Ronald Koeman came under pressure after losing the El Classico earlier this week. There was a buzz in Spain that the coach will be replaced if he fails to produce against Rayo Vallecano. The rumor came true after failing to win a rather easy La Liga fixture on Wednesday (October 27). Following the defeat, the club stated in an official statement that first-team coach Ronald Koeman has been fired after 14 months in command. Let's take a look at the top candidates for Ronald Koeman's replacement at FC Barcelona.    Ronald Koeman's Potential Successors at FC Barcelona Barcelona's newly elected president Joan Laporta extended Koeman's contract for another season earlier this summer despite his unimpressive style of play. However, he fell short in terms of decision-making. Under his leadership, Barcelona has only 15 points from ten La Liga games this season. His team also lost twice in the ongoing UEFA Champions League group stage. The Barcelona board was increasingly frustrated with Koeman's poor managerial performance, and his termination was on the cards after the defeat against arch-rival Real Madrid. Here are a few prospective Koeman replacements. Read Man United humiliated: Salah hat trick in 5-0 Liverpool rout Jordi Cruyff Jordi Cruyff, the son of former Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff, is one of the leading contenders for the position. He is quite knowledgeable about Blaugrana's style. Because his father was the main architect of Barcelona's famed tiki-taka style of play. Jordi understands exactly what Barcelona expect from him.  Jordi has previously held managerial positions with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Shenzen FC, and the Ecuadorian national team. Currently, he is serving as the sports advisor at Barcelona. It will not be a bad choice if the club names Jr. Cruyff as the next Barcelona first-team coach. Read Madrid wins 2-1 at Barcelona in first post-Messi ‘clásico’ Antonio Conte Italian coach Antonio Conte is the most well-known name on the market. He resigned as manager after winning Serie A with Inter Milan last season. Conte has a particular vision and approach to the game. He has the capability to bring out the best in his players and can help Barcelona to regain its glory. One major issue is, Conte's ideology may not be completely aligned with FC Barcelona's. Barcelona might be considering him as an alternative for Koeman if they are unable to convince their other main targets.  Read European soccer leagues oppose FIFA biennial World Cup plan

Ronald Koeman has been a disappointment since taking over as manager of FC Barcelona in August 2020. Koeman's tactical decisions and team analysis have been subpar. Barcelona won the Copa del Ray by defeating Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in the final in his first season as manager, but they were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 and finished third in La Liga 2020-2021 season. According to reports in Spain, Laporta is considering replacing Koeman with a manager who is familiar with Barcelona's style of play and can make better tactical decisions. Let's take a look at four possible Ronald Koeman replacements.  Four Probable Candidates to Replace Ronald Koeman at FC Barcelona  Barcelona's new president Joan Laporta opted to extend Koeman's contract for another season despite his unimpressive style of play. However, he has made little progress in terms of strategy, and Barcelona's recent results have been awful. Moreover, Koeman has a terrible track record against big opponents. He only won one big game against Juventus in October 2020. Apart from that, he has lost two El Clasicos, yet to win against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, and failed to beat PSG in the 2021 Champions League round of 16. Bayern Munich beat Koeman's Barcelona 3-0 at Camp Nou in a group stage encounter of the 2021-2022 Champions League season. Read: Lionel Messi is Leaving Barcelona Despite Wanting to Stay Barcelona's hierarchy has become frustrated with Koeman's poor performance as a manager. According to reports, they are on the hunt for a suitable suitor for Koeman. 4) Antonio Conte Antonio Conte is probably the big name available on the market. He stepped down as manager of Inter Milan after winning the Serie A last season. Conte has a proven track record in both the Italian and Premier Leagues. He is quite clear about what he expects from his team. Conte has a distinct vision and playing style. He has the ability to bring out the best in his players and take the Barcelona team forward. Conte's approach may not be fully compatible with FC Barcelona's philosophy, but he can provide consistency within the group. Barcelona may consider him as a successor for Koeman if they are unable to persuade their other top targets. Read: Messi breaks down, says he wasn’t ready to leave Barcelona 3) Erik ten Hag Appointing Erik ten Hag would be a great replacement given his recent performances with Ajax. Erik ten Hag’s team has been in excellent form in European competition in the previous three seasons and his style of play is well suited to Barcelona's system. What's more fascinating is that Ajax has stayed tough and attack-minded despite losing some well-known players. They play more aggressively and terrorize the opposing defense. However, Erik ten Hag must be convinced that he would get the best out of the present Barcelona squad after taking over as manager. Read: Lionel Messi Contract: PSG Set to Sign Former Barcelona Forward 2) Xavi Hernandez One of Barcelona's all-time great footballers Xavi Hernandez will surely take over as manager of FC Barcelona at some point in the future. However, is he ready to take up the post right now? Because he has yet to coach a European club and has been in charge of Qatar's Al Sadd since 2019. Xavi is well-versed in Barcelona's culture and organizational structure. He might be an instant success at Camp Nou, or he could be a complete disaster. However, it will be a sensible decision to take a chance on club legend Xavi Hernandez. Read Barcelona recalls right back Emerson from Betis loan 1)    Roberto Martinez Spanish manager Roberto Martinez coached three English teams before taking over as manager of Belgium's national team in 2016. He hasn't had much success as a manager, but he has done a good job both at the club level and with the national team. Martinez is an experienced coach who has a clear vision. However, he needs to adapt his approach to Barcelona's style of play. Is he really the ideal coach for Barcelona at this time? Though recent speculations indicate that Roberto Martinez is the frontrunner to succeed Ronald Koeman at Barcelona. Read: End of an era: Barcelona says Messi won’t stay with the club Verdict Xavi Hernandez might be a perfect fit considering his Barcelona connections. He knows more about the club than any of the possible suitors. Though Xavi has no managerial experience in European club football, which might be a big block in his path to becoming Barcelona's manager. Roberto Martinez may also be a good fit for Barcelona. However, it's uncertain whether he will be willing to take over as manager given the club's current position. Antonio Conte and Eric ten Hag are two well-known European managers that can offer stability to the Barcelona team. Whoever gets the job will have a huge task ahead of them to make things better.   Read Barcelona reaches deal with Ag ero to boost team s attack

The European football season 2020/2021 has come to an end after overcoming multiple challenges because of Coronavirus. All of Europe's major teams are in financial problems in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 situation. So, the teams were relatively quiet during the previous summer transfer window, which had a significant impact on their outcomes. Several European clubs have fallen short of the expectations for the 2021 season. Relatively weak clubs have enjoyed a successful season. This article discusses how the major European clubs fared this season. Let's take a look at the winners and losers at the end of the 2020/2021 European Season. English Premier League Manchester City were crowned English Premier League champion for the 2020/2021 season. Although Man City had a difficult start to the season, they were able to turn things around in December. Manchester City climbed to the top of the table with 15 consecutive victories and went on to win the Premier League with 86 points. This is Manchester City's seventh first-division league title. In addition to the Premier League, Manchester City also won the EFL Cup and secured the Champions League final for the first time. Citizens will face Chelsea in the CL final. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will end the season with a high if they win the best tournament in Europe. On the other hand, Manchester United came second in the Premier League with 74 points. Ole Gunnar Solskjær's Manchester United reached the Europa League final under, but the Red Devils were defeated by Villarreal in the title match. This season, Manchester United failed to win a single trophy. Following the sacking of Frank Lampard in January, Thomas Tuchel was appointed as Chelsea's new manager. Chelsea reached the Champions League and FA Cup finals under his management but lost the FA Cup final against Leicester City. They will be able to finish the season well if they win the Champions League. Chelsea have also confirmed their place in the Premier League's top four. 2020 premier league champions Liverpool finished third in this season Premier League with 69 points. Despite being in a dire situation in the middle of the season, the All-Reds were able to secure a Champions League spot as their form improved towards the end of the season. Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal also had a bad season. Tottenham reached the EFL Cup final, where they were defeated by Manchester City. Arsenal, on the other hand, had advanced to the Europa League semi-finals. Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 2021: 3rd ODI Match Preview Spanish La Liga Atletico Madrid won the 2021 La Liga title with 86 points, after a strong battle throughout the season. Despite their success in the Spanish league, Atletico Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League in the quarterfinals.   On the other hand, Real Madrid finished second in the league this season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. However, Real Madrid finished the season trophy-less for the first time since 2010. While, Barcelona won the Copa Del Rey but exited the Champions League in the round of 16 and finished third in the league. Among others, Villarreal won the Europa League and Sevilla secured the top four of the points table. Italian Serie A After ten years Italian Serie has won a new team. Inter Milan is the new league champion with 91 points. On the other hand, after being the champion for ten years in a row, Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventas have to be satisfied with fourth place in the league this season. The Turin-based team won the Supercoppa Italiana despite not winning the league. Second-placed AC Milan (69 points) and third-placed Atlanta (6 points) have been confirmed as Champions League participants for next season. Napoli finished fifth in the league despite their excellent performances throughout the season. Read: Copa America 2021: Things you need to know Others Bayern Munich have once again won the German Bundesliga. They earned a total of 78 points. Bayern Munich reached the Champions League quarter-finals this season. On the other hand, Leipzig (65), Borussia Dortmund (64) and Wolfsburg (61) have confirmed the top four of the league. Meanwhile, Lille have won the French Ligue 1 with 83 points, following a season-long contest with Paris Saint-Germain, who came in second with 82 points. Paris Saint-Germain reached the Champions League semi-finals this season. Among the other major European leagues, Ajax have won the Dutch league, Sporting Lisbon have won the Portuguese league, and Rangers have won the newly formed Scottish Premiership for the first time. Bottom Line At the end of the 2020/2021 European season, it is apparent that several of the major teams failed to meet the expectations. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, and PSG are among these teams. They were unable to form strong squads during the summer transfer window last season due to the coronavirus. Next season, fans will be permitted inside the stadium, and it is predicted that the European giants will make a strong comeback in the 2021/2022 season. Read: Tamim, Shakib and Mustafizur Reach Unique Milestones in the first ODI against Sri Lanka