Ronald Koeman y Johan Cruyff and 1988. PHOTO: FC Barcelona
The Dutch mark in FC Barcelona comes from afar, both on the grass and on the benches, and in some people in both places at the same time. This happens with two club histories, Johan Cruyff Y Ronald Koeman, who have experienced the Camp Nou both as players and as coaches. And some similarities in their beginnings as Blaugrana technicians draw attention.
Comparisons can be found already in the background upon arrival, that occurred in the year 1988 Y 2020, respectively. For example, in previous seasons, tensions between the squad and the board came out to the public. In 1988 the so-called ‘Hesperia mutiny took place’ in which the players charged the then president, Núñez. And last year the one known as' Barçagate took place’ for hiring the club a consultancy that supposedly would try to create opinions on social networks against team players such as Messi or Piqué.
At the sports level, the previous years were also similar. The Barça did not obtain the leagues, that Real Madrid joined, and in 1988 the blaugranas even finished sixth in the standings. And in Europe the paths were curiously parallel. In both seasons they fell in the quarterfinals against German teams that would end up winning the competition. In 1988 It was in the UEFA Cup against Bayer Leverkusen, and in 2020 in the Champions League against Bayern Munich.
And in that context the Dutch came to the bench. Johan Cruyff replaced Luís Aragonés with a three-year experience at the helm of Ajax. And being an idol among the barcelonismo after the five years that he was as a player being one of the best in the world.
And Ronald Koeman has taken the reins of the squad after Quique Setién, and just before I was also training in the Netherlands, in this case the national team. Koeman is also adored by the Barcelona fans as a player, for his stage during eight seasons of Blaugrana as a fundamental piece of the ‘Dream Team‘ who won four leagues in a row, trained just by Cruyff. And author of the goal in the final against Sampdoria that gave the club the first European Cup in its history.
Two parallel landings
At the management level, the situation has been different. Cruyff made important changes to the squad from the start, forming a set with new players who would form their block. Like the arrivals of Bakero and Begiristain the first year, and Laudrup and Koeman himself in the second. The current situation has not made staff movements so much easier, but soon it will begin to see what the future of Barça will be with the recent return of Joan Laporta to the presidency. For now, Koeman has options to win the League and the Cup this year.
Given the longevity of most trainers, that is to say, minimal longevity, chances of Koeman equaling Cruyff's four league titles are slim. Even if it lasts a decade on the bench, there is simply too much quality at the top of La Liga to hope to win the 40% of the Spanish championships according to Paruk's opinion of the SportsBettingDime.com portal who even mentioned to us that if we put a statistical number on it it would be +2400 (4.8% of opportunity).
