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8 months ago
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Barcelona’s sporting director Deco has said that the team from Catalonia needs a radical change while admitting that the club’s current method is exhausted.
In an interview with Nascer Do Sol newspaper, the former midfielder shared his thoughts on several aspects related to Barcelona, including the current state of finances and their pursuit of a new manager.
“A radical change is needed. There is a method that is finished. The President is with me. We need to find someone who breaks up with the past and moves: towards a new model,” said the sporting director which angered a lot of fans and left Xavi extremely disappointed.
Deco further pressed that Xavi will continue to remain Barcelona’s manager until the end of the season and the two agree on the fact that the team now needs a new direction.
“Xavi submitted his resignation. He stays until the end of the season but no more. He revealed that he doesn’t feel able to give the team the change it needs… At least we agree on the need for a radical change after today. So radical that Xavi himself said that the club needs a new direction.”
Who will replace Xavi?
Deco spoke extensively on who could be Barcelona’s new manager after Xavi leaves the job at the end of the season. While Jurgen Klopp happens to be on their agenda, Deco said that they would respect the German’s decision to take a break from the sport.
“Klopp? He says he wants to take a break from coaching for a while.”
Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim has been linked with a move to Barcelona and Deco said that while many options are being considered at the moment, not all of them can handle the pressure that comes along with the job.
“Ruben Amorim to replace Xavi? For now, all the hypotheses are on the table. But which Portuguese coach? How many Portuguese coaches are prepared for the weight and responsibility of taking care of Barcelona, even more so this Barcelona with all the difficulties it entails?
“Tell me. I know that Amorim is doing a good job at Sporting and, in addition, he plays with a style similar to ours. But he also has very little experience,” said Deco.
What about the project?
Deco seemed extremely disappointed while talking about the entire sporting project at Barcelona. He said that he does not know what will happen, but one thing is for sure that this cannot continue at Barcelona.
“We don’t know what will happen from now on, if this project will progress and succeed. I am in a club that, despite going through a phase of change, can’t go long without winning.”
Deco added that after Barcelona were eliminated from Copa del Rey, everyone thought the performance would get better, but that hasn’t been the case.
“Suddenly, we look at the reality and we find ourselves further and further away from the top of the table and needing to regain our spirits so as not to lose our place in next season’s Champions League. Things changed quickly.
“We recently lost the Copa del Rey against Athletic Club and, in the end, I even thought it could be good because we could focus more on the league and the Champions League, in which we will have a qualifier against Napoli and we will face it with the ambition to reach the quarterfinals,” he said.
A tough time to be a Barcelona fan
Deco also admitted that Barcelona are going through a rough phase not just in terms of playing, but also off the field. While performances on the field have dropped, financially the team has been struggling as well.
“We are going through a difficult phase in many areas, we do not have money to go out on the market to look for reinforcements that already have a name and still want to win titles, we have to bet on people like that boy you saw.
Vítor Roque, who has everything to be a top striker but is very young, is 19 years old, we will have to give him support. But it is an example that we continue to work well in many aspects.”
“We are in a transition phase. Could we have had better results in many situations? We could. But there is no way to escape from reality.”
In terms of the economic condition, the sporting director said, “There is something that many people forget and that happens in practically all clubs that do not receive high levels of funding from the state. This management started a project that included the renovation of the stadium and this has enormous costs.”
“We have a serious financial problem on our hands and that was one of the reasons why they hired me.
“We don’t have money for the investments made by other millionaire clubs and that discourages any coach who comes here wanting to win everything now. Unfortunately, we can’t give him the means to do it. Not at this stage.”
