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The Barcelona club has extended its contract with coach Ernesto Valverde. The agreement with this strategist has been signed until the summer of 2009. The previous contract was valid until the end of this season.
The 42-year-old specialist, who started his coaching career at Bilbao Athletic in 2003, arrived in Barcelona last July and replaced Miguel Angel Lotina. Although Lotina helped the team win the Spanish Cup, they only finished 15th in the country's championship.
This year, under E. Valverde's leadership, the footballers were eliminated in the first round of the Spanish Cup, and currently occupy 10th place in the La Liga championship, but are successfully progressing in the UEFA Cup tournament. Espanyol won all four group matches and will meet the Italian Livorno team in the round of 16 in February.
