The Barça TV members were especially critical this Wednesday with the eleven chosen by Koeman to play it in the Champions League against Dinamo Kiev. The Dutch coach left Ansu Fati on the bench after being decisive against Valencia and opted for regular substitutes such as Mingueza, Lenglet or Luuk de Jong. The opinions of Salvador García and Lluís Lainz were surprising because it is not very common to speak with such freedom of an approach from a club professional in the case of an official medium.
Salvador García, former culé player, on Barça TV:
“The Koeman thing is very good on paper …, but I would have put Ansu”
“I was surprised by the choice of eleven. Koeman already said that Ansu could not play the three games. The other day was the first game. And there is a big difference between a Barça with Ansu and a Barça without Ansu. Today is the fundamental game . I would have put Ansu Fati. Don’t forget that this is very good on paper but we are tired of seeing the Sheriff winning at the Bernabéu, PSG could not beat Brujas … Today is fundamental and, yes I have three games (Valencia, Dinamo and Madrid), this is the most important. The others are not a life or death match and it can be recovered. It has surprised me in such an important match. Barça with Ansu and without Ansu has no nothing to do. We are all aware of the last games and the difficulties to create danger. We need to score and win clearly. Koeman is the coach, I don’t have to say anything here. He has the power and will have his reasons, but It has never ceased to amaze me. “
Before starting the game, and already digested the starting eleven, he insisted: “Without Fati, Barça abused centers. From the first day he left, his performance was already seen. Memphis benefits a lot, they complement each other and they understand each other very well. Let’s hope he doesn’t even have to play … that would be the best news. But let’s hope he plays a bit so that he can pick up the pace. “
Lluís Lainz, analyst and coach:
“Luuk de Jong’s presence screeches me”
“I am pleased to return to 1-4-3-3 since the other day we played a mix. That said, I usually put myself in the coach’s shoes to understand him. He has replaced Sergi Roberto and has put Mingueza and Lenglet in. It is reasonable having Note that he does not count on Umtiti at all. The midfield is the same. The only thing that squeaks me is the presence of Luuk de Jong as the starting center forward. But I try to justify it with one fact: Dinamo’s center-backs are very tall, of great importance, and a man is needed to fix the center-backs and to generate spaces with their diagonals for the arrival of the second line. “