Lionel Messi - Top 5 Coaches In Leo's Career

#4 Ernesto Valverde

Ernesto Valverde has brought Messi back to his best

After Luis Enrique departed Barcelona in the summer of 2017, the tactician was replaced with former Athletic Bilbao manager, Ernesto Valverde. The first few weeks of Valverde's appointment was full of crisis. The manager had inherited an already-collapsing squad and was assigned with a big responsibility.

At first, things did not go well in the Barcelona camp. The Blaugrana lost Neymar in a controversial deal and were later humiliated in the Spanish Super Cup by arch-rivals, Real Madrid.

This brought a lot of questions as many people feared if the manager could handle the pressure in such a big club. Some even questioned if he could manage a superstar like Lionel Messi.

But it was only a matter of time before the tactician proved himself to the world. Currently, Barca is the most dominant team in Europe and are yet to taste defeat in both La Liga and UEFA Champions League.

One of the best things he has done at Barca is how he brought Lionel Messi back to his obvious best. Under Valverde, Messi has been in amazing form, firing the Spanish giants from victory to victory.

Most times, the Argentine has been deployed alongside Suarez in a 4-4-2 formation (something that looks more like a 4-4-1-1, as Messi drops deeper) and a vital balance has been created in the team.

This season, Barca is on course to win a treble, after reaching the final of the Copa Del Rey, facing a relatively easier fixture against Roma in the Champions League and 11 points ahead of the La Liga table with just 9 games left. Bravo!