Henrik Larsson looks back with a bad feeling on Ronald Koeman’s sacking from Barcelona in October last year. According to the former assistant coach of the Catalan club, the Dutch trainer was treated with little respect by chairman Joan Laporta. Larsson had to leave the field together with Koeman after a disappointing series by Barcelona. Laporta ultimately chose to bring club icon Xavi back to the Camp Nou as coach.
Larsson, who won the Champions League while playing for Barcelona in 2006, plays against the Swedish Photoboll Channels open a book about Laporta. “Everything went well in the first season (2020, 21, ed.) went on holiday after the season and didn’t know if we could stay on,” Larsson outlines the uncertain situation for the technical staff from almost a year ago.
In Henrik Larsson’s view, Joan Laporta could have handled Ronald Koeman better at Barcelona.
Laporta seemed to want to replace Koeman after one season, but a suitable successor was not found in the summer of 2021. He was therefore given the chance to start a second season, along with Larsson and the other assistant coach, Alfred Schreuder. “We were only informed about that decision very late, which was very unfortunate. It was not very important to me, but to treat Ronald Koeman in such a way, he really did not deserve it. Certainly not after all the work he had done at the club,” Koeman’s former right-hand man sighs. “He just made a clean sweep at Barcelona, so it was not right that he had to remain in uncertainty for so long.”
Larsson also looks back on Lionel Messi’s much-discussed departure from Barcelona. The Argentine playmaker stayed with the club at the last minute in 2020, only to make the step to Paris Saint-Germain a year later. “We never expected that he would leave. The fact that he still left has had a major impact on the entire selection. That was very difficult to accept, but as a trainer you have to ensure that you just keep doing your job. You just have to ignore the sounds from the outside world.” The departure of Messi caused even more unrest and uncertainty among Larsson, among others.
“There were days when we drove to the club and didn’t even know if it would be our last working day,” Larsson continues his look back at the Barcelona story. “All of this could have been easily prevented if Laporta had shown better leadership,” said the former assistant, who believes that Koeman did a good job despite everything. “We brought a lot of youth players into the first team, players who will show great things at Barcelona in the future. Ronald has thus provided a good foundation.”