Barcelona have named former defender Juliano Belletti as the brand new supervisor of their B aspect, Barca Atletic, for the upcoming season. The Brazilian has been given the robust job of getting the affiliate aspect promoted after a disappointing season.
Belletti is most famed for scoring the winner for Barcelona within the 2006 Champions League closing towards Arsenal throughout his three-year spell on the membership. He left in 2007, becoming a member of Chelsea, then Fluminense and Ceara earlier than his retirement, in 2011. Now aged 48, Belletti is making progress as a supervisor.
Belletti’s return to Barcelona
He returned to the membership in 2023 as an assistant for the under-19 workers. Belletti, would then spend six months alongside Rafael Marquez as an assistant in 2024, and final summer time took over the under-19 aspect as the pinnacle coach. Now he makes his return to Barca Atletic as the principle man, having beforehand held roles within the youth setup at Sao Paulo and Cruzeiro.
The previous had reportedly sounded him out for a head teaching function, however nothing got here of it, and now Belletti has a one-year contract with Barca Atletic. This season with the under-19 aspect, Belletti lifted the treble, together with the UEFA Youth League.
Barca Atletic coming off relegation
Issues had been a lot much less rosy for Barca Atletic, who final season had been within the play-offs. After Marquez’s exit, Albert Sanchez took over, however struggled for a lot of the season. With two months to go, issues improved beneath Sergi Mila, however he couldn’t save them from relegation on the ultimate day of the season. It marks a descent into the fourth tier of Spanish soccer for the primary time since 2008, when Pep Guardiola gained them promotion again to Segunda B.
Flick: “Lamine Yamal is a genius. However I believe now we have to assist him as a result of he’s younger, and now the whole lot appears simple, however it’s not simple. If you wish to play at that stage for the following 15 years, you even have to coach and work very laborious; you need to be on the prime stage mentally…
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) Might 30, 2025
That was their solely dabble so low down the pyramid in Spanish soccer since 1974, 4 years after the workforce was based. Mila is about to maneuver right into a directorial function at La Masia.