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Ernesto Valverde is into his third season at FC Barcelona with the club at the top of the La Liga and their group in the Champions League. Two league titles and one Copa del Rey in two years are decent achievements, but clearly not for a club like Barcelona.
Having said that, we must give credit where it's due. When he was appointed in 2017, the season was already written off before it started, such was the negativity around the club because of Neymar's departure. His management was what the squad needed at the time to be calm and go about their business.
Had it not been for the 4-5 defeat against Levante when Messi was rested, the Catalans would've been unbeaten that season. It's a feat which must be applauded. Things went downhill after defeats in the Champions League against AS Roma in the quarter-final and Liverpool in the semi-final in the following seasons, suffering a remontada of their own for two consecutive years.
To everyones disbelief Valverde was retained even after the Copa del Rey final loss against Valencia, which was seen as the breaking point. It was natural that questions would be asked in the 2019-20 season at the very first sign of trouble.
Unsurprisingly, three away losses in the league by November and underwhelming performances in the Champions League have increased the pressure on him. #Valverdeout is a common theme on social media after each game.
He has had to face questions in post-match interviews about his future and whether he plans to resign. It is not sustainable for a club which expects another treble, considering the quality of the squad. Having established this, let's look at the potential candidates who could replace him.
Ronald Koeman
The manager of the Netherlands national team since 2018, Ronald Koeman appears one of the favourites for the Barça job. It is clear that he's more than interested. Nico-Jan Hoogma, the sporting director of the Dutch national federation let it slip that Koeman has a clause in his contract which allows him to leave for Barcelona. While never admitting to the actual clause prior to this revelation, Koeman has always maintained that his dream is to manage the Catalan club.
Having been part of Johan Cruyff's dream team in the 1990s, he scored the winner against Sampdoria in the European Cup Final in 1992, making Barca European Champions for the first time in their history. It goes without saying that he is a club legend. An elegant, goal-scoring centre-back in his playing days, he shared the dressing room with Marco van Basten, former manager Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp among others. Thus, he understands what it means to play at the very top level.
In terms of his football ideology, he is, unsurprisingly, influenced by Johan Cruyff. It's almost a job requirement if you think about it. He has already been an assistant coach at Barcelona during 1998-2000. With regards to his managerial achievements, he has won domestic cups in three countries and won the league with Ajax (twice) and PSV Eindhoven. He would look to play the football that is expected of Barca and have no problems in managing the stars at the club. On paper, he does appear to be a good fit.
Also check out: La Liga La Liga fixtures La liga table 2019-20
Marcelo Gallardo
Marcelo Gallardo is something of an unknown entity in Europe. Allow me to introduce you to arguably the best manager in South America at the moment. The Argentine currently manages River Plate in his home country.
While he was a good attacking midfielder in his days, he will be known in football for his feats as a manager. Beginning with a league title in 2011/12 for Club Nacional in Uruguay, he moved to River Plate where he has stayed until now. He has won the Copa Libertadores twice and is in the final for a third time this year. He has also won the Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana twice.
Normally preferring River's traditional 4-3-1-2 formation, he is known to be tactically versatile with effective in-game changes, even changing formations right before a semi final against arch-rivals Boca Juniors. These changes end up working in the team's favour is a testament to his knowledge and conviction. His teams like to play quick one-touch passing with midfielders and fullbacks pushing forward to finish moves.
According to World Cup-winning former Argentine international Claudio Borghi, Gallardo is set to replace Valverde this December itself. Valverde's position seems to be untenable. It isn't far-fetched to see Gallardo take up the role before the winter break begins.
Erik ten Hag
Erik ten Hag exploded into the limelight after Ajax lit up the Champions League in 2018-19, defeating Real Madrid and Juventus on their way to the semi-final. Only an injury-time goal by Lucas Moura stopped them from reaching the final. The manner of their progress to the semi-final is what astounded the audience and won them admirers. They weren't smash-and-grab wins, but contests where they dominated and imposed their style upon their opponents, especially in Madrid and Turin.
Some of us know him from before that. He was the manager of FC Bayern II at the same time when Guardiola was at the helm. In Pep Confidencial, there are mentions of discussions between the two on tactics and player development at the club and in general. Having a keen football mind, it was natural that he was heavily influenced by Guardiola. When he moved to Ajax and implemented his philosophy, the results were for all to see.
He moved Ajax from the traditional 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 using Frenkie de Jong's dribbling and passing prowess to devastating effect. While he may have moved from the traditional formation, he stayed true to the philosophy of positional play. Even after departures of Matthijs de Ligt and de Jong, Ajax have stayed competitive and continue to play swashbuckling football, seen in the 4-4 draw against Chelsea. With 9 men, they were looking to score the 5th goal rather than play for a draw at Stamford Bridge.
Barcelona have had an issue in away games in the Champions League ever since the days of Guardiola. Erik ten Hag may be an answer to these problems. Ajax haven't lost an away game in Europe since ten Hag was appointed.
While he has an enviable away record, Ajax have famously given up leads in Europe to Tottenham and more recently, Chelsea due to this brave approach. It is one of the problems that Barcelona is trying to solve. As a result, there are some question marks. Apart from that, the German media believes FC Bayern want him as manager of the first team. Since he has already worked at the club, it makes sense for him to prefer Bavaria.
