Barcelona’s win at La Cartuja is not just a first trophy for Ronald Koeman as coach but an injection of credit for him too. For the fans and the board but also in the dressing room.
Ronald showed his leadership and personality ahead of the clash, when he changed his mind about the tactics and despite various heavyweights in the dressing room telling him their preference for a different idea. Koeman risked it and came out a winner.
We said in SPORT that he had been working on a 4-3-3 in the week but later changed back to 3-5-2. Koeman thinks that it protects the team more against a physical Athletic.
Even though some key figures in the team prefer 4-3-3, he wanted to stick to 3-5-2 on this occasion. Barca smashed Athletic and Koeman got credit from the squad for his tactics board acumen this time.