CV's Weekly Coaching News
One fewer?European giant?is looking for a new head coach, with the news that?Xavi ?(above) will be staying on at?Barcelona . Having announced in January that he would be stepping down this summer, the?Bar?a ?icon now wants to?remain at the club until at least the end of his contract in June 2025. Liverpool’s search?for?Jürgen Klopp ’s successor has led them into talks with Feyenoord over?Arne Slot . “It seems clear to me that I would like to work there,”?commented Slot on Liverpool.?“All I can say about it is that the clubs are in negotiations. I’m in the waiting room.” Elsewhere in the Premier League,?Unai Emery ?has agreed to a contract extension at?Aston Villa ?until 2027. ? After losing just one?of his seven games in charge as interim manager, Tom Cleverley has been named by?Watford ?as their new head coach.?“There is a lot of unfinished business from my playing career,” said Cleverley, on getting the job for next season.?“I probably lacked ambition. But as a coach I am very ambitious.”
With just one game remaining?in the?League One ?season,?Barnsley ?abruptly parted ways with?Neill Collins ?(above) this week. The Tykes could drop out of the playoff places on Saturday, after failing to?win in their past five matches.?“With a crucial season conclusion ahead of us, we feel that now is the right time to make a change,” said director of football Mladen Sormaz. Fabio?Cannavaro?has landed his?first?Serie A? head-coach role, taking over until the end of the season at relegation-threatened?Udinese . The club sacked?Gabriele Cioffi ?with five games remaining, hovering?above the relegation zone only on goal difference. ? In Bundesliga news,?long-serving?Borussia Dortmund ?academy director?Lars Ricken ?will succeed Hans-Joachim Watzke as?managing director for sport. Meanwhile,?MLS ?club Atlanta United have named Javier Pérez as director of methodology –?a newly created position that?replaces the role of?academy director. Finally this week,?Celtic ?have announced that B team head coach Darren O’Dea has been appointed professional player pathway manager.
COACH WATCH?/ SIMONE INZAGHI
Clinching the Scudetto?with five games to go,?in a derby, while overtaking Milan’s title count??That is the memorable way in which Simone Inzaghi’s Inter sealed Serie A success this week. It was his?first?league title as a coach –?one he?has been building towards?in?eight?years as a manager.?Here , our UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed the tactics that Inzaghi has used to great success, first at?Lazio and now Inter. See more of our Coach Watch features?here