Josep Maria Bartomeu says Barcelona’s pursuit for a new manager will be dealt with carefully after Luis Enrique announced he’ll step down at the end of the season following Wednesday’s 6-1 trouncing of Sporting Gijon.
Rumours were rife that Enrique, who admitted he needs a “little time to rest,” would step down in the summer, but the timing of his declaration came as a shock to many of the Blaugrana faithful.
Barcelona’s president, however, intends to take a measured approach in finding Enrique’s successor.
Related: 4 candidates to succeed Luis Enrique at Barcelona
“We will work with discretion, but we will work on it,” Bartomeu promised to Barca TV, with translation from ESPN FC’s Samuel Marsden.
“There are important games coming up and we will try to work quietly.”
Those upcoming commitments include the herculean task of trying to overturn a 4-0 scoreline in the Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain next Wednesday, with domestic matches against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna either side of it.
“We have to accept the manager’s decision and support him,” Bartomeu continued.
“In the summer he communicated to (sporting director) Albert Soler and (technical director) Robert Fernandez that this could be his last year, and the other day he told us that he wouldn’t continue and decided this was the ideal moment to reveal his decision.
“Now we have to focus on the next three months, but Luis Enrique will leave in the summer and we’ve had a super manager for these last three seasons.”
Barcelona now aims to give Enrique, who’s collected seven major titles since taking over in 2014, a glittering send-off. After Real Madrid dropped points in a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Las Palmas later on Wednesday, Barcelona holds top spot in La Liga, albeit having played a game more than its Clasico rival.
Bartomeu was clearly encouraged by the 6-1 hammering of Gijon, though.
“It’s a sad situation because he’s a good coach who has given us success,” he added. “The players are (still) motivated, as we’ve seen. There are three competitions and tomorrow there’s training. We have to keep working until the end of June.”
INDIANAPOLIS – Cincinnati Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin didn’t shut down the possibility of trading backup quarterback AJ McCarron in the offseason.
Tobin said they’re not actively seeking to move McCarron, but he welcomed any team to call him if they had a reasonable offer.
“The phones in our office work,” Tobin said. “They always work. I’ve got an interest in listening to any of you that want to talk.”
He added later: “We’re not actively looking to diminish our football team by trading AJ McCarron and that diminishes our football team. It has to be something we feel is valuable enough to warrant doing that. What it is, I don’t know. Who it is to, I don’t know. It’s not ideal to trade guys within your division, particularly at that position. But we listen.”
Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron is still a part of the team’s future, but player personnel director Duke Tobin said the team would listen to offers. Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Tobin implied it would take a strong offer for the Bengals to trade McCarron, who started three regular season games in 2015 and the AFC wildcard loss to the Steelers that season while filling in for an injured Andy Dalton.
“The larger point on AJ McCarron for us is he’s a very valuable piece of what we do,” Tobin said. “It’s not a point where we’re saying, ‘What do we do with this guy? We don’t have a plan for him.’ There is a plan in place for us. He plays a very valuable position and you’re always one play away from going to your backup quarterback. We view our team as a team that can challenge.”
The Bengals had received inquiries about McCarron in the past, but none warranted serious consideration, Tobin said.
“We talk to teams all the time. I talk to my colleagues around the league about their teams and they talk to us about their teams,” he said. “Those are conversations that are part of our regular working environment, not just in regards to AJ. But I would be lying to you if I told you there was never any interest from other teams. We don’t advertise that. Obviously there wasn’t enough interest at a high enough level that we thought it was worth pursuing.”
“I think that’s still to be determined,” Tobin said. “Ultimately those types of things are always determined by arbitrators at some point. We do know that we have him for one more year and that’s valuable, and it’s a second year, hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement to have him here longer … again, we’re in the AJ McCarron business. He’s a good player for us. He’s proven valuable, he elevates our offense, even when he’s not on the field by the way that he works…
“There is some debate as to whether he earned a season the first year and that is the crux of the debate. We want to be respectful of his position and ultimately like I said it will be decided by somebody other than AJ and somebody other than the Cincinnati Bengals.
The widely anticipated stepping down of Luis Enrique has been confirmed, with the manager stating he’s fatigued at the helm of Barcelona and is willing to step aside for a fresh outlook at the Camp Nou.
Historically, the Catalonians have looked for coaches entrenched in the methods taught in La Masia’s classrooms and on its pitches, but with the club’s Champions League campaign reaching an inevitable last-16 exit and the threatening emergence of Sevilla, maybe it’s time for a change in approach.
Here are four potential candidates to take the reins on the Mediterranean coast:
Ronald Koeman
Barcelona’s former set-piece expert, one-man engine room, and mentor to Pep Guardiola has been unabashed in his want to return to the club one day.
Koeman’s Everton burst out the traps this season, and arrested a mid-season slump to draw the best out of Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, who was beginning to underachieve following much hype when he broke into the side under Roberto Martinez. On the attack, the Toffees regularly adopt a 4-3-3 shape when Lukaku is sufficiently flanked by the wingers, but to call it Barcelona-esque would admittedly be a stretch.
Related – Frank de Boer: Ronald Koeman deserves Barcelona job
There’s no doubting that he’s well-versed in the Blaugrana ways, however, after he was the fulcrum of the legendary Johan Cruyff’s XI for six years.
Did this count as an assist as well as a goal!? @Everton manager Ronald Koeman with a beauty for Barca #efc #COYB pic.twitter.com/7CAsiQ4vEv
— LateTackleMagazine (@LateTackle) February 10, 2017
But his managerial pedigree is dubious – particularly for a post this illustrious. He’s picked up just five major honours in a 20-year coaching career, and isn’t fondly remembered in Spain after his largely limp stint in charge of Valencia between 2007 and 2008.
Still, not many have fared well as Valencia manager in recent times.
Jorge Sampaoli
A man who insists on high pressing, organised chaos, and an aesthetic, swarming attack, Sevilla boss Sampaoli could be just the man to shake up a weathering Barcelona.
He’s an assiduous handler, watching tape after tape of upcoming opponents and drilling his squads in the minute details of how to stymie individual players – ask Lionel Messi, who was nullified both times as Sampaoli’s Chile topped Argentina in back-to-back Copa America finals.
Most notably, he’s an advocate of fluid, rapid attacks, something that has seen seemingly superior sides cower in their own forward forays due to their concern at being caught on the back foot. He’s on course to deliver a better domestic performance than Unai Emery could muster in his three years as Sevilla gaffer.
Sampaoli hasn’t exactly ruled himself out of the job, either.
“If he leaves, there will be an enormous list of candidates. I see it very far away, although the good moment of Sevilla means that people look at their coach,” he said in January, as quoted by The Telegraph’s Matt Law.
Massimiliano Allegri
Allegri is strongly linked to the well-worn bum groove belonging to Arsene Wenger in Arsenal’s technical area, but the plush seats at the Camp Nou undoubtedly have a greater draw.
Unless he’s allowed to flex his financial muscles further at Juventus, Allegri may believe he’s taken the Turin giant as far as it can go. Building on the foundations that Antonio Conte laid, the 49-year-old is en route to Serie A and Coppa Italia titles for a record third straight season. And although the Old Lady is perhaps unfairly written off for the Champions League crown – currently on odds of 7/1 to win the thing – she made short work of FC Porto in their last-16 first leg.
50% – Juventus have won 50% of games they have been trailing in this season in all competitions (4 of 8). Strength. #JuveNapoli
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 28, 2017
Some may point to Allegri’s underwhelming performances before taking the Juve gig, but his tactical versatility – he freely tweaks his shape and personnel before or during tilts, and often successfully so – will be seen as a huge plus in the attributes of a relatively young manager.
Gerard Lopez
Barcelona’s penchant to hire from within or from faces which adorn the alumni pages will have Gerard Lopez hoping for a sharp trajectory from the B side.
The 37-year-old was quietly efficient in a Barcelona side of the noughties that tended to fall under the shadow of Real Madrid’s Galacticos – showing the technique and accurate passes of so many La Masia graduates – and picked up the primera prize in 2005, his last season with the club as a player.
His appointment could be a crowd-pleasing decision, too, as he’s staunchly Catalonian. Hailing from Granollers, a Barcelona metropolitan area with both industrial and agricultural history, Gerard took his undeniable work ethic to the Catalonia national team in 2013. There, he’s overseen the likes of Xavi, Gerard Pique, and Sergio Busquets.
He’s been in charge of Barcelona B since 2015, honing the skills of the club’s finest progressing through its famed youth academy. His recent students include Granada loanee Sergi Samper, and current young standouts Seung-Woo Lee and Carles Alena.
INDIANAPOLIS — Cincinnati Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin said he was ‘very disappointed’ with cornerback Adam Jones, who was arrested in early January on charge of felony harassment with a bodily substance, disorderly conduct, assault and obstructing official business.
“It was disappointing for us to see him display what he displayed. It is a poor reflection of him and it’s not indicative of who he is in our opinion. I think Adam is better than that,” Tobin said.
The Cincinnati Bengals are in no hurry to make a decision on the future of Adam Jones despite the cornerback’s latest off-field issues. The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP
Jones’ legal status is currently pending, as Cincinnati prosecutor Joe Deters publicly said that he would like to see what punishment the NFL might give Jones before proceeding with the case. The NFL has not commented other than to say Jones, who has had multiple off the field issues over the course of his career, will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
“I’m not going to condemn him and I’m not going to condone what he did, but whether there was anything criminal there or not is to be determined by our criminal justice system,” Tobin said. “We’re going to let that work and if there’s an NFL penalty that’ll be determined by the NFL and we’re going to let that work…
“We’re not going to make any rash, harsh, fast decisions about the future of our football team without all the information. We don’t have an update on that. His status on our team is like a lot of players’ status on our team. He’s got to earn his way like everyone else does. Where this goes, I cannot predict it, but we are certainly not going to make a decision on him without more information.”
