Barca assistant Unzue takes over at Celta

Madrid (AFP) – Luis Enrique’s assistant coach at Barcelona for the past three years, Juan Carlos Unzue will step out on his own next season after being named Celta Vigo coach on Sunday.

Unzue signed a two-year deal to return to the Galicians, where he also served as assistant to Luis Enrique for the 2013/14 season.

“Juan Carlos Unzue will lead the technical team at Celta Vigo for the next two seasons,” Celta said in a statement.

With Luis Enrique stepping down as Barca boss after winning nine trophies in the past three seasons, Unzue had been touted as a candidate to replace his former boss.

However, Barca are instead expected to name Ernesto Valverde, who left Athletic Bilbao earlier this week, as their new coach on Monday.

Unzue, 50, a former goalkeeper for Barca and Sevilla among others, also worked as a goalkeeping coach for Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola at Barca before joining Luis Enrique’s team.

However, his only previous experience in a senior coaching role came in finishing 10th in Spain’s second division with Numancia in 2010/11.

Celta announced last week that Eduardo Berizzo was stepping down after a highly successful three years in charge since replacing Luis Enrique.

Berizzo is expected to be announced as Sevilla’s new coach with Jorge Samapoli set to be appointed Argentina boss.