Eusebio Sacristán (La Seca, 1964) and Ronald Koeman shared five seasons in the Barcelona dressing room, in which they conquered four Leagues and one Champions League with Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team', the first in the club's history.
Now, the two continue to drink from that 'cruyffista' philosophy as coaches, and Eusebio, who was assistant to Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola in the Barça first team and coach of the Barça subsidiary, considers in this interview with EFE that Koeman is ready to take the bench at Camp Nou.
During this course do you think that we will see you on a bench?
I am preparing for the opportunity to come. It has been more than a year since my time at Girona ended and I am looking forward to training again.
Is the situation caused by the coronavirus making your work more difficult than necessary? You cannot watch live games or training.
It is true that there are more limitations and that you cannot travel to visit clubs and coaches, but there is also the possibility of following the games on television and progressing with my work team, in addition to holding meetings with different people to keep up to date . The opportunity should catch us prepared.
Have you talked to Ronald Koeman since you became Barcelona coach?
At the moment we have sent each other a WhatsApp message with the idea that I can pay you a visit when it is fully installed and the situation is calmer. I intend to come over to see him to wish him the best of luck and attend some training.
Do you see him qualified to lead Barcelona at a time as turbulent for the club as the current one?
In the past, he has already stated on many occasions that he would love to coach Barcelona and now he is sure very excited about having the opportunity to do so. Since he left the club as a player and then started training, I was clear that sooner or later Koeman would end up managing Barcelona because of everything he means to this club and because of the conditions he has as a coach.
I consider it prepared for any circumstance. Koeman has always been characterized by having a great personality and great determination when it comes to making decisions and he will lead a new stage at Barcelona in which he will try to establish his stamp.
There are analysts who believe that this will be a transitional season for the Barça team due to the important changes that are going to take place, starting with the probable departure of Leo Messi. Do you also consider it that way?
Koeman will give his stamp to Barcelona from the first moment. He will make it a very competitive team and he will try to have the philosophy that has given the club so much success. It is not going to be a transitional season. His mentality is going to be that of going to fight for all the titles, regardless of the circumstances with which he finds himself.
In recent years there has been talk of the power of the heavyweights of the Barcelona dressing room when making decisions to the point of deciding some lineups. Do you see Koeman qualified to prevail in this situation?
Koeman has a lot of personality, a great character and is very confident of himself. I am convinced that he will lead the dressing room very well.
At this moment, nobody knows what will happen to Messi. But if the situation were to change the script and the Argentine stayed at Barcelona, how should Koeman get the player to successfully reintegrate into the group dynamics??
Let's first see what happens to Messi's situation. But it is clear that the way to face the challenge of managing Barcelona for Koeman will be different if Leo is there than if he is not. It seems that the player has made the decision to leave and we will see how it ends.
If Leo were there, the team would continue to revolve around his figure and without him the conditions as a whole will be quite different. I also see Koeman facing both situations with personality and determination.
The last team you led was Girona, which a few days ago was on the verge of being promoted to the First Division again. Do you see him able to get up again with such a blow to try again?
It was a shame, because he stayed very close to the goal. But there the intention of getting up as soon as possible and trying again has already been transmitted. It is a club in which things are done very well and they deserve to be in the First Division again. Hopefully they get it soon.