Koeman and Laporta reunited at Barça event; Spanish media go wild


Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 06:59• Tom Rofekamp

There is still a tense atmosphere between Joan Laporta and Ronald Koeman. The Dutch coach was fired by the former as head coach of Barcelona last October after a series of disappointing results. After Koeman’s congé, there was a lot of sneering back and forth, but on Monday the two wranglers ran into each other at a Barça event to commemorate the European Cup 1 win of 1992. The Spanish media loved it.

Once Koeman was fired, the forced farewell had been in the air in Catalonia for some time. The lack of confidence of chairman Laporta was also noticeable for the future national coach of the Dutch national team, as became clear in the Videoland series at the beginning of March. Forca Koeman† “I felt that I was not his trainer and he showed that,” Koeman said. At the end of that month, Laporta returned a huge sneer, saying that he had already proposed a change of coach the season before. “I said to him, ‘Don’t make me answer now, because I have my doubts. We won the Copa del Rey, but I don’t like our way of playing’.”

The tensions in northeast Spain did not come lightly to Koeman. “You will not see me in the Camp Nou for the time being, I can’t do that yet. Not with this chairman, I can’t pretend nothing happened,” the 59-year-old coach was honest in the Videoland series. Monday was the day after all. Koeman was also invited to an event where Barcelona reflected on the win of the first European Cup 1 – after all, the former defender had scored the winning goal in the final. It produced uncomfortable images.

Koeman greets some old acquaintances and at one point comes face to face with Laporta. The two briefly shake hands before Koeman leaves and quickly continues his way into space. The meeting between Koeman and his successor Xavi is a lot more relaxed. The duo was photographed in an apparently pleasant conversation. Under Xavi, Barcelona has again hit the road: with one round to go in LaLiga, the Catalans are assured of second place and thus direct qualification for the Champions League.