We’ve seen a strange pivot towards inexperienced or surprise candidates being given high profile jobs simply because of their playing history.
History
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer landed the Manchester United job, Frank Lampard got the Chelsea hot seat and Andrea Pirlo was handed the reigns at Juventus despite never managing professionally.
And now Koeman is trodding an unexpected path by going from Everton to the Netherlands to Barcelona.
It sounds like a sequence of events that could only happen in Football Manager, yet here we are in 2020 with someone who got fired at the Toffies about to take on one of the most difficult jobs in the world.
Desperate
In one aspect this appointment does make sense. Barcelona are a broken team right now, fresh off the back of the 8-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich and with a spine of the team that needs replacing. Their recruitment is a shambles. They don’t want the best manager available right now, Mauricio Pochettino, because of his links with crosstown rivals Espanyol.
They need someone, anyone to take the reigns.
Sky Sports have reported that he’ll be offered a two-year deal, but can expect to be sacked after one to coincide with Barca’s next presidential elections and the triumphant homecoming of Xavi as the permanent manager.
Gets The Club
Spanish football expert Graham Hunter details how Barcelona want someone with experience and insider knowledge of the Camp Nou. They want someone who knows the club - as if the ambitions of all clubs aren’t the same.
‘Getting the club’ can now be placed up there on the irrelevant football pedestal along with a manager bringing a personal brand to the team that consists of pressing, playing possession football and trying to outscore the opposition.
This tired cliche has gained legs over the past 12 months but it won’t be long until it leads to ever increasingly irrational appointments, a broken legacy and tears.