Barcelona should have sacked Ernesto Valverde a long time ago
Ernesto Valverde isn’t the man for Barcelona, and a change is needed sooner rather than later.
It takes a lot to animate Ernesto Valverde on the touchline. When Barcelona suffered an almighty collapse at Anfield last May, a result that saw the Catalans let slip a 3-0 first leg lead to miss out on a place in the Champions League final, the man many saw as most responsive stood unresponsive, hands in pockets. Classic Valverde.
Presented with another illustration of his own shortcomings on Saturday, though, Valverde cut a very different character. With Barca on their way to a dismal 2-0 defeat to promoted Granada, the 55-year-old flapped and gesticulated. It was a depiction of desperation, the image of a man panicked at the situation he finds himself in.
A midweek win over Villarreal just a few days later saw Valverde return to his demure default – hands in pockets, poker face – but there was little to suggest the Barcelona manager’s apparent desperation at Granada wasn’t justified. A malaise has simmered under the surface at the Camp Nou for a while, but it now threatens to boil over.
In retrospect, the aforementioned Champions League collapse to Liverpool should have marked the end for Valverde. A change should have been made in the summer as the former Athletic Bilbao boss ran out of answers and solutions. Valverde has been good for Barcelona, much better than many of their fans would have you believe, but there was a sense after that infamous night for the Catalans at Anfield that this particular cycle had ran its course.
Barca boast one of the best squads in Europe, with summer signings Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann only strengthening them further. Factor in the emergence of Ansu Fati, the remarkable 16-year-old talent who has made a real impact over the past few weeks, and the Catalans should be in a strong position.
But in Valverde they have a coach who is too much of a pragmatist to satisfy the romantics who claim Barcelona should be held to a higher standard. Barca fans are the most demanding in world football. Their team has won eight of the last 11 La Liga titles and have won the Champions League three times in the last 10 times, yet that hasn’t been enough to appease those who argue the Catalans are just expected to win, but win in a certain manner. As they see it, Valverde hasn’t delivered on this.
What is perhaps most peculiar about Barcelona’s current situation is that their next generation of leaders are ready in-waiting, but there’s still no prospect of them storming the castle any time soon. Carles Puyol is one of those leaders in-waiting, but the former defender revealed on Wednesday that he’d rejected the club’s offer of the sporting director job.
Of course, Puyol previously held an off-the-field position at the Camp Nou not too long ago, but resigned from his role as sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta’s assistant due to his unhappiness over the running of the club at boardroom level. Puyol is believed to be keen on a return to Barcelona, but not until there is a regime change.
Xavi Hernandez is also thought to be of a similar mind. The former midfielder has long been pinpointed as a future Barca manager and has made a strong start as a coach as Al-Sadd boss in Qatar. Indeed, it seems inevitable that Xavi will one day pitch up in the Camp Nou dugout, but he too appears to be waiting for the tide to turn.
Valverde will almost certainly keep his job until the end of the season. Not since Louis Van Gaal’s sacking back in January 2003 have Barcelona changed managers midway through a campaign. But even if Valverde delivers a third straight La Liga title, the culture he has fostered at the Camp Nou might be the thing that pushes him out. Who else follows him will determine in which direction Barca heads next.