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4) Roping in Ernesto Valverde as manager
Towards the end of the 2016/2017 season, former Barcelona manager, Luis Enrique announced that he would quit the club. The Spaniard had spent almost three seasons at Barcelona and refused to renew his contract. This made it a necessity for club president, Maria Bartomeu to find another world-class tactician to replace the Spaniard.
In the summer of 2017, Enrique officially left the club. He was replaced with former Athletic Bilbao head coach, Ernesto Valverde. When Valverde came to the club, he inherited a squad that had already started collapsing under his predecessor. To add to his troubles, the club lost one of it's brightest players, Neymar Junior. The crisis that followed and the Supercopa humiliation never produced any positive sign in the Catalan capital.
But then came the magical Valverde. The Spaniard started resolving the issues affecting the club's performances. With time, they started producing great results. He brought balance to the team and introduced some form of solidity in their defense. He also introduced a new formation, (the 4-4-2 formation) and used it instead of the conventional 4-3-3 formation that is adopted in the club.
Furthermore, the coach got the best out of the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto. As usual, Messi was the heart of the team and Andres Iniesta secured composure. Jordi Alba was given more attacking options in the absence of Neymar and the Spaniard ensured the team was never short of creativity.
Moreover, the Blaugrana have used their wings to support attacks more frequently this season, with Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto helping in moving the ball forward. Valverde has also introduced a method of absorbing opponents in the first half before attacking with great intensity in the half. With this method, the Catalans destroyed Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on December 23, 2017.
With Valverde in the club, the Catalans will get even better as time goes on.
