Barcelona manager candidates after Quique Setien’s firing: Pochettino, Xavi, Bielsa all possible fits

Watch Now: Quique Setien Fired By Barcelona (2:11)

Barcelona need a new coach after Quique Setien’s fate was decided on Friday following the team’s shocking 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals. An aging squad with an unhappy Lionel Messi needs somebody to come in and change the culture with presidential elections less than a year away. 

So who are the coaches that make the most sense? Let’s take a look at the four possible candidates that make most sense.

1. Xavi

Xavi, Messi’s former teammate and Barcelona legend, is probably going to coach this team at some point. While some think it will be late next year following the presidential elections for the club as candidate Victor Font strongly likes the Spanish midfielder, it could happen sooner rather than later. He’s currently coaching Al Sadd in Qatar. He understands the goals of the club … he’s familiar as he played most of his career there and knows a lot of the players on the team already. He’s a logical choice.

2. Ronald Koeman

The Netherlands national team manager and former Barcelona player makes a sense for a lot of reasons, though you can question his track record as a club coach. He hasn’t had a lot of success at bigger clubs over the last 15 years but did win the Copa del Rey with Valencia. His time at Everton was quite poor, though he has done well at smaller clubs like Southampton. He is familiar with the league and is well thought of at the club, but he hasn’t coached a team close to Barca’s level before. He will certainly be a contender though. 

3. Mauricio Pochettino 

Pochettino is arguably the top coaching candidate on the market and worked wonders at Tottenham, guiding the team to the Champions League final last season. But would he switch over to the dark side after playing for and coaching Barca’s cross-town rival Espanyol? It looks like he’s already saying it is impossible, according to The Athletic. Our Alex Scott, who is in Lisbon for the CBS All Access pre and postmatch show did point out that Poch was on hand to watch the 8-2 loss. In Pochettino, Barca would have a master motivator, somebody who connects well with South American talents and one of the top young coaches in the world. 

4. Marcelo Bielsa

This an intriguing one to say the least. Can you imagine “El Loco” Bielsa, one of the highly regarded coaches in the entire world, coaching Barcelona? The Argentine would certainly love the chance to coach Messi, and while his name will probably be thrown around, it’s hard to see that happening. He’s currently the coach at Leeds United, having just won the Championship to get the team promoted to the Premier League. He’s already thought of as a coaching legend among the Elland Road faithful, and it’s hard to envision even Barcelona prying him away.

Other names to watch: Marcelino Garcia Toral (unattached), Erik ten Tag (Ajax). Massimiliano Allegri (unattached), Patrick Kluivert (unattached), Julian Nagelsmann (RB Leipzig) and Marcelo Gallardo (River Plate).