Ronald Koeman, coach of the Barça, spoke at a press conference in the preview of a Athletic-Barça conditioned by the arrival of Marcelino to the rojiblanco bench and the COVID alert at Barça. These were his manifestations.
Even if it is only a short time, do you have the feeling that Athletic could be different with Marcelino?
They can change their system. It depends on the new coach. But it's not going to change much either because it's two training sessions. The influence I don't think is very great. It is a team that plays at home, that shows its face, likes to squeeze, run, physical play. I know he has played 4-2-3-1 lately and Marcelino is a coach with a 4-4-2 history. You have to be prepared for the two or three possible systems with which they can play.
It has been an uncertain hour with the COVID case. How have they been lived from within?
There are things in life that you cannot control. Yesterday afternoon they called me because there were two people on our staff who had tested positive. We have followed the LaLiga protocol of suspending training, doing the PCR and waiting for this afternoon. I have come at 15:30 and I have waited for there to be no more negative things. Luckily everyone has been negative and we have been able to train and prepare for tomorrow's game.
Aleñá has not entered the list. Can there be more exits apart from the midfielder?
Until nothing is final I cannot speak. Aleñá has permission from the club to try to find a way out and when everything is done I will be able to comment. But he is a player of the future who has to play. He is young and he has decided to try to find a way out.
For you, the best thing that can happen to Barça is that the elections are held as soon as possible?
It is that I cannot comment on health issues. If it is something related to the pandemic, it may be a reason to change the date. But sportingly, you have to do them as soon as possible because it is an important moment for the club. But health is the most important thing and everything must be done to stop the pandemic.
He has been at Barça for four months now. When is the Barça going to notice that Koeman wants?
Little by little, we will see what we want. We came in August and we tried to push the team forward. I think we have important people injured. It is also a squad that I have not been able to change much and, in that sense, any coach needs more time to impose their ideas. It is still a short stay.
What is missing from this team away from home?
It may have to do with away games. But we try to play the same way at home as outside. Away from home we have made individual mistakes. We have also not been good at the level of effectiveness above. You have to be more effective. There may be two reasons why we have not gotten better results outside. But beware, other teams don't win 0-4 every game. Atlético win the fair matches, but they have a higher effectiveness than us. We are the team that creates the most opportunities to score, but the performance is underperforming.
I was talking recently about the injuries you have on the squad. Can we see Ansu Fati earlier than planned? And how is Sergi Roberto?
About Ansu, I refer to the club's statement. It is always difficult to set a return date. He is young and the important thing is to recover from the injury. Normally, Sergi Roberto will be available at the end of the month. They are both on the right track and I hope we have them soon.
I know that the transfers do not depend only on you, but do you need transfers?
Any team and any coach looks at how a squad can be improved. I also. The only thing that I have done is put a plan of casualties and people who can come. And it depends on the club if it is possible or not. If possible, it will be activated. And if it is not possible, we will continue with what we have.
Is playing without an audience an advantage?
No. It is always a disadvantage. Any player, whether away or at home, needs an audience. San Mamés is a great field to play. The Basque teams show their faces, the fans always help. Without an audience it is totally different. You have to have motivation.
How do you see Sergiño Dest?
It is true that sometimes it has ups and downs. He started out strong but I think it has to do with his age. He is 19 years old. You have just joined a large team and you need to adapt. He can't play every game well. Like any player, you have the right to make judgments. And it must be improving. To have fewer lapses in concentration. But I'm not disappointed if he has ups and downs because he's so young.
The other day he said that Suárez's departure was determined, but Suárez is scoring goals and Barça has only 16 goals in the league. Did they start lame from above?
I don't like answering questions about Suárez every time. He is not our player. I respect him a lot. We have our forwards and we have to improve.
Griezmann has had a minimal contribution in recent games. How is it going?
Antoine knows his place. I like the boy, the boy is open and likes to communicate, to speak as his game. And as I said the other day, if we play with three midfielders, we must find the best formula for the three forwards. And there is Leo, there is Ousmane who is better and has depth. And I have to choose. And if you play so many games, you can't play so much with them.
Ter Stegen admitted in the match against Huesca that they have problems closing the matches. What is the solution for this problem?
The answer is easy. What you have to do is the second goal. If we win by just one goal difference, we have problems in the last minutes. We are not that kind of team that knows how to defend well there. You have to kill the game, that's the point. If you don't, any team will fight to the end to tie you.