La Liga
MESSI CUTS HOLIDAY SHORT TO MEET NEW BOSS, ROLAND KOEMAN
Lionel Messi has dramatically cut short his holiday in order to hold urgent talks with new Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman about his plans to rebuild the crisis-stricken club.
Messi’s future at the Nou Camp is far from certain after Barcelona were ruthlessly thrashed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week, prompting the departure of Koeman’s predecessor Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal.
And according to Mundo Deportivo, Messi is returning from his family holiday in the La Cerdanya area of the Pyrenees to hear Koeman’s plans for himself.Barca boss Ronald Koeman doesn’t feel obliged to persuade Lionel Messi to stay at the club
Upon his unveiling as Barcelona manager, Koeman admitted he could have to convince Messi that his future remains with the club where has spent his entire career so far.
‘I don’t know if I have to convince Messi [to stay],’ he said. ‘He is the best player in the world, and you always want to have him in your team.
‘On my part, as a coach, I love working with Messi because he wins games. If he performs, I’ll be happy if he wants to stay.
‘Starting today, I’ll talk to him. We are going to work and talk with several players. In the case of Messi, hopefully he will continue here for more years.
‘If I say here what I am going to say, it would not be necessary for me to meet with him. I am the coach in order to make decisions.
‘Once again, he has a year left on his contract. He is the important player you want in your team as a coach.
It remains to be seen whether Messi can be convinced by Koeman’s plans for Barcelona
While Koeman clearly sees Messi as an integral part of Barcelona’s future, there are other mainstays of the current squad who are likely to be told to find a new team.
Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Jordi Alba are all expected to be moved on by Koeman as he plots a dramatic overhaul after inheriting the ruins of one of the most emphatic defeats in the club’s fabled history.
Suarez has been linked with a return to Ajax but it is believed he wants to stay and fight for his place in Spain.
In terms of arrivals, Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek – a player Koeman knows well from his time as Holland manager – has been linked with a switch to the Nou Camp in the summer transfer window.
Reports in Holland on Thursday have also said Koeman is paying attention to Georginio Wijnaldum’s situation at Liverpool.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who also played under Koeman for Holland, has a year to go on his Anfield deal and Dutch outlet AD claim the Barcelona boss has told Wijnaldum not to sign a new contract as he lines up a move.
The new Barcelona boss has been linked with a move for Liverpool man Georginio Wijnaldum
But for Barcelona supporters, it is the future of Messi that will be considered key. He has cut a frustrated figure for a while now at the Nou Camp, long before Bayern ripped Barca to shreds.
He hit out at ex-boss Setien and the direction he felt the club were drifting in when they surrendered their LaLiga title to fierce rivals Real Madrid this season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Osasuna.
‘This game represents the entire year. We have been an erratic and weak team,’ Messi said in the TV interview, just after the final whistle sounded at an empty Nou Camp.
‘Madrid did its part by winning all its matches, which is impressive, but we also helped them to win this league. We have to be critical of how we have played, starting with the players, and the rest of the club.
‘We have lost because of our mistakes and not because of Madrid’s successes, as many say.
The feeling on this team is that it tries, but that it cannot get the job done. Today in the first half they were better than we were and it seems we have to fall behind to react like we tried to do in the second half.’ Messi then underlined the importance of Barcelona winning the Champions League and avenging the demons from dramatic defeats in previous seasons ahead of their last-16 tie against Napoli.
Roma, Liverpool… the fans are running out of patience because we’re not giving them anything. If we want to fight for the Champions League, a lot has to change. Like this, we will lose to Napoli,’ he said.
As it was, they overcame Napoli but Bayern Munich ruthlessly showed just how much work Koeman has on his hands to restore Barcelona to their former glories.
Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga title.
Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.
The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.
Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.
Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.
Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.
The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.
Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting lineup.
Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.
Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.
Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres and Rashford before the interval.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the 56th minute.
Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and Joan Garcia was quick to deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.
Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.
“This title is even more special because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.
“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”
-Reuters
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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.
Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.
With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.
Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.
“It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.
“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.”
Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.
-Reuters
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Joan Laporta has been re-elected as Barcelona president after winning over 68 percent of the vote and will begin his second consecutive term, and fourth overall, from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped down last month in line with club statutes in order to seek re-election.
Laporta described the election as a “celebration of democracy and civic responsibility” and said the tasks ahead included finishing work on the Camp Nou and strengthening the men’s team.
-Reuters
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