he’s going to be important for the next few years. He will decide matches by his quality. It’s normal for him to take the reins because he feels important. It’s positive. In two years’ time he may be more of a leader. He has to show it on and off the pitch”.
A key member of Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team, Koeman knows what he’s talking about. He lived the pressures of the entorno throughout the early 90s when Barca hadn’t even tasted European glory once. And then again in the dugout from 2020 until his October 2021 dismissal, when Xavi Hernandez replaced him.
Furthermore, he’s always likely to support a Cruyffista like Flick, who also has the backing of a Cruyff disciple and president Joan Laporta.
