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Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman was scheduled to attend a normal pre-match press conference on Wednesday in which he was supposed to talk about the team's forthcoming La Liga match at Cadiz. However, as it turned out, nothing seemed usual about his press conference. While the Dutchman did turn up at the scheduled time, he only read out a statement on behalf of the club to the media personnel at the venue and then walked out of the room.
In his statement, Koeman called for patience and support of the fans and followers of the club and said that they need time to reconstruct the team and give players enough opportunities.
"Hello everyone, the club is with me as the coach in a situation of rebuilding. The financial situation of the club is connected to the sporting activities and vice versa. This means that we as a team have to rebuild the football team without being able to make any big financial investments, this needs time," Koeman said.
"The young talent today could end up being the next big world stars in just a few years. In order to reconstruct this team means that young players get opportunities like Xavi and Iniesta had in their day, but we must ask for patience," he added.
"What’s more, being in a high ranking in the league would be a success. This is a great footballing school for these talents. In the Champions League we can’t hope for miracles. The defeat to Bayern last week has to be focused from that perspective," he further said.
Roberto Martinez favourite to replace Koeman at Barca: Reports
Koeman's move has added fuel to the speculation over his future with the Catalan giants after Monday's draw with Granada. The bizarre move of walking out of a press conference after reading a statement is set to lay more question marks at the club. A few reports also claim that the decision to sack Koeman has already been taken and it is only a matter of time before he is shown the door and the next coach is announced.
Among other names, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez seems to be the frontrunner to get the job as of now.
Meanwhile, Koeman's speech at the presser also called for unconditional support.
"The process that we are in right now, the staff with the team, deserves unconditional support, in word and in actions," stated the Barca coach.