Barcelona hire Valverde as new boss

Former Athletic Bilbao manager signs two-year deal with Catalan giants

BARCELONA: Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde is the man charged with reviving Barcelona's fortunes after being confirmed as the Catalan giants' new boss on a two-year deal on Monday.

"Valverde has the ability, the judgement, the knowledge and the experience. He promotes the youth players and he has a Barça way," club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said at a press conference.

Valverde, whose contract will include an option for a third season in charge, will be officially unveiled on Thursday.

🔊 Bartomeu: "Ernesto Valverde will sign for two seasons with an option for a third". More details 👉 https://t.co/RVbnSgQ5nc pic.twitter.com/SYLb0gtd9q

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 29, 2017

Valverde, 53, a former Barca player who left Athletic Bilbao after four years in charge last week, replaces Luis Enrique with the task of getting the most out of a star-studded squad containing Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Luis Enrique signed off his three seasons in charge with a ninth trophy of his reign in Saturday's Copa del Rey final against Alaves.

However, the daily grind of the pressure at the Camp Nou forced him to announce back in March he would leave at the end of the campaign even before Barca missed out on both La Liga and the Champions League this season.

Ernesto Valverde is the new FC Barcelona manager: https://t.co/cit09bOM2M 🔵🔴 #HolaValverde pic.twitter.com/pGQ4D9q2ij

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 30, 2017

Despite not being a household name outside of Spain, Valverde has a wealth of coaching experience having taken charge of over 500 games.

His only honours as a player came in a two-year spell at Barcelona under Johann Cruyff between 1988 and 1990 where he lifted the Cup Winners' Cup and the Copa del Rey.

However, Valverde has consistently got the best out of the resources at his disposal as a coach in two spells at both Athletic and Olympiakos and stints with Espanyol, Villarreal and Valencia.

"He has more experience than me. He should enjoy it," Luis Enrique said when asked what advice he would give Valverde after a Messi-inspired 3-1 win over Alaves in his final game in charge. AFP