Barcelona Have Their Man...Make That Woman
FC Barcelona has found their man. Make that Woman.
It took just 8 days for FC Barcelona to replace Ernesto Valverde. The Club today unveiled the new manager, Joanne Mercier, to the press. Speculation surrounded various candidates for the job but it seems that Ms. Mercier was the best choice in the eyes of the club's board if directors.
A statement from the FC Barcelona board about the hiring of Ms. Mercier says the following; "We are here to help support and build the club. From all the candidates that were on our shortlist Ms. Mercier was the one we really wanted. She is simply the right person for the job."
Ms. Mercier arrives from France where she was an assistant manager of the women's national team. Ms. Mercier has spent the last 3 years with the women's national team as assistant manager and scout. Prior to that, she worked as a national scout for the Paris Saint-Germain youth academy. She was highly regarded as a youth scout, and rumor has it that Ajax were attempting to land Ms. Mercier as director of their famous youth academy just 2 years ago. Ms. Mercier comes with minimal management experience, but the club's board of directors were impressed with his interview. Club President Josep Maria Bartomeu didn't reveal the transfer budget that would be availiable to the new manager, however he suggested that he would make available funds for the club to be competitive in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
Ms. Mercier shares the ownership's vision of developing a core group of youth players to carry the club forward while at the same time building relationships with the veteran players on the squad. In her introductory press conference, Ms. Mercier stated her intent to help the club to not only win the league title, but also the Copa de Espańa and set her ambitions on the winning the UEFA Champions League in the long term.
"She shares our vision for the future and wants to help us succeed in any way," the board's statement continued.
As a player, Ms. Mercier spent 7 years playing as a central fielder/striker for Paris Saint-Germain Féminine from 1999 to 2006. Over her 7 year career she earned 208 caps, scoring 30 goals, and added 41 assists. Ms. Mercier earned 58 caps for the French women'e national team, scoring 11 goals and adding 17 assists through her career.
A student of Total Football, the football philosophy which former FC Barcelona manager and legendary Dutch player Johan Cruyff was a proponent of, Ms. Mercier earned praise from pundits and fans alike. With her arrival at FC Barcelona some football pundits consider her to be one of the most promising managers in football. She was confident that despite being a newcomer, the club would not regret giving the job to someone with so little experience. But her appointment will no doubt bring confidence, ambition and fearlessness to the Barcelona locker room.