With an iron fist approach that has led to a difficult conversation with Lionel Messi and the departures of Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal, Ronald Koeman has been doing his best to make his mark at Barcelona.
He has had the courage to dismiss players he considers lacking in speed and flexibility, and he has changed the tactical system from a traditional 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1. The last time Barca regularly played with that formation was under manager Bobby Robson in 1996/97.
That’s some impact after 50 days in office.
Koeman was hired for two main reasons. The first is that he has been a supporters’ idol since he scored the goal at Wembley in 1992 that gave Barcelona their first European Cup. When leaders are in trouble, there is no one better to hide behind than a hero.
The second reason is Koeman's strong personality and charisma, and those characteristics are apparent. He is leading a transition that no one before him had the courage to begin.
Inspired by Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team, Koeman's new Barcelona features faster and more objective ball movement, without the negative possession of Quique Setien's time in charge.
It was bold to change the tactical system. The 4-3-3 system was implemented by Frank Rijkaard and perfected by Pep Guardiola, architect of one of the strongest teams of all time.
However, despite these profound changes and having signed a contract until June 2022, Koeman is unlikely to remain at Camp Nou after March 2021, unless extraordinary fortune comes his way.
The club presidential elections, scheduled for March, could be brought forward after a motion to dismiss incumbent Josep Maria Bartomeu was approved last week.
A change of date would not change the roster of five candidates to succeed Bartomeu: Joan Laporta, Lluis Fernandez, Agusti Benedito, Victor Font and Jordi Farre.
The fight is likely to be between Laporta and Font, and Koeman will not have an easy time with either of them.
Font told Spanish radio programme El Larguero that if he wins, he will stick to his plan to appoint Xavi Hernandez as coach even if Koeman has a great season.
His main rival, Laporta, has criticised Koeman for dismissing Suarez and the management responsible for hiring the Dutchman as coach.
On the field, the start is promising for Koeman, despite the recent draw with Sevilla at home. With the club in institutional upheaval, depleted finances and disoriented management, the team impressed the fans with the emergence of young talents such as Ansu Fati, Pedri, Trincao, Araujo and Konrad.
Koeman’s Barcelona is combining present and future, a team run by a coach with authority and someone strong enough to set a new style.
With little support from prospective upper management, it seems this new Barca will not be around for long, whatever its success.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The years Ramadan fell in May
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed | Dh180,000 | 1,600m
6.30pm Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 | 2,400m
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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