Pros and cons of 10 managers that could take on Barcelona job
Sacking your director of football, accepting the resignation of his assistant and allowing the president to bring forward elections are all indicators Barcelona, 11/2 Champions League chances with Coral, are a club in crisis.
Will under-fire Barca boss Luis Enrique follow fellow legends Andoni Zubizarreta and Carles Puyol out of the Nou Camp? Speculation is rife despite the Catalan giants beating Elche in Copa del Rey action that the manager could be axed.
This got Coral football experts wondering about who could take over, if Enrique is sacked. We put our heads together and came up with 10 alternative coaching options, assessing the pros and cons of appointing them in the future.
Ronald Koeman
Pro: Won pretty much everything as a player at the Nou Camp and served there as Louis van Gaal’s assistant during the first spell the current Manchester United manager had with Barca.
Con: It would be a real shame to see Southampton lose yet another boss with Koeman’s Saints mounting a serious push to join the likes of Barcelona at Europe’s top table.
Jurgen Klopp
Pro: Borussia Dortmund’s current plight and relegation battle, following the loss of star turns and an injury crisis, suggests the German gaffer has taken the Bundesliga club as far as he can, and it’s time for a new challenge.
Con: Klopp is an outsider to Barca, despite playing a similar brand of attractive football that Nou Camp fans demand, it would go against the grain of recent appointments to plump for someone other than a former player.
Frank de Boer
Pro: Dutch defender-turned-manager De Boer, like Koeman, played for Barcelona and won silverware with them.
Con: As Ajax boss he appears extremely settled and has reportedly resisted previous job offers to remain in his Eredivisie comfort zone.
Roberto Martinez
Pro: Catalonia native Martinez shares similar philosophies to the Barcelona blueprint.
Con: His second season at Everton has been a struggle, so that still suggests a top job like this comes too early in the Spaniard’s coaching career.
Michael Laudrup
Pro: Won trophies as a player with Barca before controversially crossing the El Clasico divide and signing for Real Madrid.
Con: That ditching by the Dane may come back to haunt him and Laudrup has also cultivated something of a fly-by-night coaching career, walking away from roles, like Swansea City last year, when the going gets tough.
Marcelo Bielsa
Pro: Doing magnificent work as Marseille manager and has experience of Spanish football with Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao.
Con: Bielsa is nicknamed ‘El Loco’ for a reason; his unorthodox tactics would see the Barcelona blueprint of 4-3-3 abandoned for an even more aggressive and all-out attacking 3-3-3-1 set-up, which might not go down well with purists.
Brendan Rodgers
Pro: Liverpool manager Rodgers has said he wants to coach in Spain one day, so why not jump ship to the Nou Camp if the opportunity arises? A reunion with Luis Suarez would be on the cards.
Con: At Anfield, the Northern Irishman has been trusted with spending big money, and his scatter-gun transfer policy in a bid to replace Suarez has failed fantastically.
Carles Puyol
Pro: Ex-club captain Puyol is Barcelona through-and-through, winning everything you conceivably can in Spanish and continental club football.
Con: Having just resigned from an assistant sporting director post, defensive master Puyol looks to be seeking new pastures.
Joachim Low
Pro: A World Cup-winning manager like Low would command instant respect from the global stars on Barca’s books.
Con: Germany have struggled since lifting the trophy, which suggests his midas touch might be fading.
Pep Guardiola
Pro: The one tried and tested proven option open to Barcelona, if dominating the Bundesliga becomes boring for the current Bayern Munich manager.
Con: Guardiola’s legacy will be on the line if he makes a ‘Second Coming’, and he has nothing to prove at the Nou Camp, having delivered trophies by the bucket-load.
