MY ACCOUNT
Miralem Pjanic has hit out at former Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman, claiming training sessions lacked intensity, tactics and ideas during the Dutchman’s spell at Camp Nou.
Pjanic made 19 league appearances for Barcelona in the 2020-21 season after joining from Juventus, spending the last campaign on loan at Besiktas before joining Emirati outfit Sharjah last month.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has been critical of Koeman in the past, accusing the Dutchman of “disrespecting” him following his move to Turkey in September 2021.
Speaking to Cadena Ser on Friday, Pjanic attacked Koeman’s methods once more, saying: “I was very surprised in training with Koeman.
“There was no intensity, no tactics, no ideas. We did not prepare for the games.”
Pjanic spent his most recent pre-season at Barcelona under Koeman’s successor Xavi, and was far more enthusiastic in his assessment of the current Blaugrana coach.
“Preparation and training was good under Xavi, similar to what I was used to at Juventus, for example, where we won everything,” Pjanic added.
“Now the sessions at Barca have a lot of intensity. Xavi and his staff were very clear with us at the start of the season. They told us this year we would have to run and go 2000 miles per hour.
“Every day is like a game in training at Barcelona now, because there is so much quality in the squad and a lot of intensity.”
Xavi has led Barca to an unbeaten start to the season in LaLiga, having overseen a second-placed finish after taking over from Koeman midway through last season.
