Neither Martínez nor Allegri are good choices to replace Valverde at Barcelona

Barcelona are looking at two high-profile to replace Ernesto Valverde

The earlier contenders for Ernesto Valverde’s job seem to be falling behind in the race to replace him. Instead, Barcelona are looking at two very high-profile coaches in Belgium head coach Roberto Martínez and Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri.

While the club is actively seeking out Martínez, Allegri is willing to take up the job if Valverde gets fired. But unfortunately, none of these two top-class managers would fit in well at Barça. Their style of play simply doesn’t agree with the club philosophy.

Martínez is currently going through a very successful spell as Belgium manager. The Spaniard took over from Marc Wilmots after Euro 2016, and has guided Belgium to 26 victories in 35 games in charge. The Red Devils also narrowly missed out on a berth in the World Cup final in Russia.

But the kind of football that Belgium have played over the last 3 years is not how Barça play. Martínez uses a 3-4-2-1 formation, unlocking the potential of a ‘golden generation’ of Belgian players like Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

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But his direct football is terribly out of sync with tiki-taka. It is highly direct, and very defensive. Of course, Martínez’s tactics are effective which show in his results. But Barça could do much better than him, despite his Catalan roots and his immense managerial talent.

Allegri is another option due to his interest in taking the hotseat at the Camp Nou. Of course, he would be a tempting proposition due to his high-profile record at big Serie A clubs like Juventus and AC Milan. But tactically, his suitability to Barça is worse than Martínez.

The Italian coach is tactically suave, and he uses a 4-3-3 formation. But Allegri’s teams play too far out wide, and depends on crosses for goals. In fact, all that Juventus have done since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo is cross the ball into the box.

Of course, there is room for creativity in Allegri’s Juventus, as playmakers like Miralem Pjanić have thrived. But it is very limited, as is evident from Paulo Dybala’s predicament. Allegri has also failed to deliver when it comes to young talents like Marko Pjaca.

The former Milan manager has depended on experience to produce results, going as far as bringing back Leonardo Bonucci. Even if it is extremely nostalgic, no one at Barça would want to see David Villa or Pedro back, although Andrés Iniesta is a different case altogether.

Overall, neither Massimiliano Allegri nor Roberto Martínez are good options to replace Ernesto Valverde when he is fired (if he is fired after all). Instead, Barça should look at alternatives like Quique Setién or Erik ten Hag.