Barcelona confirmed Ernesto Valverde as their new coach on a two-year deal, replacing Luis Enrique.
The 53-year-old former Barcelona player arrives at the Camp Nou after recently announcing his departure from Athletic Bilbao, where he had been in charge for the last four seasons.
Here, we look at the tasks facing the new Barcelona boss.
Valverde will already realise that being manager at Barcelona does not make him the most important individual at the club. That status is reserved exclusively for Lionel Messi, and Valverde will quickly need to gain the respect of the Argentine star along with fellow superstar forwards Luis Suarez and Neymar. The new manager’s relationship with the latter will be particularly interesting after he criticised the Brazilian for his showboating tendencies in the last couple of years.
Suarez, Neymar, Messi.
Barca’s chief weakness during Luis Enrique’s last season – and the main reason they fell short in La Liga and the Champions League – was the lack of a solid team structure. They have become far too reliant upon Lionel Messi waving his magic wand, and on the few occasions he misfires they had little else to offer. In the end, they were neither a counter-attacking nor a possession-based side, and Valverde must restore a stronger sense of tactical identity.
Messi.
The chief manifestation of Barca’s lack of a coherent collective strategy was the midfield disappearing and their defence becoming outnumbered, which was especially exploited by the biggest opposition as they conceded ten goals in Champions League trips to Manchester City, Paris St Germain and Juventus. With the midfield absent in both defence and attack, Valverde needs to find a way to help the suffocated Sergio Busquets provide greater continuity between the two ends of the pitch.
Busquets.
A year on from the legendary Dani Alves’s departure, the squad’s biggest requirement in the transfer market is a long-term replacement at right-back. The experiment of converting midfielder Sergi Roberto hasn’t really worked out, and Aleix Vidal has also looked out of his depth, so we can expect to see a big-money move this summer – perhaps for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin, who was born in Barcelona and on the club’s books as a youngster.
Sergi Roberto.
Barca used to be synonymous with youth development, supplying a steady stream of brilliant players to the first team squad from their famed La Masia academy. But that tap has been switched off in recent years, with nobody progressing through the ranks since Rafinha who is now 24. Re-establishing the path from La Masia to the first team would greatly help with the task of restoring the team’s identity, and Valverde should give youth a chance as soon as possible.
Rafinha.
