The city of Yida, located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, brings out some of the worst memories in Ernesto Valverde’s career on the bench. Five years ago the new format of the Spanish Super Cup was launched. It was an invention born from the joint minds of Luis Rubiales and Gerard Piqué. Four teams, two rounds and a venue outside of Spain in exchange for a rain of millions for the clubs. Too juicy to refuse. That initial edition was held entirely at the King Abdullah Sports City, located north of Jeddah, on the edge of the Arabian desert. And precisely there, Txingurri’s journey on the Barça bench ended in a bad way.
Those were the most difficult days for Valverde, who tomorrow returns to the scene to casually face Barça at the helm of Athletic in the first semi-final of the Super Cup. Five years ago, as Blaugrana coach, he lost to Atlético de Madrid also in the semifinals. It was a meeting that did not lack anything. At the dawn of the VAR, the refereeing performance of José Luis González González was most controversial, annulling two goals against the Blaugrana due to borderline actions and failing to call up to three penalties that seemed clear, two for Barça and one for Atlético . A match as exciting as it was chaotic, in which Valverde’s team lost its head in the final stretch and allowed itself to come back, heading back to Barcelona with its head down.
Elegant, Txingurri has never spoken in public about what he suffered those days before his dismissal
That result ended the patience of Josep Maria Bartomeu, then president, and his sports leadership. Valverde had led Barça to win the last two leagues, and at that time he had his team also leading the table and qualifying for the round of 16 of the Champions League. But the two inexplicable European humiliations suffered in Rome and Liverpool had reduced his credit to zero. Already on the plane back from Saudi Arabia, the faces of the expedition spoke for themselves, and Valverde began to fear the worst. From the outside, the club conveyed confidence in him, but within the four walls of Aristides Maillol everyone knew that the search for a replacement had begun.
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Everything ended up exploding when hours after returning to Barcelona, a meeting in Doha, photo included, of Óscar Grau (general director) and Eric Abidal (sports director) with Xavi Hernández, who was then managing Qatari team Al Sadd, was leaked. The official version was that it was an already scheduled meeting. The reality was that the man from Terrassa received his first offer to sit on the Blaugrana bench, an offer that he rejected, alleging lack of experience and his closeness to the heavyweights who still dominated that locker room (Messi, Busquets, Suárez, Piqué…). That photo hurt Valverde a lot and confirmed his worst fears, although for a few more hours the club tried to show that it trusted him.
A photo of Abidal and Óscar Grau next to Xavi confirmed to the coach that he was sentenced
The reality was very different. The pools about his replacement began to take over all the media. Xavi, Pochettino, Setién, García-Pimienta… Furthermore, criticism about the coach’s work in the environment began to intensify. What if Barça didn’t play well, what if Valverde wasn’t a good coach. And that the results (and the titles) supported him. Txingurri has always suspected that everything came from the club itself to justify his dismissal, but, elegantly, he has never wanted to go out in public and criticize Barça in these five years.
The return to Yida, the scene of the events, including the confrontation against Barça, unearths all those memories for a Valverde who apparently continues to take everything in stride. Of course, with sharp claws and the ambition to reach the final intact.
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