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Having overseen some disastrous results in recent weeks, Ernesto Valverde finds his position as Barcelona coach under scrutiny.
The 55-year-old has won La Liga in each of his two seasons in charge, but his failures on the continental stage have been detrimental to his legacy, especially coming as they did - with Barcelona throwing away healthy three-goal cushions from the first leg to be eliminated by Roma and Liverpool.
Saturday’s loss to Valencia in the 2019 Copa del Rey represented the final straw in the eyes of many, with social media awash with fans voicing their displeasure and calling for the former Athletic Bilbao manager’s sack.
Even though Lionel Messi and club president Josep Bartomeu have come out to publicly back their manager, followers of the game know that these public show of faith very rarely translate to much, as there are numerous instances in the past of boards expressing support only to terminate their coach’s contracts later.
The Barcelona manager’s job is one of the most prestigious in the world and if a vacancy was to exist, you can be sure that a host of world class coaches would jump at the opportunity to manage Lionel Messi. In this piece, we shall be having a rundown of four managers who could potentially replace Ernesto Valverde in the Barcelona dugout.
#4 Eusebio Sacristan
Eusebio Sacristan is no stranger to Barcelona, having spent almost 15 years at the club in different roles.
The 55-year-old starred in midfield at the Nou Camp for seven seasons between 1988 and 1995, playing an integral role in the 'dream team' which won a plethora of trophies under the legendary Johan Cruyff before departing for Celta Vigo.
He returned in 2003 and was assistant manager to Frank Rjikaard for five years, where he helped usher in the glorious period which the club enjoys till this day.
After coaching Celta Vigo for the 2009-2010 season, Sacristan once more returned to Catalunya, this time as head coach of Barcelona B and he spent the next four years in this position, before being dismissed in acrimonious circumstances in 2015.
An appointment as Real Sociedad's head coach in November 2015 followed, which was a position he held until the termination of his appointment in March 2018.
Last summer, he was named as Girona's head coach, but having failed to keep the Catalan club in the Spanish top flight, Sacristan was fired as Girona boss at the end of the just concluded season.
#3 Mikel Arteta
Arteta is another name on this list who has some history with Barcelona, having been a part of the famed La Masia academy for five years between 1997 and 2002.
However, he was unable to break into the first team and departed Spain, going on to represent a host of clubs including PSG, Rangers and Real Sociedad before making a name for himself in the Premier League first with Everton and then Arsenal.
The 37-year-old who regularly ranks among the greatest players never to receive an international cap announced his retirement from football in 2016 and was promptly snapped up by Pep Guardiola to form part of his backroom staff at the commencement of his Manchester City project and together they have gone on to achieve near invincibility in England.
Guardiola achieved legendary status at Barcelona from his playing days and even moreso as a coach and till date he remains the most successful manager in the club's history, with fans still holding him in high esteem.
The fact that Arteta represented Barcelona at youth level means that he would be no stranger to the club's ways, while his spell as assistant to one of the greatest managers in history would have given him a few pointers in the art of management.
However, a detracting factor would be his relatively young age and lack of managerial experience, but it is pertinent to note that Pep Guardiola himself was given the Barcelona job in similar circumstances in 2008 and see how he turned out.
#2 Eric ten Hag
The only man on this list not to have any direct Spanish link, Eric ten Hag however has some proxy connection to the Barcelona DNA as coach of Ajax, due to the relationship between both clubs with Johan Cruyff being the unifying factor.
The 49-year-old has had a solid if unspectacular coaching career till now, with his first managerial appointment coming as coach of Go Ahead Eagles in the Eerste Divisie (Netherlands second division) in 2012.
This post lasted for just one season before he headed over to Germany to manage Bayern Munich's second team from 2013 till 2015 when he returned to Netherlands to manage FC Utretch.
His big break came in December 2017 when he was appointed as manager of one of Netherlands biggest clubs Ajax Amsterdam and despite failing to win a trophy in his first half season, the club persisted with him and this is a decision which reaped immense dividends.
During the course of the 2018/2019 season, Eric ten Hag oversaw one of the greatest campaigns in Ajax's recent history, leading them to the semifinal of the Champions League for the first time since 1996 and won admiration for the way his side played, knocking out more established sides like Real Madrid and Juventus before being eliminated by Tottenham in the last four in heartbreaking circumstances.
His first managerial trophy came on 5 May, 2019 when he led the club to triumph in the KNVB Beker Cup, defeating Willem II in the final and 10 days later won the Eredivisie to bring the double to the Johan Cruyff Arena for the first time since 2003.
Ten Hag's success was achieved by playing fluid, expansive football, while the core of his team was built around young academy graduates which is strikingly similar to the modus operandi at Barcelona and as such, chances of success at Nou Camp are rather high.
#1 Quique Setien
Quique Setien is a 60-year-old Spanish manager who has over two decades of managerial experience, with most of his coaching stints coming in the lower divisions of Spain, with stints at clubs like Logrones, Racing Santander and Lugo.
His first job in the Spanish top flight when he was announced as the head coach of newly promoted Las Palmas and he guided the Canary Islands based club to a respectable 11th-placed finish.
A 14th placed finish was achieved the next season and having seen his stock rise, Setien was appointed as the manager of Real Betis in May 2017.
At the Estadio Benito Villamarin, Setien continued to impress and led the Seville-based side to an impressive sixth placed finish in his first season, scoring 60 goals, with his positive style of play right from his Las Palmas days winning him plaudits and linking him with the Spanish job.
His second season was not as successful, as he could only guide Betis to a 10th-place league finish, but in the process became the first manager to win away at Barcelona and Real Madrid in the same La Liga season since 2003.
Setien was linked with Barcelona job in January 2019 to no avail, and having stated his desire to become Barcelona boss, his departure from Real Betis just an hour after defeating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on the last day of the season could pave the way for him to become the next Barcelona manager.
