5 possible replacements for Tata Martino at Barcelona
FC Barcelona had not lost two games in a row since 2008, but after failing to score against Atletico Madrid and Granada, Tata Martinos squad…
FC Barcelona’s coach Gerardo Martino Tata attends a training session at the Sports Center FC Barcelona Joan Gamper in San Joan Despi, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
FC Barcelona had not lost two games in a row since 2008, but after failing to score against Atletico Madrid and Granada, Tata Martinos squad has hit their biggest slump in six years. Although the board maintains the message about Martinos continuity, it is obvious that they are already looking into options to be next years manager.
Heres the list that the Catalan press has been speaking about:
1. Jurgen Klopp
Dortmund’s head coach Juergen Klopp laughs during a press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Borussia Dortmund will face Real Madrid in a first leg quarterfinal Champions League soccer match April 2. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
The German manager made the whole world fall in love with Borussia Dortmund last season, and the fact that he stuck around this year says a lot about his character.
Klopp had offers from some of the best teams in the planet, but his yearning to make Borussia Dortmund big made him stay and suffer in an injury ridden season for the club. He is now poised to leave Dortmund, and Barcelona has already targeted as their first option post-Martino.
Charismatic, young, an attacking-football lover and a master tactician capable of outsmarting Guardiola himself. If he wants it, the job will be his.
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2. Luis Enrique
Having been a legend at a club is half the effort to become its manager. Luis Enrique arrived from Real Madrid in 1996 and quickly turned his heart around to become one of the most loved blaugrana players of all time.
Eight years at the club made him part of both the old generation that lived under Van Gaal and the turmoil post-Figo years, and the new years that saw one of the best crop of players ever to come out of a youth system flourish.
As a coach, he has managed Barça B –like Guardiola– and then tried his luck at Roma, where things didnt work out, and now at Celta de Vigo.
Hes always been thought of as an excellent option to handle the club, but after Tatas adventure, Barça may be looking for a bit of a higher profile coach.
3. Ernesto Valverde
Athletic Bilbao’s head coach Ernesto Valverde, looks on, during their Spanish Copa del Rey round-8 second leg soccer match between Athletic Bilbao and Atletico de Madrid, at San Mames stadium, in Bilbao, northern Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Athletic Bilbaos manager has become a true and tested coach at all levels within the Spanish Liga. He is a loved-by-all sort of manager, who has been able to get his teams to play impressive soccer and perform above their means.
Plus, his background in Greece with Olympiakos –although not completely the same exact situation– gives him the edge of having managed the pressure of always having to win.
Having played for Barcelona in the 80s, Valverde is no stranger to the Catalan club, and after his great season with Athletic Bilbao, he could actually have a shot at the job next season.
4. Michael Laudrup
The Dane has done a lot more as a player than as a coach, but with every one of his teams Laudrup has never compromised his love for attacking football and high-percentage possession.
The former Barcelona and Real Madrid starlet did not leave the Cule side in the best of terms in the summer of 1994, and fans loudly showed their hatred for him once he came back to play dressed in White, but ever since things have changed and Laudrup has even played with the Veterans Barça side.
After a good initial spell at Swansea, where he became the talk of the town in Europe, this year did not start as well, and the Welsh club decided to let him go.
He is back on the market and always an attractive option to any big club looking for a forward-thinking manager.
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5. Lluis Carreras
Lluis Carreras is the current coach of Mallorca. (@RicardoUbric/Twitter)
The former Youth Prodigy was considered for Barças coaching spot last summer after Tito Vilanova decided to leave his post to seek further cancer treatment in New York.
Carreras has only managed Alaves B and Sabadell, but with the Catalan club he brought them up from Second B division to Second Division, and he had them in the top part of the table for two-thirds of their inaugural season in the second tier league.
His career was seen as quite reminiscent of Guardiolas, and he was very much on the cards to manage the team before Zubizarreta and Rosell agreed to sign Martino.
Now, Carreras is trying to make sense of another one of his former clubs, Mallorca, but should he get a call from Barcelona he would most likely run to the nearest airport and hop on a plane towards Camp Nou.
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