Rafa Márquez to continue as coach of Barça Atlètic

Rafa Márquez is to remain as manager ol Barça Atlètic in the 2023/24 season. The Mexican returned to the club in the summer of 2022 after being here as a player from 2003 to 2010. After an excellent first season in charge, he has agreed to stay in the job until 30 June 2024.

He signed the extended contract today Wednesday together with president Joan Laporta, at an event also attended by vice-president Rafael Yuste, the director responsible for youth football, Joan Soler, the president of Barça Atlètic, Jordi Casals, and the director of youth football, José Ramón Alexanco.

In his first professional coaching role, Márquez was the boss of the youngest team in 1a Federación, with his main responsibility being to prepare the players for a possible leap to the first team, and he has thoroughly surpassed expectations.

Barça Atlètic ended 2022/23 with 17 wins, 13 draws and 10 defeats, and after a gradual improvement throughout the campaign, and despite the difficulty of frequently missing players who were on first team duty, the team eventually made it into the promotion playoffs. Despite beating Real Madrid Castilla 4-2 in the first leg, the Barça reserved eventually lost 5-4 on aggregate, narrowly missing out on the chance of second division football next season. All the same, the general verdict is that it was very positive season indeed.