Barcelona, Spain.- The divorce between Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde is already a fact: the coach was removed from his post on Monday after the holding of a board of directors of the club, which announced after the hiring of Quique Setién until June 2022.” FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde have reached an agreement for the termination of the contract that linked both parties,” the club announced in a first statement.
Agreement between FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde for the termination of his contract as coach of the first team.
Thanks for everything, Ernesto. Good luck in the future. pic.twitter.com/UNBBQoLOB1 — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es)
January 13, 2020
At the same time, in another statement, the club made the name of its substitute official: “FC Barcelona and Quique Setién have reached an agreement for their incorporation as coach of the first football team until June 30, 2022″.
The Cantabrian technician takes over from Ernesto Valverde and will be presented on Tuesday,” the entity said.
The decision to stop Valverde, 55, comes after the semi-final defeat of the Spanish Super Cup last week against Atlético Madrid (3-2) and was made on Monday after the four-hour meeting of the club’s board of directors.
Valverde was in command of the blueship from July 2017 and last February had renewed its contract until June 2020 (with the option of an additional year). Taken after the elimination of Barca against Atletico (3-2) in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup played last week in Saudi Arabia, this separation ends the two-and-a-half-year stage of the ‘Txingurri’ (‘ant’ in Basque) on the blue-wing bench.
Ernesto Valverde leaving the Barcelona/AFP facility
A stage of ups and downs, marked by the two leagues clearly conquered (2018 and 2019) and, above all, by the two painful eliminations in the Champions League (Rome in 2018 and Liverpool in 2019), which fractured the coach, Criticized by the fans for the lack of brilliance of the game proposed by the Valverde team.However, the cessation may surprise considering that Barca is the leader of the Spanish league (tied to 40 points with Real Madrid) and qualified as champion of their group for the eighth round of the Champions League , where he will face Naples on 26 February. Valverde was saved on many occasions by a huge Lionel Messi, which has also continued to support his technician until the end, but the technician has finished ceased, accused of destroying the ‘DNA Barca’.
Quique Setién will be the new coach of FC Barcelona Welcome! — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es)
January 13, 2020
Apostle of ‘cruyffism’The Catalan directive announced as Valverde’s successor the veteran Quique Setién, 61, who until now had not led any ‘big’ team, but who always showed himself as a strong defender of the ‘tiki-taka’ style that he likes so much in ‘can Barca’, inherited by the legendary Johan Cruyff and that Pep Guadiola led to excellence in his time as blue-strapped coach (2008-2012).” The new blue-born coach has always been undone in praise of Barca and Leo Messi, whom he considers ‘a luxury and the best player in history’,” the club said in a statement.
Chique Setién during a press conference/AFP
However, the situation experienced in recent days has damaged the image of the club Azulgrana, not only because of the dismissal of a leader coach, but because Barcelona tried to hire the ex-Catalan legend Xavi Hernández (39 years), with whom they met in Doha (Catar) blue-grened emissaries last week… but the current coach of Al Sadd Qatar rejected the offer of training the club immediately, forcing Barca to probe other coaches, according to the Spanish press. Names such as Argentina’s Mauricio Pocchetino (47 years old) appeared, who was terminated by Tottenham in November, those of the coaches of Holland and Belgium, Ronald Koeman (56 years old) and Roberto Martínez (46 years), although the managers finally opted for Seién.
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