Following Barcelona's 2-0 defeat at Celta Vigo on Sunday evening in front of a live Spanish television audience, a result that left the club just three points away from the relegation zone in an astonishing 12th place in the Primera División, it appeared as though it was just a matter of time before the two parties separated, especially given the volume of disaffection amongst the Blaugrana faithful outside the Balaídos stadium in Vigo.

To put the club's situation in perspective, they have lost eight of the 19 first division games played this season, Van Gaal's first since he returned to the Camp Nou last summer, their worst run since Terry Venables resigned in 1987.

However, when the former Ajax manager first became Barcelona's coach, succeeding Sir Bobby Robson in 1997/98, he enjoyed nothing but unbridled success with the club, winning the Double in his very first season in La Liga and following that achievement up by retaining the title in 1998/99.

But, the following season, having taken Barcelona to the semi-finals of the European Cup and finished second in the league to Deportivo La Coruña, Van Gaal was asked to leave the club.

When Carles Rexach was moved aside at the end of another season of underachievement last summer, club president Joan Gaspart staked his reputation on bringing back Van Gaal last May, a decision that was universally unpopular with the club's 100,000-plus 'socis' (members), especially as he had just failed to take his native Netherlands to the 2002 World Cup finals.

One of the Dutchman's first pieces of business was to sanction the departure of club idol Rivaldo, who had just played an integral part in helping Brazil lift the World Cup in Japan, a player that he had never seen eye to eye with during his previous spell in charge. 

He replaced him with young Argentinian sensation Juan Roman Riquelme, who has made little impact this season having started the majority of games on the substitutes bench.

Spanish international midfielder Gaizka Mendieta was also bought from Lazio, but like Riqueleme, has found it hard to settle in, especially when played out of position at left-back, as he has been for much of this campaign.

In fact the only success that the 51-year-old has achieved this season has been in Europe, where Barcelona have equaled AC Milan's record of ten wins in a row in the Champions League to be on course for a place in the quarter-finals this March.

That though has not been enough to spare him, with players claiming that Van Gaal is too preoccupied with 'systems' and his legendary clipboard than with rectifying the club's disastrous start to the season.

 

On Monday evening Barcelona's general manager Xavier Perez Farguell announced that Van Gaal, who had a contract until June 2005, would leave the Camp Nou as soon as "a settlement had been resolved", although it is believed that it will cost the club €4m in compensation. 

Given that Barcelona were unable to even meet Chelsea's £5m asking price for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink a fortnight ago and are in serious debt, Van Gaal may not leave his post immediately.

In the short-term, technical director and former Barcelona striker Rexach will most probably be asked to take over the coaching duties until the end of the season when a more suitable replacement is found, most probably Boca Juniors coach Carlos Bianchi, someone with an excellent coaching record in Argentina and a long-term target of the club's.

Van Gaal's coaching profile:

AJAX (1991/97): Eredivisie title: 1993/94, 1994/95 and 1995/96 Dutch Cup: 1993 European Cup: 1995 European Super Cup: 1996 Intercontiental Club Cup: 1995

BARCELONA (1997/2000); Primera División: 1997/98, 1998/99 Copa del Rey: 1997/98 European Super Cup: 1998

NETHERLANDS (2000/01); Finished third in World Cup qualifying group behind Portugal and the Republic of Ireland after losing at home to Portugal 2-0 and 1-0 in Dublin against a Republic side reduced to ten men, the first time that the Dutch had failed to qualify for the World Cup in 16 years.

BARCELONA (2002/03): Primera División: His La Liga record at the halfway point of the season reads: P19 W6 D5 L8 F27 A25 European Cup: Top of second stage Group A with Internazionale having won all ten games played in the competition this season Copa del Rey: Eliminated at first round stage 3-2 by Novelda