Barcelona has entrusted a former club icon with a new coaching role, marking a significant step in their youth development strategy.
Barcelona has made a major change in their youth academy, with the appointment of a former defender and club great as manager of Barça Atletic for the 2025/26 season.
The announcement was made official by the club, and carries a former Juvenil A coach up to the second team; a sign of trust following a phenomenal season with the youth team.
The club will hope the new manager can replicate similar success at the second team level, along with turning around the unfortunate run of form experienced by Barça Atletic, which ended in relegation from the RFEF Primera Division.
Juliano Belletti, a Brazilian great who had a fantastic time with the Juvenil A team.
Belletti led the youth team to a treble, winning the Copa del Rey, the División de Honor La Liga, and the UEFA Youth League.
Furthermore, his strong ability to coach youth players made him an obvious good choice for the Barça Atletic role. Importantly, Belletti previously served as an assistant to Rafa Marquez with Barça Atletic during the 2023/24 season.
This previous experience handling a reserve team and operating at a higher senior level supports his decision-making in this role.
The appointment of Belletti has extra importance due to his history as a player for Barcelona between 2004 and 2007, where he made his mark by scoring the winning goal in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League final vs Arsenal, meaning there is plenty of legend status in his appointment.
Belletti, as a coach, will now aim to establish the same winning mentality in a team that needs a performance boost, and more importantly, an outcome boost in Barça Atletic.
The club has trusted Belletti to continue their youth pipeline through a familiar face.
🤩 @julianobelletti, nou entrenador del Barça Atlètic
💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/QskUG2agQa
— Barça Atlètic (@FCBarcelonaB) May 30, 2025
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