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10 months ago
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Since Deco took over as Barcelona’s sporting director during the summer of last year, the Portuguese has had no respite.
The former midfielder had to find ways to reinforce the squad in the summer with quality players while working around the club’s Financial Fair Play problems.
Soon after, the contract extensions of Xavi, Lamine Yamal, and Alejandro Balde became the focus while Vitor Roque’s incorporation for January took focus not long after.
Now, the director is having to work to find a replacement for manager Xavi Hernandez, who announced last month that he would leave at the end of the season. At the same time, Deco also has to work on the club’s plans for the summer window.
The former Portugal midfielder recently sat down for an interview with La Vanguardia, during which he discussed the situation at Barcelona, Xavi’s decision, and a host of other topics.
Discussing his work and planning that goes behind the scenes, Deco said: “I like to go over the matches the day after because everything is clearer. February is a time to think about the future. Meetings with scouts, financial analysis to know what we can and can’t do… We’ve been doing that for months.”
The director also discussed Barcelona’s recent win against Alaves and confirmed that the club would appeal against Vitor Roque’s sending-off, saying: “We’ve played a lot of games in a row and winning gives us peace of mind.”
“We will appeal it [Roque’s red card]. It is a normal action of the game.”
VAR, Negreira case
The Barça director also expressed concerns about VAR, saying: “I have many doubts. It is disorienting the spectator. We don’t know why it intervenes and why not. You have to have a lot of conviction to give a yellow card without consulting the referee. I know that the rules say what they say, but the sending-off could have conditioned the match.”
Barcelona manager Xavi and president Joan Laporta have been vocal about the league being ‘adulterated’ due to the pressure tactics employed by Real Madrid TV. When asked about it, Deco said:
“I focus on the VAR. It needs to be improved a lot for it to work. Beyond confirming whether a ball has gone in or not, in all interpretative matters there are doubts. In penalties, hands, offside… VAR cannot be a tool that generates more problems, it should be agile.”
Deco was part of a successful Barcelona team during a period when the club have been accused of benefitting from favourable treatment for referees in the ‘Negreira case’. When asked if he felt any help from referees when he was playing, Deco replied:
“I felt helped by Samuel’s goals, Ronnie’s moves, Iniesta’s, Xavi’s, Valdés’ saves, Puyol’s tackles, Márquez’s changes of play… I don’t believe in that kind of influence.”
On his relationship with club president Joan Laporta, Deco said: “He is a president who always puts the club above everything else. He has taken on a tough and difficult responsibility but he is optimistic and positive in the most difficult moments.
“Working with him is easy. I just try to give as sensible an opinion as possible, knowing that he has the last word.”
On La Liga and Champions League
Deco believes Barça can bounce back in La Liga. (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)Barcelona are currently fourth in the La Liga standings, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid who dropped points against Atletico Madrid last night. And Deco insisted that the team can still mount a fightback and win the league title, saying:
“I want to make it clear that this team was never asked to win; what was asked is to compete because when you compete well the chances of winning increase. If you ask me today, I believe that La Liga is not over.
“Saturday’s victory gives us some hope. The next matches before Napoli will be important, for us and for our rivals.”
When asked about the Champions League and how far he wants the team to go in Europe this season, Deco said:
“I’m happy when we compete like we did on Saturday, with that maturity. Xavi and the president know that. I have always told them that if we are lucky enough to have the full squad we can go far. If we give it everything we’ve got, we’re an outstanding team.”
On the squad
Deco believes that the Catalans have a top squad that has been improved a great deal in the last two summer windows.
“I got on board late but we did a good job. With the levers we signed Ferran, Raphinha, Koundé and Lewandowski, players that allowed the team to compete better and even win the league, but things were missing. We suffered in Europe,” he said.
“Without the levers, we had to make more balances because of fair play, but we did well. It’s true that the manager didn’t want to sell Dembélé or for Busquets to leave, but Gündogan, Cancelo, João Félix at zero cost, Íñigo and Oriol came in to balance things out.”
However, he believed that injuries have hurt Barcelona this term, saying: “Injuries have taken their toll on us. We haven’t had two whole months with the same team. That’s no excuse, but in the end that’s the way it is. We’ve been left with a short squad with so many competitions.”
“There has been a change of generation. Legends like Messi, Alba, Busquets and Piqué have left and the squad, with very young players, is looking for leaders. Gündogan has arrived this season, but there is Araújo, Ter Stegen, Gavi, who is a natural leader… You need time for that transition,” he added.
On Xavi’s departure
Xavi to leave in the summer. (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)Xavi’s announcement to step down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season came out of the blue and Deco admitted that he as shocked by the decision as well.
“I didn’t expect it. I’m with him on a day-to-day basis and we’d been planning arrivals like Vitor Roque for weeks. Or deciding if with Balde’s injury we had access to signings in the winter… There is always speculation, but I never thought about that. We were talking about next season, that’s why he was renewed,” he said.
On how president Laporta took the news, Deco added: “He always wanted to be with him until the end of his mandate. It was Xavi who from the beginning wanted a shorter contract. He told us: ‘If I don’t win, I don’t think I will continue.'”
When asked about why Xavi is leaving, he replied: “He has already explained a lot. My feeling is that the league that was won last year was not valued too much and it should have been done. The fans celebrated it but the press and the general public played it down.”
On the pressure of always having to win at Barcelona and do so while playing well, in the club’s style, Deco said:
“It is true that we have played games that have not been at the level of last season but in others there have been moments of very good football. People have been more demanding and have lost the overview of how we are doing. Although it sounds harsh and Xavi is criticised, Barça is under construction and we mustn’t forget that.”
On Xavi’s successor
Joan Laporta insisted that Deco will have a huge say on who will replace Xavi at the end of the season. When asked if he feels the pressure to choose the next Barcelona manager, the director said: “It won’t be me, it will be the club. Decisions are not made by one person.”
On what the club are looking for in the new manager, Deco added: “He has to follow a line of work, we will hardly be a team that doesn’t want to play well, that doesn’t want to have the ball.
“Starting from that idea, each coach has his own characteristics, but whoever comes in has to have the ambition and hunger to do great things. And he must know where he is coming from.”
On whether Jurgen Klopp’s name is being considered, Deco said: “He’s a great coach, but I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about that. The new coach will want to make changes, but first we will have to explain the project and the ideas. There are many options.”
There has also been talk about the likes of Thiago Motta and Rafa Marquez replacing Xavi, to which Deco said: “I don’t follow Motta’s work much because he’s not in an Italian team that I usually watch. I do follow Marquez because he is here. He is a young coach who is growing in the face of difficulties. Being here will make him a better coach.”
Transfers
Deco was also asked about the make-up of the current Barcelona squad and whether they were lacking a balance of the best La Masia talents and the top foreign players that they had in the past during the Guardiola, Enrique era.
“But let’s see. If I’m not mistaken, Lewandowski was the top scorer last season. Raphinha was wanted by Chelsea and Arsenal and played more minutes than Dembélé scoring goals and assists… I detect too much nostalgia. It’s been 20 years,” he said.
“I would like to sign Ronaldinho and Eto’o today. Even Deco. But they don’t exist and they’re not on the market. Times have changed, football has changed. Today I could not have signed for Barça.”
When asked to further elaborate, Deco explained how the dynamics of the transfer market have changed in the recent years, saying: “When Barça went on the market 20 years ago they had competition from Real Madrid, Manchester United and little else. Now all the Premier League teams have the ability to sign.
“And there is PSG. And there was no City as powerful as there is today. Teams are better organised and players can choose from more clubs. But Barcelona still has power, we can seduce players and we are able to bring in important players.”
On Vitor Roque, sales
Vitor Roque was Deco’s bet. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)On whether Barcelona ended up overpaying for Vitor Roque, he added: “I think you guys killed the kid before he even started playing. Liverpool bought Darwin Nunez two years ago from Benfica for €90 million, and Newcastle paid €70 million for Isak.
“The price analysis has to be done in a while, but it’s not an insane price to pay. It’s €30 million and the other sums depend on his performance. Hopefully we will pay them. As happened with Pedri.”
Explaining the club’s decision to sign him, Deco remarked: “He was signed for next season with the idea of growing alongside Lewandowski. We managed to get him to come in January. He is a player who scores goals with a different profile to Marc Guiu.
“We don’t have anyone who attacks from deep and asks for space like Samuel or Luis Suárez did. Without wanting to compare them. And I haven’t bought him on my own.”
There has been talk of Barcelona having to sell an important player in the summer with names like Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong being mentioned. On the matter, Deco said:
“The idea is not to sell anyone and to bring in one or two players. Our youngsters will be more experienced for another year and the squad will become more and more balanced. If we are forced to sell, we will try to do so without touching the heart of the team.”
On having to find a replacement for Sergio Busquets, Deco said: “We’re talking about the best pivot I’ve ever seen. We won’t find one like him. We are looking for formulas.”
On the futures of Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo, he stated: “Cancelo is our specific right-back and he has contributed a lot. João Félix started very well and has given us points. It will depend on many things because they are not our players but we will try.”
On Lamine Yamal
Deco also lavished praise on breakthrough starlet Lamine Yamal, while also expressing concern about his workload, saying: “Lamine is getting more minutes than he should for his age due to injuries. He is a teenager who has grown 10 centimetres in height this past year.
“I have a son his age, I know what I’m talking about. But he’s a different player, the way he makes decisions on the pitch and, above all, because you see him enjoying himself. At that age, that’s the most important thing.”
On what scares him the most when it comes to nurturing Yamal, Deco replied: “We are facing something different that we have to take care of.
“The good thing about Leo [Messi] was that he had a team that didn’t demand anything from him, he played in an atmosphere of growth because during the first few years he didn’t have any responsibility. When it was his turn to take it on, he already had all the experience. We will try to let Lamine grow with a bit of calm.”
