Is De Zerbi the right man to lead Barcelona next season?

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Good and bad points...

With Xavi having already made it clear that he won’t be managing Barcelona next season, the rumours have been rife as to who will replace him.

Whomever does eventually get handed what has fast become a poisoned chalice of a job, they’ll be up against it from the get go.

Rarely can any top-flight manager have come into a job understanding just how difficult the financial situation will make their working week and still been happy to get their hands dirty.

At present, anyone in the Barcelona hot-seat will be working with one hand behind their back.

Yes, it’s Barcelona and if the club approach you it’s difficult to turn down such a storied institution, but if you’ve a decent footballing reputation to uphold, in the current climate particularly, why would you want to take a job that has swallowed up and spat out some decent exponents?

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Xavi’s reputation has been shredded to pieces despite there being enough mitigating circumstances to challenge the naysayers. Latterly he hasn’t helped himself it’s true, but the outlook from culers on their former legendary midfielder might well have been different if the standard of player he could manage was of a different level to a number of his current staff.

Pep Guardiola who certainly sits atop the managerial tree in this day and age believes that Roberto De Zerbi can sit proudly at the top table where he and only a few others inhabit.

It’s true that De Zerbi’s Brighton and Hove Albion side have played some brilliant football for the past couple of years.

They genuinely have been an absolute joy to watch, taking a number of ‘bigger’ clubs to the cleaners on a regular basis.

The flip side of such wanton abandon is that when they’re ‘off it,’ my goodness it’s painful to watch.

Chalk and cheese.

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With respect, Barcelona aren’t yet stable enough and don’t have good enough players to be rolling the dice in results terms.

Culers would forego the pretty patterns of play in return for results and, ultimately, silverware. Playing the Barca way when so doing is just a bonus.

De Zerbi’s front foot attacking style would certainly win plaudits, and his tactical knowledge, in-game management and man management would be welcomed.

The question everyone needs to be asking though is are the club that desperate to be playing such great football at the expense of a solid defence?

Brighton conceded 53 goals in last season’s Premier League and have already shipped 40 in 2023/24. A team whose style of play glosses over the fact that results haven’t actually been that good.

Are we really at the stage that we want to encourage style over substance...

Source: barcablaugranes.com