BARÇA

Planning, retrieving and teaching: the Koeman method

Griezmann, Braithwaite, and Mingueza conform to the coach's modus operandi

Albert Nadal
3 min
Ronald Koeman amb Griezmann i Messi

BarcelonaRonald Koeamn has made a good reading, and a good match execution. Martin Braithwaite's starting line-up speaks as good of the Dane as it does of the Dutch coach. Already before his resounded arrival - Barça paid 18 million euros for his cancellation clause - it was understood that the player did not have enough level to play in Barça, but that does not mean he has to stop being useful. Against Osasuna, Koeman wanted "a 9 to fix the midfielders in order to find more space", and Braithwaite did what was asked of him - and scored again. The Dane has scored three goals in the last two games against rivals that are, a priori, far inferior, such as the Dynamo Kiev and the Osasuna, but he is a joker who, as well as being a valuable asset in the face of a possible transfer, offers Koeman solutions in games like today's.

Among the merits of the Dutch coach one could also draw the recovery of Antoine Griezmann. The French striker has played perhaps his best game yet against the Navarra team since he was wearing the blue t-shirt. Since the interview in 'Universo Valdano', in which he asked for "time and calmness", he has already accumulated two goals. This Sunday's one stands out especially, but, mainly, the best thing has been his performance: he has slipped with intelligence and has contributed to the fluidity of the attack (with a goal and a set up).

One fact speaks for itself: Griezmann and Leo Messi have connected on 20 occasions, when, until not so long ago, they were lucky enough to reach a dozen interactions between them. "This is the Griezmann we want", said Koeman after the duel. It looks like Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho might bring more to Barça with Koeman than they have shown so far.

Lenglet's injury and Mingueza's wake-up call

Ronald Koeman was a midfielder of the Barça, and Johan Cruyff was his coach. In short, concentration is not negotiable for the Dutch technician. Mingueza, the team's midfielder, played well against the Dynamo of Kiev. Against Osasuna, he had two distractions - two losses of the ball - that have cost two frights to the Barça, and remind him that the exigency of the first team does not allow for a relaxed framework.

This is what the Dutch coach said at the end of the match, when he prioritized giving indications and correcting Mingueza before being happy with the result and the team's game. "I told Oscar that he played a great game, but that he had two ball losses that couldn't happen again. In one of the losses they almost scored a goal -Kike Barja ended up kicking at the post -, and in the other one they almost gave us a clear chance. As a midfielder, I told him that you can play a great game, but that with two mistakes like this you can suffer", the Dutchman said of some of the highlights of his conversation with the player.

The losses in the defense axis have opened the door for him to play in the first team, and a new misfortune - this time with an injury of Clément Lenglet, who has problems in his right ankle - turns the midfielder of Santa Perpètua de Mogoda into the main character. With the absence of the French midfielder, right now Koeman does not have any of the four fielders of the first team available -Lenglet, Piqué, Araujo and Umtiti-. After the match against Osasuna, the coach stated about the physical problems of Lenglet that "they do not seem serious", but until this Monday the details of the injury will not be known.

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