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Barcelona's Five-Man Shortlist To Replace Ronald Koeman It Sums Up What A Mess They're In

Barcelona's Five-Man Shortlist To Replace Ronald Koeman It Sums Up What A Mess They're In

What is going on at the Camp Nou?

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

Barcelona's five-man shortlist to replace current manager Ronald Koeman shows what a desperate state the Catalan giants are in right now.

Monday saw Barcelona draw 1-1 with Granada in a performance many think could cost Koeman his job.

The Blaugrana fired crosses into the box, 54 to be exact, and it goes against their footballing traditions.

Gerard Romero reports the hierarchy have had enough and now have their replacements in line - although some aren't anywhere close to inspiring.

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PA

There is no consensus within the board between Xavi, Andrea Pirlo, Antonio Conte, Phillip Cocu and Joachim Low.

Xavi is a club legend and currently manages Qatari outfit Al Sadd.

Often touted as a future boss at the Camp Nou, he's caught eyes in the Middle East with an expansive style of play.

He's been approached before but felt he wasn't ready to take on the job.

The other four managers on the list are currently out of work after leaving their previous jobs.

Juventus sacked Pirlo in May while Conte walked away from Inter Milan after winning Serie A.

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PA

Cocu is another former Barca start and last worked with Championship outfit Derby County in 2020.

Low hasn't managed at club level in 17 years after being involved in the Germany national team setup, winning the 2014 World Cup.

Barcelona sit seventh in La Liga after Ronald Araujo's last minute effort cancelled out Domingos Duartes' opener inside two minutes.

Koeman refused to answer questions on his future in his post-match interview.

The 58-year-old told La Liga TV per Eurosport: "I don't answer anymore questions about the future, I cannot win that [discussion].

"I'm tired to answer that kind of question. You can leave it. I don't answer that question."

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PA

He continued: "Today's Barca is not the Barca of eight years ago.

"We played Barca's way, but we don't have the speed on the break because [Philippe] Coutinho goes inside, [Yusuf] Demir doesn't go too deep and that's the way it is.

"With Ansu [Fati] or [Ousmane] Dembele it's different, you have more speed, but you have to look for alternatives.

"Before the game you think about winning, especially at home, but our bad start made the game difficult for us. We didn't come in strong, it was our fault.

"The opponent, after scoring, wasted time from minute two, defended more, did not leave spaces and this is difficult.

"We improved during the game. We changed and we played with crosses from the wings. We put energy into scoring. We wanted more, but one point is better than nothing. We deserved the draw."

Barcelona return to action on Thursday evening when they travel to Cadiz.

Do you think Ronald Koeman is doing a good job as Barcelona manager?

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Topics: Football, Barcelona, Ronald Koeman, La Liga