Barcelona had one of the disappointing seasons last year under Quique Setien as they could not win a single trophy. The Catalan club missed out on the league title even though they were leading before football came to halt due to the pandemic. Real Madrid capitalized on Barcelona’s lapses which came later as the competitions resumed and snatched La Liga away. The Blaugrana went through humiliation in the Champions League quarter-finals suffering a 2-8 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Haunts of the past season: No silverware for Barcelona
The players and the board had to face some serious consequences after the lapses. Setien was relieved of his duties with immediate effect as Barcelona failed to conquer Europe again. Setien tried to sue the club because he wanted compensation for breaking the contract so early. The former Betis coach used the Cryuff philosophy which did not pan out as there was a need to rebuild the squad. Hence, Ronald Koeman joined the club to take over the position of the manager this summer.
ALSO READ:
- Barcelona plan to sign of Manchester United ace on a free transfer
- Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele given strict instructions from Ronald Koeman
The Dutch boss had to limit the damage done to the club and recover it from the ailing run of form. Koeman was quick to decide the player he would require to carry out the tactics from the performances of the players in the club during the pre-season. The board gave enough freedom so that he can reconstruct the squad and bring in new signings to bolster Barcelona. Unlike Koeman, Setien blocked the move of a player who could have joined the Catalunya side as a replacement for the injured Ousmane Dembele.
Setien: the man who blocked Rodriguez’s dream move
Instead of choosing Angel Rodriguez, Setien picked Martin Braithwaite who possibly has no future at Camp Nou as he is unutilized by Koeman. Rodriguez was speculated to sign for Barcelona in the January transfer window 2020 with his consistent performances for Getafe in the Spanish top flight as per Bleacher Report. The player was eager to join Barca and play along with Lionel Messi as he considers the Argentine the best player in the world.
Rodriguez opened up about his failed transfer stating that ven thorough the stats were in his favour, he was told Seiten blocked the transfer. Braithwaite moving to Camp Nou led to Leganes facing the relegation with their main striker taken away during the course of the season. La Liga authorities have omitted the rule from this season because it gives an undue advantage to the teams to sign any player within the league out of the transfer window.
