Is Barcelona B Coach Eusebio a Future Successor to Tito Vilanova?

Eusebio Sacristan recently agreed a new deal to continue as Barcelona B coach until the end of the 2013/14 season—with all his technical staff renewing too.

The 49-year-old has already completed two years as the manager of Barca's young starlets, finishing eighth in La Segunda in his first season in charge and ninth in the season just past.

But could the club view him as a potential heir to the first-team throne? Or is he just filling time at the Mini Estadi?

His playing days would suggest that he fits all the criteria to coach La Blaugrana. A member of Johan Cruyff's famous "Dream Team," alongside the likes of Josep Guardiola, he made over 200 appearances as a Barcelona player.

Having begun his career with hometown club Real Valladolid, away from Camp Nou the midfielder's career also took him to Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo—he was capped 15 times by the Spanish national team, too.

Post-retirement he worked as No. 2 to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona for eight years, furthering his knowledge of the workings of the club in a spell that saw them win two la Liga titles and one Champions League.

It's a CV that at least suggests he'd be a reasonable candidate to lead Lionel Messi and Co. but the frosty reception from some reaches of the Internet signify that his short career in management doesn't add up to his playing days.

After his spell as assistant to Rijkaard, he was handed the reins at Celta Vigo in la Segunda. The club didn't secure their safety in the division until the month before it finished, and he parted soon after.

It's Barca B's record in the second half of the season—his second at the club—which has been both disappointing from the fans' point of view, though: 5 wins, 7 draws and 9 losses.

Some comments on English-speaking Barcelona site TotalBarca voice particular concern at his renewal:

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"Maybe he'll surprise us all and he'll play an expansive game while also developing players next season. And maybe I'll win the lottery."

"What has he done to deserve a contract extension? I mean on the football pitch because Barca B has had a disappointing season."

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It's not just the fact his side experienced that drop in results in the second half of the season that has Cules on his back, but his strange decisions have also alarmed them.

Strange decisions in terms of both personnel and style. Substitutions like the one in the home defeat to Huesca, Joan Roman replaced by Sergio Araujo, seemed particularly surprising at the time—given the effect Roman was beginning to have on the encounter.

Then there's the way they've approached matches. Prolific Barcelona tweeter @euleri, couldn't have been more correct when he said "Barca B under Eusebio do not form triangles consistently." While also noting that the youngsters are not "learning [the] needed automatisms."

The consensus at the moment is that Eusebio is not the right man for the B team, let alone the right man to, one day, lead the first team. It will take a lot for that to change.