Barcelona are gearing up for Saturday's Copa del Rey final, with the Blaugrana set to take on Athletic Club in a highly-anticipated weekend showdown. All eyes will be on this fixture as Cules look to see whether their side can pick up one of two available trophies this season.
The Catalan giants have been nothing but excellent in 2021, going on a 19-game unbeaten run from mid-December up until their trip to Real Madrid. Unfortunately, that visit to the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium brought an end to that run, with Messi and Co. suffering a 2-1 defeat and thus losing ground in the Spanish top-flight race.
While Barcelona are only two points adrift of the league leaders, the performance was enough to reopen wounds of old ahead of Saturday's final. Furthermore, many began speculating whether Ronald Koeman's job would come under threat should his team lose against Athletic Club.
In his pre-match press conference, these allegations were brought to the Dutch tactician's attention. The manager was asked whether defeat on Saturday and a trophy-less campaign would result in his sacking, resulting in a fiery answer from the Camp Nou boss.
"It's a little bit strange that I need to answer these type of questions because we had a run of 19 games without losing," the 58-year-old said.
"We're losing one game and I already need to talk about my future? Maybe I need to accept this. I have one more year of contract. I know it's a big pressure and I can handle that but sometimes it's a little bit strange."
It wasn't too long ago that Joan Laporta was elected to new Barcelona president, taking over from the unpopular Josep Maria Bartomeu. One of the first things Laporta did upon winning the race was to show his support for Koeman. While a lot has changed since then, the Dutchman is adamant that he still holds the backing of the Camp Nou president.
"I've got another year on my contract and I know what'll happen if we win or if we lose [against Athletic Club]," Koeman said. "I've spoken with the president and he's shown confidence in me.
"I don't think that every time something is written about a coach the president should have to give him a vote of confidence."
The Blaugrana are not strangers to losing to Athletic Club in finals. The two Spanish clubs faced off in the Super Cup back in January, with the Basque side emerging triumphant 3-2. However, the Lions have lost last season's Copa final, which was held earlier this month, going down against Real Sociedad.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
