GERARDO MARTINO IS NEW BARCELONA COACH

Barcelona Football Club has agreed to hire Gerardo Martino  as new coach of the club. The 50-year-old, Argentine, led Newell’s Old Boys to the Argentina’s  Clausura title last season but recently severed ties with the club.

He has agreed to sigh a two-year contract at Barça where he will replace Tito Vilanova. Barça announced on Friday night that the 44-year-old Vilanova  will step down for health reasons.

“FC Barcelona have reached an agreement to appoint Gerardo Martino as the new coach of the football team for the next two seasons. This agreement is pending the drafting and signing of the contract. In the coming hours a programme will be planned for his arrival in Barcelona, signing the contract and the subsequent presentation,”the club said in a statement.

There was alot of speculation in the media about who the likely replacement would be, with some  suggesting Luis Enrique, Andre Villas-Boas, Marcelo Bielsa, Michael Laudrup and Guus Hiddink, who yesterday resigned as coach of Anzhi Makhachkala.