Ernesto Valverde stepped down as Athletic Bilbao boss to join Barcelona. (Source: Twitter)
Ernesto Valverde arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday and said that he will aim to make the Spanish club even greater.
After his first photograph session in Camp Nou, Valverde gave his first interview to the official television channel. He has been confired to succeed Luis Enrique, who managed the club for three years and led them to nine trophies, the latest being Copa del Rey last weekend.
Valverde, who played for Barca for almost 30 years, stepped down as Athletic Bilbao boss two weeks back. He said in the interview that he was very excited to take up the new job. “It’s a privilege to come here,” the 53-year-old said. “I feel very lucky that the club had me in mind and offered me the job,” he said.
📸 🔵🔴 Ernesto Valverde’s arrival in Barcelona! Check out the best pics here: http://t.co/uMov0gvJfX #HolaValverde pic.twitter.com/jQVSsTNpnr
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) 1 June 2017
“I am very excited about heading into this new stage of my career. It’s an enormous challenge and I have the intention of making Barcelona even greater than it already is.”
The 53-year-old however says that he played a long time back and things have changed a lot since then. “It was a long time ago. I’m older now, my hair is grey and this is a totally different time. I’m a lot more conscious now of what it means to take this step. I was very young back then. I came back to other clubs, and now Barca too,” he said.
The manager promised to make the experience for the club fans even greater and ensure that they are proud of their team.
“In the last several seasons, [the fans] have been able to enjoy great players and coaches,” he said. “My idea is to keep it that way and to have them enjoy those things even more and to have them be proud of the team.”
