Barcelona have announced that the scorer of the winning goal in their 2006 Champions League triumph will return to the club as a coach, working with Rafael Marquez. Former right-back Juliano Belletti will become part Marquez’s coaching staff at Barcelona Atletic.
Belletti spent three years at Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard, and most recently has been coaching with the under-19 side. The Brazilian has also been an ambassador for the club in recent years, amongst coaching roles as an assistant manager at Cruzeiro in 2021, and manager of Sao Paulo’s under-20 team last year.
A hero to Barcelona fans for collecting Henrik Larsson’s pass and beating Manuel Almunia in the Arsenal goal in Paris, Belletti increases the number of figures from President Joan Laporta’s first era that have come back to the club. In addition to Xavi Hernandez as manager, Belletti joins Deco as Sporting Director and Marquez as Barca Atletic manager too. Previously Javier Saviola was also coaching in the academy, but he left his role with Juvenil B in the summer.
