Although Ronald Koeman did a decent job in his first year of managing Barcelona, the President, Joan Laporta, and the fans are not too sure about his tactics and his methods. The Dutch manager did manage to keep Barcelona in the title race till the very end of the season and the Catalans did end up winning a trophy, the Copa del Rey, however, there were some inconsistencies in the season and the way the season ended has put doubt in a lot of minds in the Barca board.
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The former club legend was brought into a club at a dire time when the club was short on money and the team was aging. Former coach, Quique Setien, was not willing to trust the youths of the club and played the older and more experienced players during the important matches. However, in the game of football, change is necessary and every club has to go through a transitional phase or a re-build phase.
Barcelona needed to bring in more youngsters and more academy players, thus they needed a manager who could work with the talented youngsters that the club boasted. In all fairness, Koeman does deserve a lot of credit here as he has been able to rejuvenate the squad and bring out the best in youngsters such as Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza, and Pedri. Even Ansu Fati had a good start under the new manager however, his injury early on into the season prevented Barcelona fans from seeing his best.
However, Barcelona is a club that demands results and consistency, if you are unable to provide that, the club will move to someone who can. This has been the major issue for the former Catalan defender and now his job is under serious pressure. He recently had a meeting with Joan Laporta concerning his future and things are still not very stable. Thus today we will be looking at the top five coaches Laporta might bring into the club next season to replace Koeman.
#5 Jurgen Klopp (Clubs Managed: Mainz 05 | Borussia Dortmund | Liverpool)
The Liverpool manager has been praised by Laporta several times and it was even reported that he would try to get Jurgen Klopp to Barcelona if was elected. However, it has been a few months since his election and no talks have developed between Barca and Jurgen. The Merseyside manager has done wonders with the club leading them to back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals as well as winning one of them. He also broke Liverpool’s 30 years title drought when he bested Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in what was one of the best title races in footballing history.
While Klopp does not quite follow the seamless possession-based, quick passing style of football that Barcelona are known for, he does have an aggressive attacking-based style that has worked for all the clubs he has ever managed. However, he still has one more year left with the Reds and it is unlikely that Barca will buy him out of that contract.
#4 Mikel Arteta (Clubs Managed: Arsenal)
Barcelona used to thrive under the leadership of Pep Guardiola, they were the most dominant team that football has ever witnessed. Thus who can fill in those boots better than Pep’s student himself, Mikel Arteta. The former Arsenal player and current Arsenal manager worked under Guardiola as his assistant from 2016 to 2019. The manager learnt a lot from Guardiola during those three years and has the ability to emulate Pep’s tactics.
Although his time at Arsenal has been difficult, it is clear to see that the Spaniard has some great ideas and he just needs time to implement them. Laporta is very impressed by Arteta’s Barcelona-style tactics and given the fact that he used to train at La Masia, a return could make it very special. According to reports, the two even had a conversation during Laporta’s election campaign and he still remains one of Laporta’s main targets.
#3 Erik ten Hag (Clubs Managed: Utrecht | Ajax)
The current Ajax manager could be a great fit for Barcelona as he shares the same philosophies as Ronald Koeman but his tactics are more refined and has proven to work in Europe’s top competitions. Erik ten Hag is a brilliant coach who is determined to bring attacking Cryuffian football back onto the big stages and it has worked for his team as of now. The Eredivisie champions of 2020/21, ended up with 88 points, 16 points clear of second place, PSV.
They also managed to score over 100 goals which is a huge achievement and something that would definitely interest Laporta. Barcelona wants an attacking coach who will be able to work with the number of youth talents currently in their squad. Players such as Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig and Pedri need proper guidance and Ten Hag has already proven that he has what it takes to make a young team champions.
His 2018/19 season with the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek will forever go down in Ajax’s history. Not only did they manage to knock out Juventus in the UCL, they also knocked out defending champions, Real Madrid. This is the kind of coach that Barcelona requires and he is a very likely prospect for next season.
#2 Xavi Hernandez (Clubs Managed: Al Sadd)
One of Barcelona’s greatest ever, Xavi Hernandez, has been linked with the Barcelona job forever and next season he may finally get to return to the club he loves. The former La Masia graduate is arguably one of Blaugrana’s most important players in their history. In fact, until recently, the legend held the record for the most number of games played in a Catalan shirt however, Lionel Messi was able to break that record this season.
Since his departure, Xavi has become a prolific coach in the Qatar Stars League and has already led the club to a league title as well as a domestic cup. He did so in considerable ease as well. His smooth-flowing attacking style that he has adopted from Guardiola has turned his team, Al Sadd SC, into an unstoppable machine and they went undefeated in the 2020/21 season. His focus on attacking football does often come at the price of a shaky defense however, the coach is still learning and it is only his second year in the managerial scene.
While he will one day return to Barcelona as a coach without a shadow of a doubt, it might not be the next season. Laporta adores the player however, he wants to wait a bit more until he appoints Xavi as there are still some players in the squad who used to play with Xavi.
#1 Pep Guardiola (Clubs Managed: Barcelona | Bayern Munich | Manchester City)
Finally, Laporta’s number one choice to replace Ronald Koeman at the hot seat would be Pep Guardiola. The former Catalan legend, a legend as a player, a legend as a manager, he is through and through a Barcelona boy. Guardiola has often referred to Barca as the club that he loves and it would not be surprising to see the mastermind make a return to the Blaugrana.
He had done wonders at Barca before and took them on an unbelievable journey through 2008 to 2012. He won 14 major trophies with the club including two Champions Leagues and three La Ligas. Barcelona under him were unstoppable and that infamous game against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2011, showed everyone that the Catalans were a class apart.
Guardiola has been able to modify and tweak his game with Manchester City and has managed to win 10 titles already since taking charge of them back in 2016. He is undoubtedly the number one choice for Laporta however, the City boss recently signed a new contract with his current club and it will be tough to convince him to move back to Barca.
Which of these coaches would you like to see at Barca?