The Catalan club announced on Monday that the
former Athletic Club boss will take over from Luis
Enrique at Camp Nou this summer
Barcelona have confirmed that Ernesto Valverde will be their
new coach for the 2017-18 season.
The 53-year-old stepped down after four seasons in a
second spell at Athletic Club last week and was widely
expected to take over from Luis Enrique this summer.
Barca had promised an announcement after the Copa del
Rey final and a statement on Monday confirmed Valverde
as the new coach on a two-year deal.
Messi leads Luis Enrique tributes
"I have spoken personally with Ernesto Valverde and I told
him of our decision," said club president Josep Maria
Bartomeu.
"He said he is very excited and very happy, that it's a
great challenge to come in as head coach of Barca.
Ernesto Valverde is the new @FCBarcelona coach.
Welcome, Ernesto!#HolaValverde
8:16 PM - 29 May 2017
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FC Barcelona
@FCBarcelona
"There is time to talk about why we chose him. We know
he has ability, his knowledge and his experience.
"He loves youth football and he has a special style, similar
to what we do at Barca. He has philosophy similar to
Barca's and trains the way we like to train."
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Luis Enrique's three-year tenure yielded nine trophies,
including a third successive Copa as Barca beat Alaves 3-1
at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday night.
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The Asturian announced at the beginning of May that he
would not be renewing his contract and Barca began to look
at a number of candidates.
Valverde, twice considered in the past, topped a list that
also included Jorge Sampaoli, Ronald Koeman and Luis
Enrique's assistant, Juan Carlos Unzue.
Born in Extremadura, Valverde spent two years at Barca as
a player under Johan Cruyff between 1988 and 1990. As a
coach, he won the Spanish Supercopa at Athletic - by
beating Barca in 2015 - as well as three Greek titles and
two cups with Olympiacos, while he also led Espanyol to a
UEFA Cup final in 2007.
Ter Stegen extends Barca contract
Nicknamed El Txingurri (which means bee in Basque)
in his playing days, Valverde has also coached Valencia and
Villarreal.
He will be looking to turn Barcelona into the team to beat
in La Liga again, with the Catalans having had to settle for
second behind arch-rivals Real Madrid this season.
They also missed out on Champions League glory as
Juventus proved to be too strong in the quarter-finals,
although they did win the Copa del Rey for a third straight
year.
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