As Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona job looks at risk, the Catalan board are keeping Roberto Martinez in the top priority as appointing a new manager. Koeman seems to cannot handle the Barcelona squad since losing out Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain. As their main player left this summer, the performance of Barcelona degraded compared to last season.
Currently, Barcelona sits 8th in the La Liga table collecting 8 points from their last four games. In which there are two wins and two draws. The latest draw came against Granada in their last match. It was a hard-fought last-minute goal from Ronald Araujo which saved Barcelona from a defeat.
Prior to that Barcelona lost their Champions League opener against Bayern Munich, and it was after 24 years that they lost a Champions League opener. The Catalan played at home looking for revenge from the German giants for their earlier 8-2 humiliation. But Barcelona looked low on confidence and attack in the pitch which led to a 3-0 scoreline.
Following this, Ronald Koeman has been given an ultimatum to show some positive impact or else lose his job. While latest reports are already linking Barcelona’s managerial job to Roberto Martinez. However, Martinez has not shown any interest in listing to the news of Barcelona’s job.
Currently, Roberto Martinez seems to have no interest in taking up the Barcelona job as he is happy managing Belgium national team. While we could really see his impact upon Belgium taking the team to new heights. The team surrounding around Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, tops the FIFA world ranking charts. While Belgium’s attacking play has really improved around Martinez. So, this is the reason Barcelona wants to convince Roberto Martinez to take the manager job if Koeman is sacked in near future.
Barcelona seems to have other options than Roberto Martinez
As Barcelona are struggling under Ronald Koeman and looking for a good replacement, they have three other options to appoint as manager. The current Ajax coach Erik ten Hag could be a good replacement for Koeman at Barcelona. We have already seen Ajax Europa League final run and Champions League semi-final run under him. So, he could be added to the manager job shortlist for Barcelona.
Secondly, Barcelona can appoint their former player and legend Xavi Hernandez. The Spaniard currently coach Al-Sadd SC has already lifted six trophies in his two seasons in charge. While he knows Barcelona well from inside and outside which would help him more.
Lastly, the Catalans have the option of Antonio Conte who is currently a free agent after leaving his job at Inter Milan. The Italian leaded Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in the last ten years. And looking to a great run, he left his job as some words didn’t sit right with the board. Following which he is currently out of job and will be a great replacement for Koeman at Barcelona.
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