Summer exits on horizon after Barcelona lose Copa del Rey final to Valencia

Andy West 01:40 26/05/2019
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • A bad day at the office for Ernesto Valverde.

    Valencia claimed their first major honour since 2008 as a magnificent first-half performance allowed them to defeat Barcelona 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final, with goals from Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo Moreno enough to defeat overcome Lionel Messi’s second half strike.

    Coming in the wake of his team’s shocking Champions League exit at Liverpool, the outcome leaves Barca boss Ernesto Valverde’s future hanging by a thread, with several players also perhaps poised to be sent through the Camp Nou exit door.

    But although the headlines in the next few days will be dominated by Barca’s potential imminent changes, it’s only fair to kick off our key talking points by paying tribute to the victors.

    Barcelona v Valencia

    Valencia finish strange season in style

    This has been an odd but ultimately very fruitful season for Valencia. After finishing fourth in La Liga last time out and making some promising summer signings, Marcelino’s men entered the campaign with confidence high and optimism restored following a few fallow years.

    But that soon faded as they won just two of their first 13 games, leaving Marcelino’s job under serious threat during a dark mid-winter which saw the team closer to the relegation zone than the head of the table as well as suffering a group stage exit from the Champions League.

    Marcelino just about held on, though, and his team’s fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better from late January onwards, with a run of eight wins in 12 games to finish the season firing them into a fourth place league finish and now securing silverware.

    And although they were nervously holding on at the end, this was a thoroughly deserved victory, with strong defending combined with masterful midfield play and purposeful attacking, and if Marcelino can add some more squad depth in the summer – as well as keeping key men such as Dani Parejo, Jose Gaya and Rodrigo – Valencia could be a serious force next season.

    Valverde out?

    It’s a question which has been asked ever since Barca’s calamitous Champions League exit: will Ernesto Valverde still be in charge at the Camp Nou next season?

    Over the past week or so, various figures from the Calatan club have been seeking to answer that question in the affirmative, with president Josep Maria Bartomeu and skipper Lionel Messi forcefully stating their support for the under-fire manager.

    Now, though, a fresh round of speculation has been unfurled and the powers-that-be must be having second thoughts over Valverde’s position. His team selection for this game certainly deserves criticism, with Sergi Roberto being picked on the right wing instead of Malcom an unnecessarily negative move which left the team badly lacking in attacking thrust.

    It’s by no means certain that Valverde will be forced out, but the confidence in him has been badly eroded over the past couple of weeks and the furious face of Bartomeu in the VIP seats after the game very much bore the look of a man undergoing a serious rethink. Firing Valverde is clearly not something the Barca board wants to do, but after the first-half fiasco in this encounter they may be left with no choice.

    A shell-shocked Ernesto Valverde.

    A shell-shocked Ernesto Valverde.

    A new era?

    Valverde isn’t the only one whose future could lie away from Barcelona, with the manager – whether it’s Valverde or his eventual replacement – facing some serious questions over the composition of the squad for next season.

    The first half of this defeat – just like the calamitous game at Anfield – showed that the midfield is the biggest area of concern. Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic simply lacked the pace to live with Valencia’s lightning-fast transitions, and made it obvious that more speed and physicality must be added into the centre of the field.

    Left-back Jordi Alba, such a key player for so long, has also really gone off the boil and a new left-back to compete with him is also essential. Clement Lenglet also finished the season poorly in the centre of defence, and the injury-enforced absence of Luis Suarez showed the urgent need for more depth in the striker position.

    Most of all, though, Philippe Coutinho concluded a horrible season with another anonymous performance, and selling the Brazilian will be a vital task for sporting director Eric Abidal over the coming weeks.

    The season might be over, but the summer will be anything but relaxing for Barca fans.

    Recommended