Welcome to TalkBarca. Today we are going to discuss the most likely replacement for Ernesto Valverde at FC Barcelona. It’s pretty evident that the fans are not satisfied with the way our club is performing in the previous fixtures and the major blame is put on the manager. Valverde and his tactics are the main reason behind our poor performances and humiliation. Ever since Ernesto Valverde joined Barcelona, things haven’t been the same at this club. Our way of playing has changed heavily, and the fans also blame him for his poor choice of starting lineups. Valverde has surely interrupted the way we used to play, and his new tactics have brought our club to a serious downfall.
Barcelona is the club whose natural style is to play with short passes and quick build ups in order to score a goal. Our Tiki Taka style of playing is world famous, and it is our main style of play. Playing short passes and maintaining heavy possession is the Barcelona style of play, and this is working for us over the years in all competitions. However, Valverde uses more defensive tactics which are against our style of play, and therefore we have lost many important games. A few losses over the previous seasons have been really humiliating, and his wrong tactics prevented us from defending 2 or even 3 goal leads.
Not being able to play their natural game has troubled our players a lot. Furthermore, Barcelona is not the club to play defensively and parking the bus is not suited for us. Valverde’s tactics are revolved around dropping really deep in order to defend. It’s something that is not common at FC Barcelona and the results clearly show why. It seems like Ernesto Valverde is going to remain in charge of Barcelona till the end of the season. This means we will have to endure him for another 6-7 months. However, the good news is that Valverde is not going to stay at Barcelona forever. So, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I hope things will get better with his departure.
Ronald Koeman To Replace Ernesto Valverde
Talking about the departure of Valverde, we have to discuss who is going to replace him. As per the latest news, Ronald Koeman is the most favorable person to replace Valverde as the Manager of FC Barcelona. Personally, I think the best manager for Barca would be the one who allows them to continue with their natural style of play and use our players wisely. Furthermore, Barcelona needs to make good signings, especially in Defense. However, let’s take a look at how Koemann can replace Ernesto Valverde.
Ronald Koeman:
Ronald Koeman is the heaviest link to Barcelona in terms of the new manager. He has been a legend at the club as a player. The fans now expect him to join as a manager. In a press conference, Ronald admitted the possibility of a job at FC Barcelona, and he is considering this move to take place. However, he added that his main focus is the Euro 2020. Until then, he is not going to consider any other job. He clearly mentioned that his focus is on the Netherlands only.
Therefore, the Euro 2020 campaign for the Netherlands is very important for Barcelona. Their journey in the tournament, as well as the style of their play, can make us clear about how well Koemann can lead Barcelona. In a recent press conference, Ronald Koeman said:
“I don’t know if I’ll keep (talking about the Barcelona role) in the future because it’s a bit strange to speak about the possibility of going to the club while you’re the Netherlands coach.”
<– Ronald Koeman –>
As a Barca fan, I will keep a close eye on the Netherlands, their style of play, and see how well they perform under Ronald Koeman. A few critics also mention his disaster class and poor season as Everton’s Manager. However, Everton is not a club you want to compare to Barcelona. The Netherlands Team is not the same as well, but, has a few world-class players and their performance in the campaign is going to make this clear about Ronald being the right choice or not.
The problem with Barcelona:
Before we move ahead, I would like to address an issue is related to our club management. Barcelona has always been keen on signing players and managers from their own setup. We opt for the players coming from our academy and appoint managers who have previously worked for us or played for us. This is good at some level. However, it can be poisonous for us at some stage. This kind of trait prevents the club from good exposure and makes it deprived of potentially good managers or players.
I understand the psyche behind this policy, we want to sign players and managers who understand the philosophy of the club and style of play. However, the question is, “how is that working for us”? Bartomeu appointed Valverde as the manager of Barcelona because he has played for us in the past. But does he have the mentality of being the Coach of Barcelona? No! Does he understand our philosophy and style of play? Absolutely No! So, why give him a job he isn’t suitable for? Is it because we had a history with him?
I am emphasizing this point because Ronald Koeman is also an ex-Barca player, in fact, a legend for the club. But if we look at his coaching style, does he fit our system? I am not so sure! Yes, Koeman is a good coach and absolutely a major upgrade on Valverde. However, we have a lot of better options, all we have to do is look around and find the best one beyond our imaginary boundaries. There are a lot of Managers who share the same idea and philosophy as our club. We have to give a shot to someone like Erik Ten Hag or Quique Setién.
My thoughts on Ronald Koeman as FC Barcelona Manager:
I would like to end this discussion by sharing my thoughts on Ronald Koeman as the Manager of FC Barcelona. Personally, I don’t think that Ronald would make a perfect manager at FC Barcelona. This might trigger a lot of fans, but, I don’t mean any offense. I am just sharing my personal technical opinion. His performances at the club and country are not much similar to what we want in Barcelona. Barcelona’s style of play is very unique and distinctive. From what I have seen, he plays a very different system than ours. Koeman may be an upgrade to Valverde but he is also a defensive coach and we want some attacking football.
Verdict:
Well, guys, that’s all for the latest news on Ronald Koeman replacing Ernesto Valverde. What are your thoughts on this news? Do you think Ronald Koeman is the best choice for the managerial role at FC Barcelona? Also, do you agree with my thoughts on Ronald Koeman and problems with Barcelona? Let us know your feedback in the comments section below. Until the next time, Visca El Barca!
