The moment it became known that Barça was to make their Champions League debut against Bayern Munich, all the alarms began to ring in the Camp Nou offices.
The fear was being humiliated again by the team that changed everything in Lisbon, just over a year ago, by demonstrating, via a 2-8 demolition, that the best Barça team in history had completed its glorious cycle.
Müller, after putting Bayern in the lead at Camp Nou. 0-1. / EFE
And the nightmare came true on Tuesday night, as Bayern Munich strolled to victory on Camp Nou against a painfully inferior Barça that was only saved from an even more embarrassing result by Ter Stegen and the wayward shooting of the Bavarian forwards. And the final 0-3 scoreline was already devastating.
Ten Hag, a convinced Cruyffist
But even more painful than the result, since a defeat by Bayern Munich was relatively predictable given the current balance of forces, the culers are hurting because of the response from coach Ronald Koeman, who played as if he was directing a minnow club, not a proud European giant: rather than going out to win, his team took the field with the idea of avoiding a thrashing, an idea that did not even change at halftime, with 0-1 on the scoreboard, and a strategy that, in the end, was useless.
Sergi Roberto had a poor match and ended up being whistled by the home crowd / EFE
And, when it comes down to it, that is another clear argument for the club to start activating its rebuilding plan, at present scheduled for next summer, but which could be brought forward if the results, and the sensations in the stadium, do not improve.
And one of the names on the table is that of Erik Ten Hag, current coach of Ajax, a choice who would be endorsed by none other than Pep Guardiola, who when questioned did not hesitate to highlight the virtues of the Dutch manager.
Lewandowski, after scoring the 0-2 / EFE
Guardiola and Ten Hag, together at Bayern
And the recommendation is no accident: those who have followed Pep through the years may recall that he coincided with Ten Hag at Bayern Munich. While the Catalan was training the Bavarian giants, the Dutchman was coaching Bayern's second team. Guardiola already saw then that this bold coach had a great future ahead.
Ten Hag, a Cruyffist by conviction, both in his statements and in his team planning, stands out for his taste for offensive and daring play and for not hesitating to put his faith in young players, just what the current Barça needs.
Ten Hag, Ajax coach / EFE
The coach also has the endorsement of Frenkie de Jong, who showed his best version with Ten Hag on the bench of that wonderful Ajax which three seasons ago narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions final in the Wanda Metropolitano, having already eliminated Real Madrid and Juventus on the way.
Barça president Joan Laporta, moreover, has already shown on more than one occasion that he has no problem betting on lower profile coaches. He did it in his day with Rijkaard and Guardiola, after listening to Cruyff. We'll have to wait and see whether his next choice will be Ten Hag, who would arrive with the endorsement of Guardiola himself.
Main image: Koeman, despairing, during Tuesday's Barça-Bayern / EFE