Koeman wants to savor time as Barça coach, however long it lasts

Barcelona, Spain, Oct 26 (EFE).- Ronald Koeman said Tuesday he wanted to enjoy his time as FC Barcelona coach, whether that be for the next several years or just the next few months.

The Dutch manager, whose career at the helm of Barça seems to be hanging by a thread, made the comments just two days after angry fans mobbed his vehicle following the team’s 1-2 loss to Real Madrid at the Camp Nou.

“I’m getting older, I want to enjoy myself and be in a place where I think I belong,” he told a press conference ahead of Barcelona’s league tie away to Rayo Vallecano Wednesday.

“I know a lot of it depends on the results, I accept that, I know how it works. I want to enjoy myself. If it’s eight more years, I’ll enjoy eight more years. If it’s one year, three months, there’s no problem.

“And if the day comes when I’m not enjoying this, I’ll leave at ease to play golf 5 times a week, which is also a nice sport.”

Koeman is aware of the pressure on his shoulders heading into a tricky game at the Estadio de Vallecas in Madrid, where hosts Rayo Vallecano have won every game this season, but he feels confident that he can keep going with the Catalan team, where he won the 1992 Champions League as a player.

Casting back to the previous match, the Clasico, and the incidents that unfolded outside the stadium as he and his wife drove home, Koeman said: “These people don’t know how to behave, they don’t know the rules and values.

“It appears it didn’t just happen to me, but players and their families experienced the same, including Carles Puyol. But there has to be a way to leave the stadium and for this not to be repeated.”

Koeman will be without Pedri and Osumane Dembélé against Rayo Vallecano, who are two places ahead of 9th-place Barcelona in the league.

Ansu Fati could also be in doubt with a muscle issue, making it all the more likely that Sergio Agüero will take on a more prominent role.EFE

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