The announcement of the new Barca coach that will fill the vacancy left by Tito Vilanova is imminent. The Catalan club’s plan is, as President Sandro Rosell announced on Friday, that the new coach be announced this week. The casting has begun if you like, and even Tito himself has been consulted over his successor.
The announcement of Barca’s new trainer is expected in the coming hours, between today and tomorrow, and pitches Luis Enrique as favorite for the position, although there are other candidates such as Argentine ‘Tata’ Martino, who Messi would welcome at the Nou Camp.
One of the above candidates was Ernesto Valverde who, took his time this summer to say ‘yes’ to Athletic Bilbao after his fleeting passage through Valencia. But now, he is about to embark on his second stint at Bilbao and everyone has assumed from the outset that it is virtually impossible to lure the coach away. Luis Enrique has a greater possibility of coming to Barca than Valverde.
Former captain of the club and coach of the reserve team for three seasons, he has also began his work on the bench for Celta vigo, but Luis Enrique’s exit is much more feasible than Valverde’s for various reasons. For starters, he has a buyout clause of 3 million euros, but the Catalan club would be able to reach an amicable agreement for sure. Barca has a very good relationship with Celta as evidenced by the recent departures to Vigo by Barca players like Rafinha Alcantara and Andreu Fontas.
Legally, the possible hiring of Luis Enrique will not pose Barca any problems. Celta has not yet dealt with the question of his wages and given the particular case of Barca and the cause of Tito Vilanova’s leaving, no one would expect that the football association would object. Officially, Celta Vigo has denied any contact with the Catalan club about Luis Enrique, who is currently training in Portugal alongside another former FC Barcelona man,Juan Carlos Unzué.
An agreement with Celta could happen precisely because of Unzué. One of the reasons is that the former goalkeeper will continue on if Luis Enrique heads to the Nou Camp. Another option for Barca is Girona’s new signing in the shape of Joan Francesc Ferrer or ‘Rubi’, as he is called.
The arguments for Luis Enrique
The footballing reasons that support the candidacy of Luis Enrique to take charge of the Barca bench are obvious: he knows the club as both player and coach and most of the first team see his arrival as a good sign.
Whether the new coach is Luis Enrique or someone else, the intention of the club is to present the new coach on Tuesday and travel on Wednesday with the team to Munich for the match against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.
