Is Tata Martino Facing Barcelona Exit in the Summer and Who Will Replace Him?

“A person responsible for controlling or administering an organisation or group of staff."

That’s Google’s definition of a manager. And it’s why so many people always point to the man in charge as the reason for why things are going wrong.

The manager is the first port of call for disgruntled supporters, and sometimes that’s the wrong call.

It could be outside influences, from above, or players not pulling their weight.

Perhaps it’s that the manager took over a squad which was lacking but wasn’t given any money to spend to fix it.

Unfortunately for Tata Martino, none of those reasons are appropriate in his case.

Supporters blame him for the club’s bad form and many expect him to leave in the summer.

An interesting story in Sport, here in Spanish, claims that Martino has made Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal his top transfer target for the summer.

The manager has spotted a weakness in his side and identified the Chilean international as a man who can solve it.

He is right: Vidal will give Barcelona’s midfield the tenacious intensity it has been lacking.

However, he will also cost around €50 million, money that might not be easy for Barcelona to spend, given the Financial Fair Play rules.

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They could sell Alex Song to generate funds—the Cameroon star has been linked to Manchester United, as per the Daily Star.

As Sport report, Vidal is Martino’s minimum request, he is certain that he needs the Juventus star to continue at Camp Nou.

Discussing the story with some of my colleagues in Barcelona, many feel that it is a good way for Martino to leave the Barcelona job without losing face.

He is clearly suffering under the pressure—sent off last week against Real Sociedad for his behaviour at half-time.

Martino still has the backing from the Barcelona players, even those who aren’t particularly enjoying themselves under him.

Left on the bench for the entirety of that Sociedad defeat, Barcelona legend Xavi defended the under-fire boss.

He told a press conference, as per Football Espana:

"

They are always looking for someone to blame and it’s usually the coach. That isn’t fair. We are a team and we are all to blame. The boss believed he was doing the right thing to field a competitive side but all of us got it wrong - everyone, even those of us who didn’t participate in the match. We’re self-critical and we know when we haven’t played well. We understand the criticism, it’s a defeat but from now on, we’ll be going flat out.

"

But supporting the manager falls within his remit at the club, as a statesman, and for him to come out and say anything less would have been the death knell for Martino.

The bell-ringer is already climbing the steps, and this week the press in Barcelona have already been considering who might be stepping in next season.

Sport printed a list of candidates, here in Spanish, with five top names and put their readers to the test with a poll.

The results were clear: Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp was the top choice to replace Martino, with 52 percent of the vote.

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Former Barcelona star Luis Enrique came in second, with 27 percent, and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone third with 10 percent.

Fourth was Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde and fifth, Andre Villas-Boas.

The latter would be a disaster as manager—if he can’t cope with the pressure as manager of Chelsea and Tottenham, then how could he at Camp Nou?

Valverde probably isn’t accomplished enough to take over at Barcelona, and Simeone’s playing style is completely at odds with the club’s philosophy.

Klopp, however, may welcome a change from the Bundesliga, where Bayern Munich seem invincible, and is smart enough to succeed in La Liga.

Enrique has sentimental value, but his managerial career so far has not sparkled.

But when the candidates for a job are being discussed, the one thing that is for certain is that the current manager doesn’t have much wick left to burn.