The dressing room needed a change, admits Oscar Mingueza
Mingueza comments on Koeman stint
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Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza has revealed that the dressing room had lost their trust in Ronald Koeman and admitted that they needed a change to improve their on-the pitch performances. Barcelona icon Xavi Hernandez has succeeded Koeman over the international break as the new Blaugrana manager.
Barcelona appointed Ronald Koeman in the summer of 2020 after he left his post as the manager of the Netherlands national football team. Koeman's first campaign with the Blaugrana started in disappointing fashion as they equalled their worst tally after their first six games in La Liga with just eight points. The Spanish side's inconsistent form continued for the rest of the season as they were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 by Paris Saint-Germain. The Catalan club’s title aspirations also came to a disappointing close as they ended up third in the La Liga standings despite having numerous opportunities to go top of the table.
The Dutch manager was retained for the current campaign but they endured a terrible run of form after their season-opening victory over Real Sociedad as they won just four games while drawing thrice and being beaten thrice in their next ten games in all competitions. Barcelona's shocking form in domestic and European competitions propelled the board to relieve Koeman of his managerial duties while handing over the reins to Barcelona icon Xavi Hernandez. Mingueza has now spoken out over the dressing room’s unhappiness with Koeman during his reign.
"The dressing room needed a change. There was no atmosphere. Players were not happy. And when you're not well and things don't turn out, you need a change. The team stopped trusting [Koeman's methods] and everyone tried to fix things on their own. We weren't good, neither individually nor collectively. When the dynamics aren't good, everyone does what they can but we lacked self-belief," Mingueza told Esport3.
