Barcelona appointed Ernesto Valverde as their new boss on Monday as successor to Luis Enrique. The 53-year-old former player of the Catalan club has done a steady job at Athletic Bilbao over the past few years. He had been one of the favourites for the job since it was announced Enrique was leaving the club this summer.
The job is one of the biggest in European club football. However, the former champions have a number of problems heading into the summer. Valverde’s chosen style of football is closer to that of Pep Guardiola than Enrique, who played more direct football than his predecessor.
Enrique’s approach was to get the ball forward to trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar as quickly as possible. This meant the midfield was slightly by-passed and became less important.
When Barcelona were at their best during the Guardiola era, the midfield was the key with the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta highly influential figures. They controlled games and won endless trophies.
During Enrique’s reign, the team depended too much on their talented front three and the rest of the team was almost neglected. As a result, the team struggled at times against teams that found a way to nullify their front three.
The Catalan giants also have problems in defence. The right-back position has proven a problem this season with Sergi Roberto often filling in in the position. The team need a proper right-back, as Daniel Alves has been massively missed since his departure to Juventus.
Valverde may well also look to strengthen his centre-back options. Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti showed signs of forging a promising partnership this season, but back-up options Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu are both in the twilight of their careers.
The new Barcelona boss has inherited a talented, if rather imbalanced squad in Catalonia. He will know that there is a lot of work to do to turn Barcelona back into a feared force in European football once more.