Who will coach Barcelona this summer. New Barcelona coach: beat Lucescu, lost to Markevich (video)

Ernesto Valverde (9 February 1964, Viandar de la Vera, Caceres) was introduced as the new coach of FC Barcelona on 1 June 2017 after moving from Athletic Bilbao, which he coached more matches than anyone else in team history.

After three seasons, FC Barcelona decided to employ a coach who is renowned for his management skills, his attacking style of play and his rich experience.

Valverde began his coaching career in the Athletics youth system starting in the 1997/98 season with a team under 16B. And as a result, he became the head coach of Athletics from 2003 to 2005.

After a year of rest, Valverde returned to coaching to another Catalan club Espanyol. He took over the team ahead of the 2007 UEFA Cup final, in which his team lost to Sevilla, and left Espanyol in the summer of 2008.

Valverde has worked for other La Liga teams - Villarreal (2009/10) and Valencia (2012/13), as well as Olympiacos in Greece in the 2008-09 seasons and then 2010-2012, with which he won the championship three times and the Greek Cup twice.

In 2013 he returned to Athletic and after that came to Barcelona. In each of their four seasons with the Basque side, the club has consistently entered the European Cup zone, and in 2016 he led the team to its first trophy in 31 years, when Athletic beat Barça in the Spanish Super Cup.

AS A PLAYER ...

As a player, Valverde represented Barça from 1988 to 1990. Then the team won the Cup Winners' Cup and the Spanish Cup under the guidance of coach Johan Cruyff. Ernesto Valverde made a total of 29 appearances for Barça, scoring 10 goals.

The 53-year-old Basque figured in all the lists of the main contenders for the Barcelona head coach in 2017. And it was on the former striker, nicknamed Ant, that the leaders of the Catalan club chose. There is little doubt that Valverde will be represented by the new head coach of the blue garnet on Monday. In Valverde's favor - huge experience in the Spanish championship at the head of Athletics, Espanyol, etc. As one of the best Spanish coaches, Valverde is eager to prove himself on a fundamentally new level - at the head of a top club and with players of a completely different level of skill that the Basque coach had at his disposal in his previous teams.

The Argentine coach was initially considered the main favorite for the head coach of Barcelona. Jorge Sampaoli has previously been on an excellent account in Spain, where they closely follow South American football and could not help but be impressed by the success of Sampaoli with. The excellent work of the coach at the head until the end of winter - just at the time when the departure of Enrique from Barcelona became finally obvious - made the option with Sampaoli one of the most attractive for the fans and leaders of the Catalan club. Moreover, the specialist could be great for Barcelona on play style... However, in the end, only and will work with Sampaoli. The coach received an offer that cannot be refused - from the national team of his native country and therefore left Europe.

When choosing a head coach at Barcelona, it is customary to give preference to the former players of the team, if possible - especially respected among the fans. Both Enrique had this status. A logical continuation of this course would be the appointment of Ronald Koeman, a true legend of Barcelonaism. Main coach only a couple of months ago lost the lead in the number of goals from free kicks scored in a Barcelona shirt, and the most important blow of Koeman's career brought Barcelona victory in their first Champions League final - in 1993 at Wembley in goal. Many Barcelona fans would be delighted to see the Dutchman return to Catalonia.

Barcelona's second coach for the last three seasons was initially not named among the main contenders, but in March-April his chances began to skyrocket, as noted in the Catalan press. Former goalkeeper and right hand Enrique even began to play in public - he began to talk for a long time with Messi and other team leaders a few minutes before the start of the matches, already in front of the television cameras, began to behave more actively at public events and gradually approached such a high status that he had as an assistant to Guardiola.

Unsue could well have gotten a head coach position if Barcelona had triumphantly ended the season. It is believed that the previously high chances of Unsue collapsed due to two facts - the defeat of the team against Juve in the Champions League 0-3, as well as a quarrel with, which made the leaders of Barcelona worry. They need a coach who won't clash with the stars.

On Wednesday, March 1, it became officially known what they had been talking about in the last month. Luis Enrique leaves Barcelona. In the summer, his contract ends, and the mentor will not renew the agreement. Portal "Euro-Football.Ru" ponders who will take his place.

Jorge Sampaoli

Current club: Sevilla.

According to the bookmakers, the main contender for the post of the new head coach of Barcelona is Jorge Sampaoli. The Argentinian who has long since achieved recognition in South America, successfully conquers Europe this year. In the summer, he took over the “Sevilla” and so far shows an excellent result. After 24 rounds, the Andalusians are in third place in the Spanish Championship by a margin. Moreover, their lag behind the leader of Barcelona is less than the advantage over the fourth Real Sociedad. Sevilla is playing brightly, which has already attracted the attention of several clubs.

Another advantage in favor of Sampaoli may be his nationality. It's no secret that Barcelona listens to the team's prima Lionel Messi. The forward is on good terms with Sampaoli. Given that Messi has not yet renewed his contract with Barcelona, the club may well satisfy his wishes in the matter of the coach.

“Sevilla” is not eager to let go of Sampaoli, but retaining the coach if desired by the Catalans will be difficult. Moreover, the president of the club, Jose Casto, said that the compensation for the Argentinean's contract is only 1.5 million euros.

Ernesto Valverde

Current club: Athletic.

Ernest Valverde's name has long been in the news about a possible new Barcelona or Real Madrid head coach. The 53-year-old specialist has put together a nice team in Bilbao, which is fighting for high places in Spain. In Catalonia, they remember very well how in the match for the Spanish Super Cup, “Athletic” smashed “Barcelona” 4: 0.

Valverde is ripe for a more interesting project, yet in “Athletics” due to the inability to sign footballers of heavenly origin, the resource is extremely limited. Moreover, the coach is no stranger to Barcelona. As a player, Valverde spent two seasons in Catalonia. According to bookmakers, he is the second in the list of favorites for the coach of Barcelona.

Arsene Wenger

Current club: Arsenal (England).

Arsene Wenger is named third on the list of contenders for the Barcelona coach. In the summer, the Frenchman ends his contract with “Arsenal”, and now there is more and more talk that the Londoners will not renew the agreement with the French coach. If Wenger enters the market for free coaches, then, for sure, he will receive a number of offers.

How real is Wenger's arrival at Barcelona? Of course in last years the Frenchman lost a little charisma and authority. However, it is foolish to say that Wenger is no longer a top-class coach. His Arsenal continue to consistently make it to the Champions League and advance to the playoffs of the tournament, although the squad is often inferior to competitors. With the Barcelona players, Wenger will definitely be able to swing his main dream - winning the Champions League.

Ronald Koeman

Current club: Everton (England).

Although the name of Ronald Koeman appeared in connection with the news of the change of Luis Enrique, unlike Wenger, the bookmakers consider the Dutchman only fourth on the list for the post of Barcelona mentor. Perhaps this is the fault of Koeman himself, who in recent times several times noted that he was not yet thinking about a possible change of the club. The Dutchman calls the Everton project important and expresses his desire to continue working in it.

Kuman is also not the first time wooed in “Barcelona”. Most likely, these rumors can be explained, first of all, by the Dutchman's past in the Catalan camp. Koeman not only played for Barcelona, but was the star of the team and brought it the first ever European Cup. And yet, while Koeman as a coach does not seem absolutely ready to work in the Catalan camp.

Laurent Blanc

Current club: out of employment

One more former footballer Barcelona on the list of possible coaches for the team. Laurent Blanc spent one season in Catalonia - 1996/97, and is now out of work. Given his status, it would be strange not to consider Blanc's candidacy. The Frenchman achieved success with the modest Bordeaux, and then showed class with Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Blanc's appointment is hard to believe. Stylistically, he is not very suitable for the Catalans, yet he relied on defense. His main advantage is the absence of a contract with anyone, so they will return to his candidacy, unless they are able to agree with someone else.

Mauricio Pochettino

Current club: Tottenham (England)

Mauricio Pochettino “Barcelona” just would definitely fit. He relies on the attack, loves to mess with young people. And his native language is Spanish, which would be a big plus. If Barcelona were the kind of club that loves to persuade someone to join, they would have to start hunting the Argentine. However, "blaugrana" is a superclub. The management will not persuade anyone to move to Barcelona.

Pochettino himself does not want to leave Tottenham. He does everything in England, he loves local championship, he managed to build a nice team, which may in the near future aim at serious business. The management of the club has stopped selling leaders, so Tottenham will not get weaker. Pochettino wants to be successful in London, so the bookmakers are not too confident in his move to Barcelona.

Thomas Tuchel

Current club: Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

If it had been about last season, Thomas Tuchel's chances of moving to Barcelona would have been higher. Borussia is not doing very well this season, so it is hard to believe that the German specialist can now receive an offer from the top club. And if Borussia also flies to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League from Benfica ...

Tuchel, again, can rather be seen in connection with the possible departure from Borussia. His relations with the Dortmund leadership are not too shabby, so in the summer he can become a free agent. If no one of a higher status can be obtained, then Tuchel's candidacy may emerge.

Other

Bookmakers give a long list of coaches who can replace Luis Enrique. Interestingly, the chances of Oscar Garcia, who heads Red Bull Salzburg, are assessed on a par with Pochettino and Tuchel. This trio is followed by Paco Hemes and Juan Unsue on the list of contenders. Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Mikael Laudrup, Diego Simeone, Jurgen Klopp and Frank de Boer have an equal chance to lead Barcelona.

Interestingly, the chances of Carlo Ancelotti and Josep Guardiola are treated the same, but they don't look real. More chances for Marcelo Bielsa.

Andrey Tsentrov

Barcelona chose the least discussed option. The fans were looking forward to the arrival of the student Marcelo Bielsy, the players expressed their support to the assistant Luis Enrique – Juan Carlos Unsue- flattering comments, but the choice was made in favor of the third, who quietly coached his club for himself. Lucio's place was taken by the Basque, which is hardly known outside of Spain. But this is not for long.

And in vain the audience does not rejoice. Enrique's notes are good, but what new can his assistant offer? Fanatical addiction Sampaoli to the attacking game - much more weighty, but what is worse than the schemes of Enrique, who has repeatedly shown the flexibility of the attack with different schemes? They also revealed the main problem of Barça, which must be cauterized as soon as possible. Well, there would be more options for attack at Sampaoli, what next? The problem is not in playing with the ball, but in playing without it.

Athletic Valverde is formidable with pressure. Especially for Barça. Under Luis Enrique, the club rarely stumbled, but it is unlikely to want to remember the Super Bowl with the Basques. The opponent pressed pain point tired after "Sevilla" Catalans. Valverde took advantage of the opponent's mediocrity on the defensive and, after the selection, developed combinations through the center, where four Basques played against the three Catalans. This season, the coach spoke about the game with the Catalans: The best way confront them. "

The pressure this year is chasing the blue garnet ghost, and Sergio Busquets dreams in nightmares of how the opponent first intercepts his pass, and then rushes behind him. The midfielder runs first forward, then backward, but cannot escape in any way. A test drive of the new circuits did not show even a hint of improvement. What to do? It is wise to ask this question the best coach La Liga on the game without the ball. But his style cannot be called purely defensive either. On the contrary, the Basque preaches flexibility, is able to adapt to the opponent. This is what Barcelona should be.

During his career, Valverde has walked a path that ideally would have to go through it. new club... Even when he was a player, Basque became an adherent of philosophy Johan Cruyff, even if I played with him for two seasons and left due to injuries. In the early years of his coaching career, he was confident that his team should be different unique style... His idol inscribed the 1974 Netherlands national team and Barcelona in history as legendary teams precisely for their unique handwriting, and not for titles.

Valverde tried to do something similar (but not on such a scale) at Espanyol. "In order to continue to regularly score points, it is necessary to act in exactly this manner: to rigidly impose your game on the opponent from the first minute of the match," Basque said about the style of his team. He did not want to somehow adapt to the opponent, he fanatically bent his line, which gave the result: the UEFA Cup final and defeat to Sevilla in a penalty shootout. The commitment to their style has attracted the eternal champion of Greece Olympiacos, who needs to create the game on their own, and not push off from the opponent.

But the trick with Villarreal failed, which attacked and controlled the ball a lot under Valverde, but missed in the first counterattack. As a result, the coach was fired during the season, and the club took seventh place. “Ernesto did his best. It worked day and night, but we didn't play at full strength. It’s not that we didn’t have a desire, but something didn’t work out all the time, ”said the defender Joan Capdevila... Something - a high line of defense and not taking advantage of the opponent's weaknesses.

But in Valencia, the crash text was passed: a worthy elimination from the Champions League against PSG Carlo Anchelotti, the return of stability at a distance and a place in European competition (fifth). Valverde openly emphasized the team's instability against counterattacks and looked for solutions. From the interview, it was noticeable that he put all his efforts to improve the defense. And in his native "Athletics" he began to give tactical information at all. It turns out that with the 4-2-3-1 scheme it is convenient to take the balls and return them immediately to the attacking group, the defense with "squares" (four people around one, not three, as is often the case) does not allow the victim to use the technique.

The comments after the matches with ... Barcelona are especially full of tactical notes. “The first half turned out to be excellent, but in the second we paid for our own high pressure,” Ernesto said about the defeat by the blue garnet (1: 3). And he looks at the game coldly, not in Spanish, he can analyze not only the victory of his club, but also the defeat. And he builds the game, too, somehow not in Spanish, does not rest on his own style as at the start, but proceeds from the opponent's weaknesses. What Barcelona sorely lacks, as well as the ability to adapt to the opponent. Fortunately, their new coach bought it all.

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Choosing between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as always, it is necessary to proceed from the results achieved by their teams.

Expert Sky Sports Guillem Balage emphasizes Valverde's ability to solve problems on the defensive. V last season with Marcelo Bielsa at the helm, Athletic conceded 65 goals, but already in the next with a returning fellow countryman - 39, and in the table the team rose from 12th place to fourth. It seems that from this fact, and Sergio Busquets began to come to his senses a little.

With all these qualities, Valverde has not ceased to be a romantic, his teams always score a lot, although the attack has become smaller. How can he even be a pragmatist if his hobby is photography?

Barcelona chose the least discussed option. The fans looked forward to the arrival of the student Marcelo Bielsa, the players expressed their support for Luis Enrique's assistant - Juan Carlos Unsue - with flattering comments, but the choice was made in favor of the third, who quietly coached his club for himself. Lucio's place was taken by the Basque Ernesto Valverde, who is hardly known outside of Spain. But this is not for long.

And in vain the audience does not rejoice. Enrique's notes are good, but what new can his assistant offer? Sampaoli's fanatical addiction to the attacking game is much more weighty, but why are Enrique's schemes worse, who has repeatedly shown the flexibility of the attack with different schemes? They also revealed the main problem of Barça, which must be cauterized as soon as possible. Well, there would be more options for attack at Sampaoli, what next? The problem is not in playing with the ball, but in playing without it.

Athletic Valverde is formidable with pressure. Especially for Barça. Under Luis Enrique, the club rarely stumbled, but it is unlikely to want to remember the Super Bowl with the Basques. The rival put pressure on the painful point of the Catalans, who were tired after Sevilla. Valverde took advantage of the opponent's mediocrity on the defensive and, after the selection, developed combinations through the center, where four Basques played against the three Catalans. This season, the coach spoke about the game against the Catalans: “This is not the first time we have tried to play with Barcelona through high pressure, this is the best way to resist them”.

The pressure this year is chasing the blue-garnet ghost, and Sergio Busquets has nightmares as an opponent first intercepts his pass, and then rushes behind him. The midfielder runs first forward, then backward, but cannot escape in any way. A test drive of the new circuits did not show even a hint of improvement. What to do? It is wise to ask this question to the best off-the-ball coach in La Liga. But his style cannot be called purely defensive either. On the contrary, the Basque preaches flexibility, is able to adapt to the opponent. This is what Barcelona should be.

During his career, Valverde has gone a path that his new club would ideally have to go through. Even when he was a player, the Basque became an adherent of the philosophy of Johan Cruyff, even if he played with him for two seasons and left due to injuries. In the early years of his coaching career, he was confident that his team should be distinguished by a unique style. His idol inscribed the 1974 Netherlands national team and Barcelona in history as legendary teams precisely for their unique handwriting, and not for titles.

But the trick with Villarreal failed, which attacked and controlled the ball a lot under Valverde, but missed in the first counterattack. As a result, the coach was fired during the season, and the club took seventh place. “Ernesto did his best. It worked day and night, but we didn't play at full strength. It's not that we didn't have the desire, but something didn't work out all the time, ”said defender Joan Capdevila. Something - a high line of defense and not taking advantage of the opponent's weaknesses.

But in Valencia, the crash text was passed: a worthy elimination from the Champions League against PSG Carlo Ancelotti, the return of stability at a distance and a place in European competitions (fifth). Valverde openly emphasized the team's instability against counterattacks and looked for solutions. From the interview, it was noticeable that he put all his efforts to improve the defense. And in his native "Athletics" he began to give tactical information at all. It turns out that with the 4-2-3-1 scheme it is convenient to take the balls and return them immediately to the attacking group, the defense with "squares" (four people around one, not three, as is often the case) does not allow the victim to use the technique.

Sky Sports expert Guillem Balagu emphasizes Valverde's defensive problem-solving skills. In the last season with Marcelo Bielsa at the helm, Athletic conceded 65 goals, but already in the next season with a returning fellow countryman - 39, and in the table the team rose from 12th place to fourth. It seems that from this fact, and Sergio Busquets began to come to his senses a little.

With all these qualities, Valverde has not ceased to be a romantic, his teams always score a lot, although the attack has become smaller. How can he even be a pragmatist if his hobby is photography?