Garcia Pimienta was ‘was one millimetre away’ from being Barcelona coach – Sevilla chief

Francisco Javier Garcia Pimienta has been unveiled as Sevilla’s new boss after taking over from Quique Sanchez Flores.

The coach gets the job after moving on from Las Palmas. At his unveiling on Wednesday, Sevilla sporting director Victor Orta claimed that Garcia Pimienta had once been close to the manager’s job at Barcelona.

Here’s what he told reporters.

“I’m very excited about what’s to come, I’m really looking forward to it. I think we’ve found a perfect coach for the moment,” he told reporters.

“Garcia Pimienta was one millimetre away from being coach of Barcelona’s first team in the past. I think he’s come at the perfect time in his career. I think he feels ready.”

Garcia Pimienta left Barcelona in 2021, somewhat surprisingly, after a decent stint in charge of the B team. It was claimed he could have replaced Ronald Koeman but that job ended up going to Xavi instead.