Ernesto Valverde was seen smiling out of Nou Camp after getting sacked in the early hours of Tuesday, Perhaps the sack came to him as a blessing instead of worries.
In many occasions, the manager of a club after getting sacked takes offence and begins to spill many gobbledygook statements as regards his former employers and his former players.
Ernesto Valverde doesn’t look like a manager who will do that. With many internal disharmony that have trailed the Barca team lately, the former Athletic Bilbao boss has been so quiet and friendly at pressers; making sure he doesn’t tarnish the image of the club.
Looking at Valverde’s reign at Barca, the way the Barcelona hierarchy have gone about the sack have brought about questions and reactions from some of the legends of the club and some well meaning fans of the Blaugrana club.
This is the first time in 17 years that Barca will be axing a manager mid-way into the season. Back then, When Louis Van Gaal was sacked, the Catalan club were mid table in Laliga.
But ironically, Barca currently sit joint top with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga table and are still sacking a manager obviously because of the horrific and devastating nightmare at Anfield last season, the unbelievable night at Stadio Olimpico and the frustrating Copa Del Rey final the club lost to Valencia last season.
Albeit, there has been much clamour for a change in the club’s style of play but after two years and eight months, Valverde has been able to keep up with the status quo in Spain as Barca has been dominating in the league since his arrival.
Obviously, Barca has been decisive in appointing Valverde’s successor but the sacking of the Spainard remains inept and ugly. It’s not justifiable for any club to sack a manager just because he doesn’t win the Champion’s league.
Apparently, what has played out in all of these is that the Barca board still feels the pain as regards the horrific moments the club has endured in times past in Europe, which as a results negates the wish of the fans who clamour for a change of the style of play.
In the final submission, Valverde seems as though the winner of all of the shenanigans that unfolded by his sack. Why? Simply because he looks so unbothered about how he’s being treated unfairly by his employers, and to make his sack more ridiculous, he left the club fighting for another Laliga title having won the trophy twice in the last two seasons.
“Barcelona is a special place where winning the league alone is not enough,” former Barca coach (Pep Guadiola) said, before adding: “I feel very bad for Ernesto Valverde, he does not deserve this.”
The former team captain, Xavi Hernandez also spoke about the club respecting Valverde while Andres Iniesta on a visit to his former team said “The way everything is being done is a bit ugly, I think there should always be respect for the coach”
When three iconic legends of the club begins to criticise the team like this, Bartomeu has definitely done a shoddy job by letting Valverde leave the club having achieved pretty much. Again, it’s one of football’s ugly side!
