Barcelona are known for appointing their ex-players as managers from Johan Cruyff to Pep Guardiola to Luis Enrique. The La Liga giants have done so again after they confirmed that former Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde is set to take charge of the club next season.
Barcelona have been on the lookout for a successor for some time now ever since Enrique revealed that he would be stepping down at the end of the season. The former Real Madrid and Barcelona player enjoyed a successful three year spell as manager winning two La Liga title, three Copa del Rey titles and the Champions League in his first season in charge.
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His final season was a bit of a struggle compared to his first two as he only managed to win the Copa del Rey. He managed to guide Barcelona to a second place finish in the league and lost to Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
There is no doubt that being the manager of one of the biggest clubs in the world is one of the most stressful jobs and it will be interesting to see how Valverde adapts in his first few months. The former Barcelona player is one of the most experienced coaches Barcelona have appointed if compare him to the likes of Guardiola and Enrique.
Guardiola was made manager after impressing with the Barcelona B team while Enrique, who was also the manager of the Barcelona B team, came in after spending a year at Roma and Celta de Vigo. Valverde on the other hand joins the Blaugrana after managing the likes of Valencia, Olympiacos, Villarreal, Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao.
The Spaniard definitely knows what it takes to be a manager in the La Liga having spent eight year in the country and his last trophy as a manager came after his Athletic Bilbao team defeated Barcelona in the 2015 Supercopa de Espana. Apart from that trophy, he did guide Espanyol to the finals of the UEFA Cup back in 2007 but his most successful stint as a manager came at Olympiacos.
He spent three years with the Greek club and won the league title thrice and the Greek Cup twice. So, while he does know how to win, he faces a completely different challenge at Barcelona.
So Valverde most definitely has the experience as a manager but not the experience of managing a top European club. But then again, when Barcelona appointed Guardiola and Enrique, neither of them had any experience in managing a club like Barcelona.
Another point to note here is that Barcelona have always managed to find a suitable and the right managers over the years. Valverde has the experience and the knowledge of the way the La Liga functions and will be expected to do a good job but can he make Barcelona, a club somewhat in decline in the last two season, champions of Spain and Europe again remains to be seen.
