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Barcelona’s board already knows its next and primary objective

By Atharva Khadilkar

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 02: FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu holds a press conference on Catalonia's controversial illegitimate independence referendum at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain on October 2, 2017. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu told that the club's support on Catalonia's independence will continue. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 02: FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu holds a press conference on Catalonia's controversial illegitimate independence referendum at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain on October 2, 2017. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu told that the club's support on Catalonia's independence will continue. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona seems to be in for a really good season with respect to the results that have come their way since the start of the 2018/19 campaign.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde arrived at the club in the 2017/18 season, and after two successive El Clasico losses to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup in the opening matches of the season, the former Athletic Bilbao manager guided the Catalans to a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey too.

The 54-year-old immediately won over the fans and in particular, the board of directors. With less than a year remaining on Ernesto Valverde’s contract now, Josep Bartomeu already knows his next objective, and that is to tie the first team manager down to a fresh contract in the Nou Camp.

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In spite of a streak of unsatisfactory results in the league, the Catalans sit firmly in the race to claim another league title. Valverde’s men are four points ahead of Atletico Madrid and seven ahead of Real Madrid. Meanwhile, they hold a three-point lead over second-placed Espanyol as well.

Not to mention, the UEFA Champions League results have been impressive as well. With 10 points in group B, Barcelona top the standings and have sealed qualification into the round of 16 phase. Winning the European Cup is of paramount importance to Barcelona, and hence, how the club performed in the UCL was going to impact Valverde’s future.

In addition to that, Ernesto Valverde has also helped his team in coping up well without Lionel Messi who was injured for the last three weeks. In his absence, the Blaugrana beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 after claiming an outstanding 5-1 win over Real Madrid. They also picked up a 1-0 win over Inter Milan at home and a 1-1 draw at the San Siro.

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Opinion

In spite of Ernesto Valverde doing really well in terms of the results, I feel that Barcelona need to tinker with their coaching staff at the end of this season. The 54-year-old’s man management is poor, even when he has a host of quality players in Denis Suarez, Malcom and Arturo Vidal. While the results in the opening half of the season are very good, Barca might incur a cost of injuries in the second if key players continue to be overworked.

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