Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has been heavily criticized by Real Betis captain Joaquin who played for the Dutchman previously at Valencia.
Joaquin will come up against Koeman and Barcelona on Saturday when the two sides meet in La Liga at the Camp Nou. The 39-year-old spoke to Cadena SER, as reported by Sport, ahead of the match about his experience of working with Koeman.
It was not the most beautiful experience of my sports career. It was not a pleasant experience, but as I always say: one has to live with everything and that happened at that time. I do not want to talk about this issue because honestly it hurts me what It happened there, I had a bad time.
The Betis winger was then asked by the presenter if he would recommend Koeman for a job at Betis and replied: “Not even as kit man!”
Koeman had an ill-fated spell at Valencia working with Joaquin during the 2007-08 season. The Dutchman won the Copa de Rey but was sacked after less than six months in charge with the team just two points above the drop zone.
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Betis Don’t Fear Barca
Joaquin also explained that his team won’t fear taking on Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Saturday. The Catalan giants head into the match under a bit of pressure after going four games without a win.
If there was a time to face Barça, this is it. They are a good team and they can beat you equally, but if we are able to play the football that we have been playing, we can have our options.
Betis is ahead of Barcelona in the league table currently. Manuel Pellegrini’s side is in seventh spot and cruised to a 3-1 victory over Elche last time out. Barca is down in 15th with just eight points from the first six games.
Koeman Worried By Barca
Koeman readily admitted he is worried about his team after seeing his players fail to overcome 10-man Alaves at the weekend. Barca played the last 30 minutes with a man extra but could not make the advantage count.
The results mean the Catalan giants have made their worst start to a La Liga season since 2002, and Koeman knows that will put him under scrutiny, as reported by ESPN.
I am worried by that. It’s not normal for a team like Barca to pick up just two points from the last 12. But as I have said, we’re changing a lot of things. I can’t complain about the attitude of the team. I can be disappointed with the performances, but the season is very long.
It’s not an attitude or concentration problem, it’s about taking our chances. It’s not acceptable for a team like Barca to create so many chances to only score one goal — but I would be more worried if we weren’t creating.
Koeman can take confidence from Barca’s recent record against Betis. The Catalan giants won the corresponding fixture 5-2 last season and also beat the Verdiblancos 3-2 at the Benito Villamarín Stadium.
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