Chelsea to Appoint Bernardo Cueva from Brentford as Set-Piece Coach, Defying Mauricio Pochettino’s Stance
Chelsea has secured an agreement with Brentford to bring Bernardo Cueva on board as their set-piece coach starting from the next season.
Bernardo to replace Barry
The move comes as Chelsea seeks to fill the void left by Anthony Barry, who departed the club in April to join former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich, as reported by Mail Sport earlier this month.

Cueva’s journey to Chelsea began when he joined Brentford from Mexican club Chivas in September 2020, following recruitment by the club’s director of football, Phil Giles, and technical director, Lee Dykes.
Initially hired as a tactical statistician, Cueva has played a pivotal role in Brentford’s rise from the Championship to establishing themselves as a formidable force in the Premier League, demonstrating his expertise and value in the realm of set-piece coaching.
Bernard’s Brentford stint
During Bernardo Cueva’s tenure at Brentford, the club has garnered a reputation for its exceptional proficiency in set-piece situations.
In the previous Premier League campaign, 16 out of Brentford’s 58 goals were scored from set pieces, the second-highest figure in the league behind Liverpool’s 17, with half of them originating from corner kicks—a statistic surpassed by only six other teams.
In contrast, Chelsea’s offensive set-piece performance this season has been lackluster, with only a few teams, including Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Sheffield United, scoring fewer than their six goals in the Premier League.
Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s previous skepticism about the necessity of specialist coaches, particularly in a press conference last month where he hinted at the coaching staff’s comprehensive responsibilities, Chelsea found themselves among the minority of Premier League clubs without a dedicated set-piece coach following Anthony Barry’s departure last year.
Notably, Arsenal’s success in set-piece scenarios, with Nicolas Jover credited for refining routines that have contributed to over 30 percent of their goals this season, underscores the potential impact of specialized coaching in maximizing a team’s attacking capabilities from dead-ball situations.