It has been reported in Spain that Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is not in any immediate danger of losing his job after their defeat to Atletico Madrid.
The Catalan giants were in action on Thursday in their Spanish Super Cup semi-final tie with Atleti in Saudi Arabia, but they will not feature in the final against Real Madrid after losing 3-2.
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Goals from Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann weren’t enough for Barca, and so now they’ll switch their focus back to La Liga and the Champions League to ensure that they’re not left empty-handed this season.
Nevertheless, coupled with their disastrous exits from Europe over the past two seasons, question marks are seemingly starting to be asked of Valverde, but Mundo Deportivo note that sources within the club have dismissed the suggestion he could be at risk of being axed.
It specifically addresses reports that claimed Valverde could be sacked following a directors meeting on Monday, but that has been rebuffed by the sources in the report who add that president Josep Maria Bartomeu has no intention of changing coach at this time.
Time will tell whether or not that’s a sensible decision, but Barcelona will now have a short break to regroup and put this latest disappointment behind them as they’re next in action against Granada at the Nou Camp on January 19.
If they can get back to winning ways immediately and put together a good run of form to put themselves in a strong position to defend their La Liga crown before the Champions League returns, it could go a long way to solidifying Valverde’s position.
Whether or not that’s a positive thing for the reigning Spanish champions will be up for debate, but based on the report above, it sounds as though there is no intention to sack Valverde in the immediate future and so things will continue as they are at the Nou Camp.