Half of this season has passed, and Barcelona’s coach selection for next season has attracted many people’s attention. Valverde’s contract will ended in 2020, but he can leave the team freely after paying a certain amount of liquidated damages in the summer of 2019. Regarding his own future, Valverde has not made a decision yet. Spanish media pointed out that Messi hopes a lot that Valverde can stay in the team.
“For Messi, Valverde can make him feel comfortable,” the source of the Barcelona team told Spanish media. “He gives Messi a peaceful mindset, and he shows his ability to read the game. He will adjust some details according to how the game goes and helps the team make progress. All the managers have helped Messi a lot, but the feeling between Messi and Valverde is quite unique.”
Despite having a terrible memory of being eliminated by Roma in Champions League last season, Valverde still receives the approval of most Barcelona fans. The Mundo Deportivo conducted a poll, and 80% of fans hope that Valverde can stay in the Camp Nou. Barcelona has not changed coaches very often, and fans hope that the team will maintain sufficient stability.
Valverde has been in Barcelona for a year and a half, and encountered many problems during the period. He can solve the problems most of the time. Last season, Neymar left and Dembele often injured, Valverde adjusted his formation from 433 to 442. He successfully led the team win the La Liga hampion and Copa del Rey champion.
This season Valverde changed the formation back to 433. He not only activated Dembele, but also quickly make new players such as Vidal, Arthur, and Lenglet adjust into the team. In the case that Umtiti did not play in the first half of the season due to injury and Messi suffered arm fracture, He still led Barcelona be in the first place with a 3-point advantage in the league. Barca also successfully qualified for the Champions League 1/8 finals.