Jordi Alba defends Koeman: He did a good job at Barcelona

Ronald Koeman lost his job at Barcelona as a result of poor performances and results, but Jordi Alba believes the Dutchman did well in his time at the Camp Nou.

Despite being sacked and replaced by Xavi Hernandez, leaving the Blaugrana in a troubled position domestically and in the Champions League, Jordi Alba didn't want to have a bad word said about his former coach.

"No," Alba said, asked if he thought the change to Xavi should have been made earlier. "I think Koeman did a very good job.

"We won the Copa Del Rey when nobody expected us to, and every coach has their own style. I'm grateful to Koeman for what he did with me and the whole team."

Despite his affection for Koeman, Alba did express his excitement with Xavi's arrival on the bench.

"Now we have a new coach because the president decided to have one and I'm happy that Xavi is here," Alba added. "He had to come here, because he knows the club.

"I'm very happy with his arrival and I'm sure he'll help us a lot."

Speaking more about Xavi, Alba admitted that he has limited knowledge of the former midfielder as a coach.

"I've only known him [as a coach] for a week," Alba said. "He was always very intensely into football as a player, and now as a coach.

"He has emphasised the importance of talking to everyone, especially those who don't play.

"That's a positive for the whole team to buy into and to get back to being ourselves. We did well against Espanyol, now we have to improve a lot. I think he has good ideas."

Barcelona face Benfica in the Champions League this midweek knowing that they have to win, having lost 3-0 the first time the sides met in the competition this season.

"We have to prove ourselves, it's no use just talking here," Alba said. "I think we deserved better there, we didn't deserve to lose 3-0, we just couldn't score.

"I could see that. We can't look at it as revenge, we rely on ourselves and we have our progression chances in our own hands."