Barcelona legend rips into crucial team member after Super Cup defeat

Barcelona legendary midfielder has given his remarks after Ernesto Valverde‘s squad threw away the lead against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona played an impressive game for the most part against Atletico but failed to maintain their 2-1 lead after late goals scored by strikers Alvaro Morata and Angel Correa. The Spanish giants were dominating until the 73rd minute with more shots on target and an impressive 75% possession with 91% passing accuracy.

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But suddenly Barca players looked like deers in headlights, dropping possession to 65% with less than 80% passing accuracy in the remainder of the match. Though the blame for the defeat could be pushed towards controversial VAR decisions along with a brick wall, Jan Oblak, between the posts for the Rojiblancos. Club Legend Rivaldo blames Valverde’s passiveness and inability to inspire the squad between matches.

Rivaldo has said that watching the current Barca is extremely frustrating because of their tendency to fall asleep between matches, making them lose the lead they create after working hard for most of the match.

"“Barcelona can’t continue falling asleep in important games. It’s very frustrating. The way they had been controlling the game, they should have been home and dry but the team can’t suddenly just switch off at the back”Source Betfair (via AS)"

The former midfielder also claimed that the players lack motivation and they require someone like Atletico Madrid’s coach, Simeone, to encourage them during the course of the match.

"“El Cholo is a highly enthusiastic coach, he’s always shouting at his players, motivating them and encouraging them to give a little more – maybe that is exactly what Barcelona lack right now”"

The Brazilian continued with his criticism of Valverde, claiming that a coach of a football team is responsible to fix the issues observed during the course of the game and make changes accordingly in order to fix those issues, but Ernesto has failed to make such an impact during crucial matches as Rivaldo claims he simply sits passively and watches the team crumble.

"“Part of the coach’s job is to observe what is not working during a game and fix those problems, make sure the players know what the problems are. If he simply sits there watching it all fall part passively, the opponents have the chance to change the way they are playing and surprise you”"

He also added that he supports the idea of Ernesto and Barcelona parting ways before the end of this season as a club of this stature cannot afford to lose in the manner witnessed during the matches against Atletico, Liverpool, Rome and Valencia over the course of 3 years.

"“I’m sure this latest defeat won’t help Valverde at all, It reminded me of the team’s recent upsets in the Champions League. Valverde’s job is on the line. The club might let him go before the season is out because a club like Barcelona can’t continue losing like this – being so careless”."

With reports claiming that the Catalans are not planning to sack Valverde despite the loss, it is anyone’s guess when the club will get back to their former glory without making any childish mistakes as quoted by Messi.

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Do you agree with Rivaldo?

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