Koeman's other protégés

Not only Messi, who has played all the official minutes of the season (with Barça and Argentina) has 'privileges', if you can say so, with Ronald Koeman. Despite finishing marked last season by 2-8 in Lisbon to the point that two of them, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, were transferable; and the other, Gerard Piqué, He offered himself as a scapegoat, the thirty-somethings and sacred cows of the Barça dressing room have played practically everything when they have been available despite the fact that their performance is in question. In a way, they are also protected by Koeman.

The Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba thing comes from behind. Physically outmatched in the big European games in previous seasons, the two started relatively well, with good performances against Villarreal and Celta, but their performance has started to decline as efforts have begun to accumulate. The Clásico passed over by Busquets and the week with three games that ended in Vitoria. There was little explanation for Koeman dispensing with Pjanic after the match he had signed in Turin, as the Bosnian is physically at a good level. Busquets has played 523 minutes and has only been dosed in the Champions League against Ferencvaros (24 ') and Juventus (45'). In LaLiga he had played all but eight minutes until Koeman detected that in Vitoria he was not adding what was necessary and he replaced him. It is difficult for him to speed up the game. We'll see if as a sign. Alba, for her part, played the Classic between pins, after being injured in the Sevilla game and using the break to recover. Junior continues to be ostracized regardless of the performance of a player who is now, at least, threatened by Dest. Alba was deconcentrated and, for the first time, received a wake-up call with the substitution,

Busquets and Alba chatted at the beginning of the season with Koeman. The two, who were on the blacklist after 2-8 in Lisbon, are tied to the club by very long contracts and very high chips in two complicated cases to attack in the salary adjustment. Koeman exposed a situation that they already knew about. As their exit was impossible, they were going to continue. They would count on them but I asked them for commitment. After a good start, their performance begins to be doubtful again, but at the moment no one coughs them and Koeman has not given them the same touches of attention as Griezmann, Dembélé or Ansu, to give a few examples.

Piqué has also played whenever he has been available. Despite not being one of the worst last season, the center-back raised his hand after the disaster in Da Luz, but finally did not leave Barça and has even extended his contract until June 2024. Koeman has given him stripes and has played everything except the Turin match, where he was suspended. After a good start, like that of Busquets and Alba, he has lost concentration. The day of Ferencvaros he was expelled for castling in a Nguen action with 3-0; against Madrid he lost along with Lenglet the reference in Valverde's 0-1 action; and he has completed ten horrible days with the action with Neto in Mendizorroza. Although the Brazilian could have cleared the ball earlier, it was the center-back who got the goalkeeper into trouble. First with a gesture that confused him. Then, sending him a ball that was thrown on him too soon. Either because of his status or because of the absence of centrals at Barça (Umtiti and Araújo are without medical discharge), Piqué is not threatened either.

One of the most applauded changes at this beginning of the Koeman era has been the recovery of certain values: professionalism in schedules, seriousness and intensity in training sessions and the return of a certain meritocracy that has allowed children like Ansu or Pedri are starters in many games. With the sacred cows, however, Koeman still hasn't dared. Certain privileges are still alive in Can Barça.