According to multiple Spanish media reports, FC Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde will be retained by the team for the 2019-20 season despite another disappointing end to this year’s campaign.
Valverde, who became Barcelona’s head coach in the summer of 2017, was heavily criticized by many factions of Barcelona’s fanbase after the Catalonian giants blew a 3-0 lead in their Champions League semi-final tie against Liverpool.
To put the cherry on top, Barcelona ceased to play with intensity after their disappointing defeat and followed up with a 2-1 loss against Valencia in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.
Despite his lack of Champions League success and the bitter end to this season for Barça, club president Josep Bartolomeu has decided to stick with the veteran coach in hopes of a better outcome in 2019-20.
A couple of factors weighed in when making this decision. For one, Valverde has comfortably led Barcelona to 2 consecutive La Liga titles and also won last year’s Copa del Rey.
It also appears to have been important that Leo Messi gave his vote of confidence to Valverde in a press conference last week.
For these reasons, Barcelona will stick with Valverde for the time being. Time will tell if he is able to retain his gig for long, but the Barcelona board is at least willing to give him one more chance.
