With a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday, May 17th, FC Barcelona clinched their 23rd title in the Spanish La Liga, and their seventh in the past 10 years. The win comes at the end of a season-long battle with Real Madrid, and while much of the credit must go to Barca's trio of offensive greats-Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez-some kudos must also go to manager Luis Enrique. Enrique took over at Camp Nou this season, after Gerardo Martino failed to see the football club to a championship title in 2013 2014. But now the question is being raised about the Barcelona FC manager 2015 - 2016, and specifically who it will be?
Even though Luis Enrique coached Barcelona to La Liga victory in his first year as the team's manager, though, rumors have been swirling for months that he could be sacked at the end of the football season. Enrique, a former standout midfielder at Barca himself, reportedly developed something of a quarrelsome working relationship with Lionel Messi. And since Messi currently has an overall tally of 54 goals this season-out of 54 appearances-keeping him happy remains FC Barcelona's top priority.
The 2014 2015 Season
On one hand, it seems utterly absurd that Luis Enrique could face firing after such a successful first season at Camp Nou. Only four other managers in Barca's history-including all-time greats like Louis van Gaal and Pep Guardiola-have won the La Liga title in their first seasons managing the soccer squad.
Furthermore, Enrique could feasibly go one step further. Barca may have finalized their La Liga win on May 17th, donning the Barcelona away shirt 2014 2015 for that win against Atletico Madrid. However, the domestic trophy is just one piece of a treble that the team is currently shooting for.
Indeed, on Saturday, May 30th, Barca will don the 2014 2015 away shirt once again for the finals of the 2014 2015 Copa Del Rey. While Barcelona will take the away side, the match-which will pit them against Athletic Club Bilbao-will actually be played at Camp Nou, and will therefore feature an audience full of Barca fans. Barcelona are heavily favored to win the CDR anyway-they beat Athletic Bilbao 5-2 back in a February La Liga match-but playing in their home city will surely give them an extra advantage.
A week later, Messi and company will jet off to the Olympiastadion in Berlin, for the finals of the 2014 2015 UEFA Champions League. The squad will face a bit more of a challenge in securing the UCL title, as they will be pitted against an on-fire Juventus team. However, if they can manage victories in both soccer tournaments, then Enrique will be only the second coach in Barca history (after Pep Guardiola) to coach the team to a treble in his first season as manager.
Enrique's Future
According to current FC Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu, all of the rumors about Luis Enrique's potential sacking are just inaccurate speculation. In fact, Bartomeu has said that Enrique's future at Camp Nou is not even up for debate, and has gone on record saying that the coach deserves as much credit for Barcelona's 2014 2015 soccer successes as the players do.
"He has an ongoing contract, end of debate," Bartomeu said of Enrique. In other words, we can probably expect the former Barca midfielder back at Camp Nou next season.
There is one wrinkle with that expectation though, and it's that Josep Bartomeu might not be the one making the decisions for much longer. Earlier this year, he informed his board that he would shortly be calling for Presidential elections at FC Barcelona. The 52-year-old, who has been Barca's President since January 2014, has said that he will be one of the candidates for the post, but cited a tension at the football club and among the board that he hopes the elections will help to clear up.
If Bartomeu wins, there's virtually no way that Luis Enrique will be leaving this summer. If Barcelona wins the treble, there is also virtually no way that Luis will be sacked. But if, say, Barca miss out on the UCL title and a new President is voted in, could there be a new manager at Camp Nou for the 2015 2016? And if that does happen, would Barcelona be able to maintain the incredible momentum they've built this year?
Will Luis Enrique Remain as Barcelona FC Manager 2015 - 2016?
- May 24, 2015