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Barcelona rumors: Five managers most likely to replace Luis Enrique

By Christopher Godfrey

Luis Enrique Martinez during the press conference after the FC Barcelona training before the match against Leganes, in Barcelona, on February 18, 2017. (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Luis Enrique Martinez during the press conference after the FC Barcelona training before the match against Leganes, in Barcelona, on February 18, 2017. (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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ROME, ITALY – FEBRUARY 19: AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti (Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY – FEBRUARY 19: AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti (Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images) /

Number Five: Luciano Spalletti, Roma

Spalletti has taken Roma to second place in the Serie A. They are seven points behind Juventus but don’t let that dissuade you. Juventus have an astronomical spending power and it’s hard for any team in the Serie A to keep up with them.

But it’s still a huge accomplishment taking a team with failed Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko as the star striker. Spalletti has also done well to blend the attacking trio of Mohammed Salah and Perotti with the Bosnian striker. Like Luis Enrique, he has relied heavily on the front three.

Spalletti has turned Dzeko into the joint highest goal scorer in the Serie A level with Gonzalo Higuain.

Spalletti has spent most of his managerial career in Italy overseeing teams such as Empoli, Udinese, Sampdoria among others that aren’t really worth mentioning.

He joined AS Roma in January 2016 after being sacked by Zenit Saint Petersburg.  The Italian then managed to steer Roma from a mid-table spot to a third-place finish which got them into the Champions League playoffs… which they subsequently lost against Porto.

While this may be a slight blemish on his managerial resume, it still stands that he’s turned Roma around into a top-three team in Italy.

He has also recently threatened to quit Roma if the board decide to not renew Francesco Totti’s contract. Spalletti has managed to spark magic from the 40-year-old. It shows that he has balls to stand up to the board and stick by his beliefs. This might not actually be a good quality to have if he did go to Barcelona but the fans would love him.

While he hasn’t won a significant major trophy in his time, it’s doubtful Barcelona would appoint him but it’s a possibility. Luis Enrique had not won any trophies either before he was appointend as  the Barcelona manager.

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