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#1 Ernesto Valverde
When Barcelona bottled a 3-goal lead vs Liverpool, Valverde suffered a huge backlash from the local media and the fans. But the club came out for the manager's support with both the dressing room and the Barcelona board supporting him to continue and stating his success in La Liga as a major point. But a week later, the club lost 2-1 to Valencia in the Copa Del Rey final and there was no hiding for the manager. He was criticized by pundits and fans alike for being tactical outclassed by Marcelino, the Valencia manager in the final.
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The morning after the loss in the final, almost everyone from Sports, Mundo Deportivo, CatRadio, Cadena SER to individuals like Gerard Romero and Samuel Marsden, all highly reliable source for Barcelona-related information, stated that the manager will be sacked in the coming hours and will be replaced by the Belgian National Team manager Roberto Martinez only later to realize that it was a rumour spread by one of the club's director to put pressure on the club's president Bartomeu to sack Valverde. The reality is almost everyone wants Valverde to leave the club except Bartomeu and the dressing room who apparently have faith in the manager to turn things around next season.
What is more damning is that the club members believe Martinez as an ideal Valverde's replacement when he has been criticized as a manager who lacks tactical flexibility and has a poor defensive record and not someone like Quique Setien who is a Cruyffist and whose tactics would suit the club's brand of football.
Whatever might be the outcome of this summer's transfer window, one thing is for sure, it is not going to be an easy summer for the fans and the club alike.
