Koeman deserves confidence, says Barcelona president

Madrid, Oct 2 (EFE).- Barcelona FC’s president Joan Laporta on Saturday said Dutch coach Ronald Koeman, who has been under fire due to a poor run of results and performances, will remain in the job regardless of how the team plays against champions Atletico Madrid.

“He will continue being Barça’s coach,” said as he left the team’s hotel in the Spanish capital ahead of facing Atletico on Saturday evening.

“He deserves a certain element of confidence because he is truly from Barça, he loves Barça, he is a reference in terms of Barça’s history,” Laporta added.

“We have to say that he decided to come at a very difficult situation both sporting and institutionally. After talking to him I see that he has confidence in this team especially when we get back all the injured players,” he added.

“Koeman will continue to be the coach of Barça, he has a contract in place and we hope that we will find ourselves in a moment that we get victories again and I know he will do everything he can,” he continued.

Laporta’s remarks come after widespread reports in the media that Koeman is on the verge of being sacked by the Barcelona president, whose relationship with the Dutch coach has reportedly become strained in recent months.

Since losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener, the Catalan giants have won once and drawn twice in LaLiga. Their last outing saw them lose their second CL match against Benfica, 3-0. EFE

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