BARCELONA
Valdés job in jeopardy as board weigh up sacking youth coach
Barcelona have released a statement saying he would not be travelling with the Juvenil A team on Saturday and will meet soon to decide on his future.
The future of Victor Valdés as the manager of Barcelona's Juvenil A side is in danger. FC Barcelona reported on their website that he would not travel with the team to play Gimnàstic de Tarragona on Saturday as they weigh up his future.
According to Catalunya Radio, Valdes has told his players that he wasn't sure if he would be continuing in his role and said he had a very sobering chat with Patrick Kluivert, the new youth academy director.
Valdes, a man with a very strong character and someone they spoke of as a potential head coach, was at odds with the board when he wasn't allowed to use Estadi Johan Cruyff for Juvenil games as it was closed for the reserve team and the women's team.
"From the first day when I arrived on my motorbike, I thought it would be our home but I will keep fighting," he said of the row.
They have lost to Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan in the youth league and he was sent off after his first win with the team.
A report in the Catalan papers recently suggested he didn't go to a dinner with all of the youth team coaches and it caused Barcelona to reconsider his position. With the losses piling up and Valdes not backing down on some key issues including playing in a more pragmatic 4-4-2, it looks like it might cost him his job.