Coaching
FC Barcelona’s manager Ernesto Valverde has been getting a lot of criticism for his coaching.
People are upset with Barca’s loss to Liverpool in their Champions League matchup. They had won the first leg and were sitting comfortably to move on before they lost the second leg. For the second year in a row, Barca wasn’t able to win the Champions League title.
Valverde was already facing criticism for this, but it only got bigger with their 2-1 loss to Valencia in the Copa Del Rey final.
The fans have gotten so upset they have been asking for a change in management. The President of the club, Josep Bartomeu, had to come out and defend Valverde.
“Ernesto has a contract and he remains the team’s coach,” Bartomeu said. “This loss was not the coach’s fault. The team created a lot of scoring chances but the ball didn’t go in, and what counts is how many times you score.”
Bartomeu came out after the 4-0 loss to Liverpool to defend Valverde and state that they were not looking for a new manager.
Valverde is disappointed in how the end of the season panned out but is putting it behind him to focus on next season.
Players
Barca will face a new team next season with the many possible changes coming underway.
Philippe Coutinho’s fate is unclear after he’s had a shaky season this year. He was a highlight of the team last season but had lost his spark this year with bad plays.
Barca already is gaining young midfielder Frankie de Jong from Ajax next season to deepen the midfield.
Some are also unsure about Samuel Umtiti as he was out for a lot of the season on injuries.
Barcelona is currently trying to get current Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt. They have offered around 75 million euros, but they’re competing with Bayern and PSG. Juventus has stated that it is up to De Ligt on where he would like to go.
Goalkeeper Jasper Cillesan has already agreed to move from Barca to Portuguese Benfica. Although down a goalkeeper, Barca is gaining a key striker.
Antoine Griezmann is moving from Atletico to Barca.
Barcelona may be losing some good players, but the ones coming in will be an interesting change to the dynamic of the team.
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