Barcelona have announced Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach after Luis Enrique stepped down at the end of the season.
Valverde had been the frontrunner for the position ever since Enrique revealed in March that he would not continue at Barcelona beyond the end of the season.
The 53-year-old former Barcelona forward had spent the last four years managing Athletic Club but he has now signed a two-year deal to become Barcelona head coach after leaving the Basque club last week.
Jorge Sampaoli had been another name in the hat to take Enrique’s job but Sevilla’s incredible end of season slump ruined any chance he had of taking over at the Camp Nou and he is now Argentina head coach.
“Valverde has the ability, the judgement, the knowledge and the experience,” Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said. “He promotes the youth players and he has a Barca way. He is a hard worker and he is a fan of using technology in training and in managing matches.
“He was not the only name on the table. From the moment Luis Enrique said he was not going to continue [technical secertary] Robert Fernandez began a search. Many people took part in this decision and we did look at different names but our conclusion was one name and one coach. We know him, we know what he can do.
“Robert explained he was looking for a coach who had the Barcelona profile and knows the style. Ernesto is a very hard worker. He has the knowledge, experience and has a philosophy similar to ours. He works a lot, he likes using technology.”
In La Liga only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla (all 1) lost fewer home matches than Athletic Club this season (2). Moreover, in Valverde’s stint as manager of Athletic, he finished with an impressive win ratio of 47.4%.
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