Holland head coach Louis van Gaal has taken aim at Barcelona for 'blaming foreigners' with the Catalan club in the midst of a crisis on and off the pitch.
Ronald Koeman's side have endured a difficult start to the season and are currently ninth in the LaLiga table - they also lost their opening two Champions League games to Bayern Munich and Benfica, both by a 3-0 scoreline.
Pressure is mounting on the Barca boss and Dutch stars Frenkie De Jong and Memphis Depay have also come under fire - yet Van Gaal leapt to the defence of his compatriots this week.
Asked about his countryman being scrutinised, he said: 'Frenkie de Jong, criticised?'
'It's typical Barcelona. When you have the great contributions he's had in the past two years, there's not too much to worry about.
'[But] when things go bad, people in Barcelona always look for the foreigners [to blame].'
Van Gaal, who is managing his country for the third time, coached Barcelona from 1997-2000 and 2002-2003.
The 70-year-old also praised Depay, who moved from Lyon to the Nou Camp on a free transfer in the summer.
'When I look at the data from Memphis, I've never had a striker like this,' he added.
'Someone who runs so much, goes deep so many times and gets into the ball so much. That's commendable.'
Van Gaal's Dutch side face Gibraltar in a World Cup qualifier this evening after beating Latvia on Friday night.
ManUnited-Red
1
Their form reminds you of Man Utd eh? π
we are much better πππ½π₯
Muucipsy
2
what is this Guy smoking? where was he when fans were criticising Pique? where was he when fans were whistling Roberto or maybe they are foreigners too
DeWeirdo
3
Talking like heβs not one of the worst Barca coaches in history
yucckmtuyz
1
So van gaal want to tell us we should blame pedri and leave luuk de jong or what?
Kkrexuke
0
Barca should start to talk to Newcastle abt selling them Coutinho and umtiti. should recover back majority of the cost. Newcastle need it so does Barca.
abeejared
1
Barca is turning into a Dutch Team.
Andy_Mac
1
I love this current form right now from Barca, very good
Their form reminds you of Man Utd eh? π
IbraahimSajjadh
0
Koamen has already used when he was in holland
Hamsa_Baydaani
2
maybe van gaal should teach koaman how to use depay at his best.
cherif10musa
0
useless coach
You're one of them.... If you know what I mean π
ManUnited-Red
1
I also love this current form from man UTD , very good with a high quality coach also
I also love Barca how they play football, with their strikers, yes magic
louceprtz
1
useless coach
rapeilosuy
2
The truth is that Barcelona situation is exaggerated π― if after I the break they win their game in hand they'll be just 2 points behind Real Madrid π€·ββοΈπ€·ββοΈ is bad news when it comes to UCL because none of us can remember when was the last time Barcelona got knocked out of UCL in group stages πββοΈπββοΈ
wadcinosu
0
truth be told, koeman is not just doing well
Yeuemnty
1
useless coaches we need Spain coaches
Yihadinop
1
Vaan Gaal the whole world knows that you are ever a layer, stupid, good for nothing and a total failure, what did you know
BarcameTeam
2
I also love this current form from man UTD , very good with a high quality coach also
πππ
Martinez04
1
understand what ? the man is telling you the truth see wht u are saying.
His tellin kiss ma ass. Thereβs no truth there. The coach is the prob. So he work on it wether he likes it or not.
emuobokelvin
2
Barcelona pointed fingers at you during your woeful time at man united
Anthovagasta
3
Koeman taking note π
Vowcilt
1
shut up rascist ...U r a useless coach
BabaYaga2312
0
Koeman is the only foreigner to be blamed and for his lack of tactics I think at least some of it is well deserved Ppl literary praise de jong and depay for trying to carry the team
Desmondeyum
7
I love this current form right now from Barca, very good
I also love this current form from man UTD , very good with a high quality coach also
mapJay
2
Van Gaal should understand that the coach is the overall scapegoat of whatever failure the team faces. That's natural you can't change it.. If the coach is not too tactical he should be blamed because if the likes of Pep, Klopp, Tuchel and other tactical managers were give the same squad they can make something out of it... It's a pity it's his fellow countryman but he's the one incharge. We just hope we'll come back with some positive results..
Gospi
0
I don't care but we should go back to Spanish coaches... These foreigners really don't understand nothing
understand what ? the man is telling you the truth see wht u are saying.
ManUnited-Red
3
I love this current form right now from Barca, very good
Wipdilstz
0
I don't care but we should go back to Spanish coaches... These foreigners really don't understand nothing