🖐 Five managers who could replace Ernesto Valverde at Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona are top of LaLiga and through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Yet after 145 matches in charge of the club, it seems last week’s shock Supercopa de España defeat at the hands of Atlético Madrid could be Ernesto Valverde’s last stand.

If rumours are to be believed, 55-year-old is close to being sacked and the hunt will soon begin for his successor.

Here are our suggestions …

The favourite

Quique Setién

According to reports on Monday evening, former Real Betis boss Quique Setién is the favourite to take over until the end of the season.

But while the Spaniard would be a good match for Barça stylistically, it’s arguable whether he would actually represent an upgrade on Valverde.

The 61-year-old’s managerial career has so far seen him take charge of seven different clubs, yet he has failed to deliver a single piece of silverware during any of his assignments and has never coached a club anywhere near the size of Barcelona.

His Betis side were tipped for big things yet he ended up being sacked last summer having finished 6th in his first year and 10th in his second.

The fact he has never managed a single Champions League game in his entire career surely has to be a huge concern as well.

If it happens, it may end up being an inspired appointment but at this moment in time, it feels pretty uninspiring.

The outsider

Mauricio Pochettino

Given his strong Espanyol connections, the chances of Pochettino coaching Barça have always seemed extremely remote.

In fact, the Argentine has previously gone on record as saying he would “never train Barcelona or Arsenal because I am tied to Tottenham. I grew up at Newell’s and I would never train Rosario Central. I would prefer to work on my farm in Argentina than to go and work in certain places.”

But what he might be about to learn is that in football, you should never say never.

Pochettino has been out of work since being sacked by Tottenham back in November and surely the opportunity to coach one of the world’s biggest clubs would be too tempting for him to resist at this point in his career?

He happens to be the best coach currently on the market with a style of football the Camp Nou crowd would appreciate and if they can prise him away from his farm, Barça would be crazy to even consider hiring anyone else.

The statement

Xavi

He has very little coaching experience and would possibly find it hard to manage players who were his team-mates just a few years ago.

Those statements may well be true, but you could have said the same about Barça appointing Pep Guardiola back in 2008, and that worked out alright in the end.

None of the managers reportedly in the frame for the job know the needs of the modern Barcelona like Xavi does and with the right backroom staff behind him, we have a feeling the 39-year-old could be a huge success.

But it’s one which will probably have to wait until the end of the season, given the former midfielder has reportedly already turned down an approach from his old club as he wants to focus on coaching Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League.

Whatever floats your boat.

The former player

Ronald Koeman

Another ex-player Barça are supposedly considering is the man they used to call ‘Tintin’.

A central figure in the club’s fabled ‘Dream Team’, Koeman won four league titles and the 1992 European Cup during his spell in Catalunya, scoring 106 goals along the way.

He even has experience of working in the Camp Nou coaching set-up having worked as assistant to Louis van Gaal between July 1998 and December 1999.

But it’s fair to say his managerial record leaves a lot to be desired. Yes he has won three Eredivisie titles during his coaching career, but he also tanked pretty badly at Everton and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

He has done very well in his role as coach of the Netherlands national team, however, and recent reports suggest he is keen to lead his country to this summer’s European Championship before he would even consider taking the Barcelona job.

He does reportedly have a ‘Barcelona’ clause in his contract with the Netherlands though, so this could be one for next season.

The safety pick

Francisco García Pimienta

There is a sense that Barça have dismissed Valverde without having a true heir to the throne lined up, and therefore it seems likely they could promote someone from within to take over on a caretaker basis.

The most probable candidate would appear to be reserve team coach Pimienta, who played one first-team game for the club back in 1996 and has coached at every level up to the B team since returning to Camp Nou back in 2006.

We’re not convinced he has what it takes to inspire Lionel Messi and co to Champions League glory this season, but then Roberto Di Matteo did it for Chelsea that time, so you never know.

The fact his name means ‘pepper’ in Spanish would also offer plenty of potential puns …