In fairness, changing your coach is a tough one to get right. Ideally you need to have someone else lined up to take over, but it can backfire and leave you looking incredibly unfaithful if the new hire doesn’t work out.
If you search for Ernesto Valverde online just now you’re met with a swathe of articles and rumours about his future. They all claim that someone different is going to take over and that his time at the Nou Camp is done, but he’s still the club’s manager.
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Barca have always given the impression that their alumni are vital to keeping the “dna” of the club going and they all seem to pull in the same direction, so this criticism from Andres Iniesta is surprising:
Iniesta, en @ElTransistorOC: “Las formas del Barça están siendo un poco feas; hay que tener un respeto hacia tu actual entrenador” #fcblive pic.twitter.com/DLEOJgYtXz
— Albert Rogé (@albert_roge) January 12, 2020
The journalist rights for Sport in Spain who are usually spot on when it comes to news surrounding Real or Barcelona. You can read the full interview with Iniesta on their website here, but that particular statement is huge.
He describes their current behaviour as “ugly” and says they should have more respect for their coach. Former players tend to toe the party line and speak in support of the club, so this is particularly damning for the club.
Hopefully they make a decision soon and just put Valverde out of his misery, but it’s hard to see him having any authority at the club after this.