Welcome back to TalkBarca.Today, we are going to review the record of Ernesto Valverde as the Head Coach of FC Barcelona including 2 La Liga titles and humiliation in Champions League. Well, the news is official that Ernesto Valverde has been sacked as the Head Coach of FC Barcelona. We have already covered a detailed article on the Full Story Behind The Sacking Of Valverde, make sure to read it for more information. As for this article, we are going to take a brief look at Valverde’s record and decide the good, the bad and the ugly things he has done at our club. So, let’s begin!
Valverde’s Record As Barcelona Head Coach:
If you summarise Valverde’s journey in a word or two, I would call it humiliation. Valverde has given us more bad days than good and our hate towards him is totally legit. However, we can not just say that all he did was bad and he did not bring any positivity. So, first of all, let’s take a look at the good record of Ernesto Valverde!
THE GOOD
La Liga Dominance:
Ernesto has been very dominant in the La Liga. He has been rock solid in La Liga and won us La Liga Title 2 times during his spell at the club. Our current season is voted as one of our worst seasons, yet we are at the top of the league. Not to mention, we have some old specialists operating in La Liga such as Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone. Still, Valverde takes the edge when it comes to winning the League.
Pep Guardiola also once quoted that winning the league is better than winning the Champions League because in League games, you go out to play every week, maybe more than once a week, and it shows consistency. So there is one thing about Valverde, it’s consistency.
Barcelona has been unbreakable in La Liga. They won last season, having lost only one game. This season, as we mentioned above, is one of our worst league runs under Valverde. Still, we are dominant and at the top of the league table. Despite the close competition with Real Madrid, many gurus have predicted that Barcelona is going to win.
Strong against Real Madrid:
Valverde has also been the better coach when it comes to handling the biggest rivalry in club football, the El Classico. Valverde won his first El Classico and has been dominant since then. Zidane also mentioned that Valverde reads the play of Real Madrid very well, and can spontaneously come up with a tactic that can trouble them. Well, if Zinedine Zidane is paying respect to you, you better be someone good. Another fact related to El Classico is that only two managers have won their first 2 Classicos. We surely know the first one, it’s Pep Guardiola. Well, Ernesto Valverde is the 2nd and only other person.
THE BAD
Well, we have covered the good record of Ernesto Valverde. Now, let’s check the bad side of the things. We have to see where Valverde did things wrong and costed us.
Copa Del Rey & Super Copa De Espana:
After getting knocked out of the Champions League, we faced more humiliation in the Copa Del Rey Final against Valencia. We were hot favorites to win the trophy but Valverde failed us with his stupid tactics. Yes, we understand that we won one Copa Del Rey trophy with Valverde and I really thank him for that. However, our defeat against Valencia was at the worst possible time. We just lost to Liverpool and need some consolation but faced more misery and humiliation.
We lost the Semi-Final of Super Copa De Espana just a few days ago against Atletico Madrid. To be honest, we made schoolboy errors in that game. I understand that our players deserve criticism after such a horrible performance. However, Valverde shares the blame equally for his poor tactics and late substitutions. Well, I am actually happy that Valverde lost that match simply because it lead to the termination of his contract.
Wasted talents:
Malcom:
Valverde is one of the worst managers when it comes to managing young players and fulfilling their potential. He has wasted the career of several players simply because he didn’t want them in his side. Barcelona bought Malcom with a hope that all our problems in the attack will be solved. However, Malcom stayed benched for the entire season. Valverde didn’t use him unless he didn’t have any other option. Malcom was a good player and he showed his desire and quality with every single minute that he got in a Barcelona Shirt. However, Valverde simply sidelined him as he didn’t want to have him in his squad.
Coutinho:
Coming on to our record signing Philipe Coutinho, Valverde played Coutinho out of his preferred position in an alien role. We all know the results of cornering Coutinho on the left-wing. The club bought him as a replacement of Iniesta. He is a midfielder and there is hardly any attacking midfielder as good as Countinho. However, we wasted his potential and made him regret his dream move to FC Barcelona. Coutinho was a star at Liverpool and he has become the new fan favorite at Bayern Munich. However, here, at Camp Nou, he was booed and whistled for his bad performances. Who is to blame for all this? I am sure Countinho had the quality to succeed at Barcelona but Valverde made his life miserable with his pathetic mentality.
Dembele:
Valverde bought Dembele as the replacement of Neymar who had the potential to fill his shoes comfortably considering his time at Dortmund. However, even after spending 120 Million Euros, he didn’t give Dembele a chance in his first season. Right throughout his first 2 seasons, Dembele was linked with exit rumors because he didn’t prove his worth. Dembele getting back to back injuries added fuel to the fire but he somehow managed to shut the hatters with some brilliant performances. In any case, Valverde has not fully utilized the potential of Dembele up to this point. Let’s hope Quique Setien brings the best out of him. Valverde wasted Alena too. He is out on a loan now, and I am actually happy for him because he will get some game time at Real Betis.
THE UGLY
Now comes the ugly record of Valverde as the Head Coach of Barcelona which brought shame and humiliation to us.
Champions League Humiliation:
We faced humiliation in the Champions League not only once but twice against Roma and Liverpool. First, we lost to Roma in the Quarter Final of the Champions League. Then it was Liverpool who tormented us at Anfield. Losing is part of the game and after some emotional moments, we can accept it. However, we just did not lose against Roma or Liverpool, we bottled those games. We had the momentum and lead in both games, but, ended up conceding a comeback, and thus, knocked out of the Champions League.
Ever since the humiliation against Liverpool, Barcelona is no longer considered as a dominant side in Europe. We were trolled and cussed a lot. Valverde’s mentality and his tactics had a major role in that defeat. There was a time when even the mightiest teams would shiver with fear before facing Barcelona. However, Valverde has turned this club into a joke. Now, even small teams come against us with a strong mentality to beat us. I simply cannot forgive Valverde for this.
Philosophy & Style Of Play:
This is perhaps the ugliest of all he has done. Valverde interfered with our philosophy and our playing style. This is not acceptable at any cost. Valverde introduced defensive tactics in our game. Seriously? Suppose that you have a team that has Messi, Suarez, Griezmann, Dembele, you have World Class midfielders, and you ask them to park the bus. Is this some kind of a joke? If it’s, I am not laughing!
Our team was facing a serious crisis in our defense, and Valverde opted to play defensively. This is insane. We are a team that never gets tired of scoring goals, and Valverde asks us to sit back and defend. This is probably the reason which lead to the ultimate downfall of Barcelona under Valverde. Valverde goes after big names and not big performances. He is going to play Suarez and Pique despite how poor they perform.
Verdict:
Anyways, guys, this is it from our side for the Review of Valverde and his record as the Head Coach of FC Barcelona. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below. We have Quique Setien as our new manager. New days are coming to the Camp Nou and I hope we will never have to face humiliation again. What are your thoughts about it? Do hit us up with your feedback. Until next time, Visca El Barca!
