After only three months, there was no other choice. Víctor Valdés, Barça's first-choice goalkeeper from 2004 to 2014, has been fired as the coach of the club's Youth A team. The reason: a series of disagreements which reached a peak last Thursday, when he had a fierce argument with academy director Patrick Kluivert.
On Saturday, he was already absent for his team's 2-1 win over Gimnàstic de Tarragona. He had a meeting today "to analyse his continuation", but in reality the decision had already been taken: he had to go.
📝 [ÙLTIMA HORA] Víctor Valdés deixa de ser l'entrenador del Juvenil A. Franc Artiga, fins ara entrenador del Juvenil B, ocuparà el seu càrrec.
— FC Barcelona - Masia (@FCBmasia) October 7, 2019
👉 https://t.co/uQfrpYf7lA#FCBMasia
An explosive character
The reasons behind Valdés' departure go beyond the argument with Kluivert. He was also criticised for not attending either the presentation of Paco Seirul·lo's methodology department or the coaches' dinner. Also, regardless of his results, Barça leadership hasn't been happy with his less than full-hearted commitment to the club's classic 4-3-3 formation and that he hasn't been giving playing time to rising stars like Ilaix Moriba or new signings like Louie Barry. Similarly, they were unhappy he signed players like Moratalaz without going through the full scouting process.
Photo: FC Barcelona
Beyond sporting decisions, there's also the question of his explosive character which has sparked various incidents when he's exhausted his colleagues' patience. Shortly after arriving, he gave a public dressing down to one of his team's PR people; later, he refused to let his team play a match for third place in the Otten Cup, arguing it would risk their condition.
Valdés had only returned to Barça in July, having offered himself personally to club president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Looking to sign a legendary former player to his team, Bartomeu skipped the normal protocols and signed Valdés, who at the time had only one year's experience as a coach.