By now, you're probably more than aware that Barcelona have announced former Atletico Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde as their new manager today.
Valverde, who played 22 games for Barcelona in the 80s will replace Luis Enrique, who last March announced that he would not be looking to renew his contract. There has, however, been some criticism from the Spanish press over how the whole affair was handled by the Catalan giants.
The former Valencia and Olympiacos manager last week announced his departure from Atletico Bilbao with whom he won 102 of 212 games with since taking over in 2013, having previously managed them a decade earlier. But according to reports, he was only told by Barcelona today that he would become their new manager despite a deal being agreed with his advisers a couple of weeks ago.
Bartomeu said that Barça’s sporting director Robert Fernandez signed Valverde without speaking with the coach, only with his entourage.
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) May 29, 2017
Speaking on why they opted to pursue the Basque man, Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu put it down to the similar ideology of Bilbao regarding the use of technology and development of youth players which he wanted to see the Catalan Club incorporate more.
Valverde has the knowledge, the right criteria, capacity and experience, and he takes chances on the youth team.
Bartomeu is referring to Bilbao’s policy of only using players from the Basque region. Bilbao have never been relegated and consistently finish in La Liga's European places despite not splashing cash on international players like their nearest competitors.
He has a great willingness to work and incorporates technology into his training, like Barcelona do. Valverde will arrive with two assistants, Pozanco and Aspiazu, and his presentation will be Thursday.
Barca new kit for next season. pic.twitter.com/mjOXWDGmYB
— Barca Galaxy (@barcagalaxy) May 29, 2017
