Ernesto Valverde and his battle between pragmatism and romanticism
Barcelona recently announced the renewal of Ernesto Valverde’s contract till 2020 with an option for adding another year. While the club and the players seem to be happy with Valverde’s performance, a large section of the fans and the Catalan critics were left displeased. The question is - what is the cause of their unhappiness?
Valverde’s renewal comes on the back of a successful first term and the board seems to have rewarded him for the titles he won last year and for his positive relationship with the players. Valverde’s term as Barcelona coach got off to the rockiest possible start.
The unprecedented transfer of Neymar to PSG left a huge gap which they are still struggling to fill. In spite of losing one of the members of the elite MSN (Messi-Suarez-Neymar) trio, Valverde guided Barca to the domestic double and nearly pulled off an unbeaten La Liga season.
In his second term, the Blaugrana sit on top of the league, are in the Copa del Rey final and are still in contention for the Champions League, and they are doing this without the services of the legendary Andres Iniesta. Just last week they won back to back Clasicos at the Bernabeu which pretty much ended Real Madrid’s domestic season. At any other club, the fans would have been singing praises of the coach, but Barca is not any other club.
For someone who is not familiar with Barcelona’s footballing history and philosophy, the doubts around Valverde may seem strange given the titles he’s won. However, at Barcelona it is not enough to just win, one has to win in style and win maintaining the Barca philosophy. Culés have always valued two things highly: playing attractive football and promoting players from their famed La Masia academy. It is this appetite for romantic football which Valverde has been unable to satiate.
Barca’s philosophy is built around the 4-3-3 system and on playing an attacking game with slick passing. In his first season, Valverde started off playing a 4-4-2 formation which enabled the team to be more compact and have a tighter defensive line. He has moved on to a 4-3-3 system in his second season but ends up playing 3 midfielders who provide more defensive cover than attacking flair.
The continuous use of Arturo Vidal over Carles Alena (who has shown great promise and maturity in the limited playing time that he has got) in the current season or the purchase of Paulinho in the previous one points to the fact that Valverde prefers having midfielders who can ensure defensive stability and physicality.
Some might argue that Valverde is being pragmatic and that is what it takes to win as he tries to build a new squad post the Xavi and Iniesta era. But one thing is for certain, this pragmatism certainly is not the formula for the exhilarating and stylish football that Barca fans are used to and the kind of football they demand.
Valverde’s midfielders don’t execute the quick transitions and the quick one-twos which used to enthrall the Barca fans during the Pep Guardiola or Luis Enrique days. Nowadays one rarely sees Barcelona dispatching teams in style with a scoreline of 4-0 or 6-0. The current team lacks creativity and mainly depends on Lionel Messi for that one moment of genius.
But even Messi will need help if Barca wants to win the Champions League and win it in style. Valverde needs to try Philippe Coutinho and Carles Alena in midfield more often. He also needs to let Rakitic play more close to the penalty box rather than in the Barca half, tracking back for challenges.
The team needs to go back to pressing high up so that they can get the ball back quickly and attack. Only then will we be able to see the kind of football which would get the stadium attendance numbers back up to the levels of the previous eras.
Valverde also seems unwilling to risk playing the youngsters from La Masia and prefers established players. The fans can’t wait to see Carles Alena get an extended run in the team or a Riqui Puig make his La Liga debut and light up the Camp Nou. Valverde has also has been unwilling to give the highly talented left back Juan Miranda chances within the first team and prefers playing Semedo out of his natural position whenever resting Jordi Alba.
Some might argue that Valverde is not rushing them, but if these youngsters aren’t allowed to play in the first team on a regular basis, one doubts if we will see the next set of Xavis, Iniestas, Busquets or Puyols in the first team.
Valverde currently has the opportunity to build the next great Barcelona team. The team has a strong combination of raw youthful talent from the likes of Dembele, Arthur, Alena, and the recent signings Frenkie De Jong and Todibo with the experience and leadership of Messi, Pique, Busquets, Alba and Ter Stegen.
But to be truly great, Valverde has to win over the fans and to do so he will have to embrace the romantic side of Barcelona’s football. Only time will tell whether Valverde is able to do so but Barcelona fans are surely in for an exciting year ahead.