Barcelona: The perfect replacement for Valverde identified

Barcelona have struggled under the tenure of Ernesto Valverde and it seems the Spaniard’s time is coming to an end with the Catalans.

The Nou Camp and Barcelona have always been associated with free-flowing beautiful football, a great spirit and perpetual fight. The legendary Barcelona teams of the past have all possessed incredible characteristics and an ethereal energy to deliver on the pitch when it mattered.

Think of the great sides in the 50s under Kubala, then Cruyff and then in the 2000s when Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol and Busquets conquered everything possible in European football and achieved unprecedented success.

Now the Catalans seem to have been knocked off their perch.

Under Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde Barcelona have struggled to re-conjure the magical days of their recent golden era. Whilst Valverde delivered a league title win with an impressive 87 points last season, the Catalans were embarrassed for the second year in a row in the Champions league in their defeat at Anfield as they allowed Liverpool to overturn a three goal deficit in the semi -finals.

Once more, Mess and co failed to deliver the long sought Champions League title back to the Nou Camp and Valverde’s men have begun this season in troubling form too.

Barcelona are currently first in La Liga but they have already suffered three defeats which is equal to their total tally of defeats from last season. This is despite some strong additions in the likes of Frenkie De Jong and Antoine Griezmann.

Yet despite the mercurial signings Valverde has failed to deliver a style of football which is befitting of Barcelona. The Spanish coach is rightly facing the pressure, especially after a thoroughly disappointing 3-1 loss to Levante.

It is now Valverde’s third season at the club and it seems things are not going smoothly with the Spaniard at the helm. The time might be upon the Catalans to exact change and herald a new era.

The perfect man is waiting on the sidelines too.

And that man is Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese coach has been out of job for almost a year and Mourinho seems itching to return to football. Earlier this year in a heartfelt interview with TalkSport Mourinho admitted that he missed ‘football’ and wasn’t ‘happy’ just sitting on the sidelines.

With Valverde clearly failing to meet expectations at the Nou Camp, the end of Mourinho’s sabbatical and his ascendancy to Barcelona might be the perfect solution.

Mourinho has already worked at Barcelona and so he is familiar with the culture of the club, the facilities and the gigantic expectations of the fans and the boardroom, which would mean he’d have no problem fitting in at the Nou Camp.

Mourinho understands the players and he is still very highly valued by those who worked with him during his time with the Catalans. Even former Barcelona player Samuel Eto’o said he would like to see Mourinho back at Barca.

Mourinho is a serial winner and with the Barcelona squad at his disposal he could certainly overturn the Catalan side’s fortunes. Perhaps even deliver the long sought after Champions League title. After all, Mourinho has won it with lesser sides before including Porto and Inter.

It is why the Portuguese coach would be the perfect replacement for Ernest Valverde and the inspiring addition the misfiring Barcelona players so desperately need right now.

What do you think could Mourinho return to Barcelona?