Welcome to TalkBarca. It took 2 years, 7 months, and 16 days, but, today, on this famous day, Ernesto Valverde has been sacked as Head Coach of Barcelona. I am absolutely hyped for this. What a day it has been for Barca Fans. The party is just getting started here. There is excitement in the air and we have a lot to discuss regarding the things we have to look forward to. Finally, the day has come that Ernesto Valverde has been sacked. It is absolutely unbelievable. So, without further ado, let’s get on to.
What a day it is for us Barcelona fans. This is the moment that we all dreamt about and I am not exaggerating it. We never fully believe this day would come. But it has happened, Ernesto Valverde is no longer the Head Coach of Barcelona. We are free of Ernesto.
Our club is back in our hands and we will rise again. We were struck around for two and a half seasons. It’s been tough and it’s been very difficult to find the positive side of Barcelona. And now, the journey real Begins. Valverde is finally Sacked as Head Coach of Barcelona.
Valverde Sacked – Behind The Scenes:
The Last Training Session?
If we just take a moment and analyze exactly how we came to be in this beautiful moment whereby Valverde is no longer the Head Coach of Barcelona. Believe me, it took some time and serious waiting. We, Barcelona fans, have been through several different emotions recently. What we have learned is that there is only so much patience in the world.
Everything started with the first team training session lead by Ernesto Valverde. He talked to the players. I would love to know what he said in that training session because he must have known that his time was coming to an end. Right after the training session, he went to meet Bartomeu who arrived at the training complex which itself is a rarety because Bartomeu does not randomly appear at training sessions.
Valverde-Bartomeu Meeting At Training Complex:
Valverde met with Bartomeu Face to Face. According to reports, Bartomeu didn’t come to Sack Valverde right away. He wasn’t going to jump into that decision. We all know that Bartomeu would never do that to Valverde. In that meeting, Bartomeu apologized to Valverde for publically humiliating him over the past few days with our pursuit of Xavi Hernández.
In that meeting, Valverde refused to resign. He said to Barto, “If you want to get rid of me, the decision lies with you. You have to make that choice.” In simpler words, “If you want me out, you would have to fire me”. A lot of people were saying that they feel sorry for Valverde. However, at the end of the day, this guy was earning over 20 Million Euros every single year. Moreover, he is leaving with a big payout. I agree that Valverde has been treated quite badly for the past few days. However, he has been here for two and a half years and we have certainly been on the receiving end.
Bartomeu Meeting With Board Members:
After the meeting, Bartomeu then went to meet with the rest of the board members including Eric Abidal, Oscar Grau, and Javier Bordas to discuss the future of Ernesto. Bartomeu has always been the one to vouch for Valverde. It was Bartomeu who backed Valverde after humiliation in ROMA, Liverpool, and Copa Del Ray Final against Valencia. But this time around, the opinions of the board members were too strong. They wanted Ernesto gone and Bartomeu could not say No. This time, he felt as if needed to get rid of Valverde.
I wanted to say a Big Thank You to VAR and Angel Correa. We never imagined that Atletico Madrid knocking us out of the Super Copa De Espana would lead to the sacking of Valverde. I cannot believe the club did it after the Super Cup and not after humiliation against ROMA and Liverpool in the Champions League. But look nobody is complaining, we are happy!
The Wait:
Even after these meetings had taken place, there was no official announcement. We all sat around refreshing social media just waiting, waiting, and waiting to hear a confirmation that Valverde has been sacked. But still, it didn’t appear. We were starting to lose hope. However, things started to get a little bit mysterious when Barcelona, out of nowhere, announced that there will be a double training session tomorrow. Usually, clubs use double training sessions to have more time with players in the pre-season and more specifically with the new coaches to put across their ideas.
The news of the double training sessions hit us really hard as it indicated the departure of Valverde. After that, the news was firing throughout the Spanish Media that Valverde indeed was going to be sacked as the Head Coach of Barcelona. It was Bartomeu himself who informed Valverde that he will not be continuing as Barcelona Manager.
From then on, it was just all about the formalities. Valverde’s agent was in Barcelona. Like I mentioned earlier, Valverde will be leaving with some compensation for ending his contract earlier. All of that had to be negotiated, agreed, and signed with Valverde and his agent. That took up some time.
Official Statement From The Club:
FC Barcelona shared an official statement on the departure of Ernesto Valverde.
“The club publicly expresses its gratitude to Ernesto Valverde for his professionalism, his commitment, his dedication and his always positive treatment towards all that make up the Barca family. We wish him luck and success in the future.”
!~~FC Barcelona~~!
Look, Barcelona have had their problems and may still have problems in the future. But I truly believe that Valverde was a huge cause behind everything we have seen over the past two and a half seasons. But, I also have to be fair and say it was not all Valverde’s fault. He shouldn’t take the blame for every single thing. I wish him all the best in the future and I do thank him for 2 La Liga Titles. Personally, I believe that all of this situation should have been conducted in a better way. However, for me, and for all of us, I am so so happy. Our Club is coming back.
The New Coach:
The rest of the time was spent in board meetings. It’s because when Valverde was taken care of, then the Board sat out to analyze who should succeed him. That is where we now move on to. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the brand new Head Coach of Barcelona, Quique Setien. Am I dreaming? Am I actually dreaming? I could never have imagined that Valverde will be sacked and this board will replace him with Quique Setien. This is absolutely unbelievable.
Quique Setien has officially signed for Barcelona on a big contract until 30th June 2022. So, he is the coach of Barcelona until the end of the current presidential reign. Setien will be presented as the Barcelona Head Coach tomorrow. For me, Setien is an absolutely brilliant deployment. I think he is going to bring back the roots of our club, the identity, the philosophy, the belief, the hope, the excitement, all of the things that Valverde sucked out of this club. I believe Setien can bring us back to the glory days. We want fun, excitement, progression, attacking football, and most importantly, we want to see our youth and I am sure Quique Setien is the man for this. I am really excited about his appointment.
Verdict:
Well, that is all for now on Valverde getting sacked and the appointment of Quique Setien as the new Barcelona Head Coach. We will be right back with some amazing content on Quique Setien including his full managerial career. We will also discuss what does he thinks of football as a football coach including his philosophy and style of play. It is all coming up shortly. So, stay tuned with our blog. Until then, Visca El Barca!
