The sporting director of Barça Deco has reviewed the current situation of the Barça club in an interview with Mundo Deportivo in which he has spoken from his first days as the head of the culé sports field to the signing of Vitor Roque, passing through the moment of form of footballers like Frenkie de Jong or Lamine Yamal.
Deco, who keeps in mind “the greatness of Barça”, has spent his first 30 days in office “with a lot of work”, especially because of the transfer market: “We have greatly improved the relationship between the first team and the reserve team. We are at a time when we have many young people in the squad. I think we are improving a lot of things and we have to monitor it day by day. The only bad thing in these 30 days has been the injuries, but it is something we cannot control.”
The figure of Vitor Roque is one of the main topics surrounding Barça news. The Brazilian is injured in his right ankle, but his incorporation under Xavi’s orders in January 2024 not only depends on the “club’s effort”, but also on the financial fair-play of LaLiga, according to Deco: “From the first minute it was It is clear with Athletico Paranaense that Vitor could only come from January. Let’s see what we can do. If he is not now, he will be in July for sure”, he declares about his arrival.
The culé sports director certified regarding financial regulations that “it’s not time to complain too much, but to work.” The club was strengthened a lot last year, plus the young people and those who have arrived this year, I think we have an important squad. Barça does not have to sign and spend millions every year. It is no longer a matter of fair play, it is also a matter of strategy.”
Furthermore, Deco affirms that ‘Tigrinho’ is a young player with “things to learn”, but that “he has a strong character to be able to face a challenge as powerful as Barcelona and at such a young age”: “I know he is recovering.” well and that he will soon return to training,” he said about the recovery process of the young Brazilian who has the approval of Xavi.
Complicated days await the Barça coach in which he will not be able to count on some of his starting players for the next few days in the fight for LaLiga and the Champions League. Barcelona faces “a moment of recovering players” with the injuries of Lamine Yamal, Frenkie de Jong, Koundé, Pedri, Raphinha and Lewandowski, and the doubts in Balde’s adductor, after the national team break: “The medical department is working 100% and the idea is to recover the players little by little,” says Deco on this issue.
In addition to defending the work of the medical team, Deco also confirmed his good work with Xavi: “We have played together, we are friends, we share similar football ideas regardless of the relationship between football director and coach. He has the role of coach for him and I will always respect him and do my job: try to make sure things go as best as possible for the coach and the players.”
Likewise, he assures that the Terrassa coach “is doing very well” and “had a lot of courage when it came to taking the team in the situation in which he took it”: “He has won a League, very important for the club, he has adapted to difficult conditions, to players who are too young, to hard moments. He has an important ability to adapt,” he comments about the Egarense.
Regarding the different operations that the club can face, it guarantees that Gavi’s renewal “is under control” and that not only that of the Los Palacios player is on the table. Also that of footballers like Pedri, Araújo or Frenkie de Jong: “He is at a perfect age as a footballer and is playing at a high level. That is why we want him to be there for quite a few years,” he says about the Dutchman who is “comfortable” in the team and has a contract “for this season and two more.”
Regarding possible new arrivals in January, Deco practically closes the door and asks to “take care of and give love to our loved ones.” He also did not take a position on Matija Popovic, a 17-year-old Serbian footballer from Partizan Belgrade: “He is one more that they are talking about. There is a lot of interest in having the name of Barça appear with a footballer. We are coordinating with the grassroots football department commanded by Alexanko , for Toni, and if it was something important, they would have told us.
“Lamine has been an explosion at the start of the season.” However, Deco made it clear that it is better not to make comparisons between players, because “each one has his own story”: “He is a 16-year-old boy with a special talent, different from the others and who enjoys playing football. Xavi knows it and is doing it very well. We have to leave him calm and enjoy playing.” “We have to make it as easy as possible for him, and for him to go through this phase without problems,” he said about the youngest scorer in LaLiga history.
Likewise, he clarifies how important it is to have a healthy environment in the locker room so that Yamal “has the conditions to grow. We cannot forget that they are young,” she stated. Likewise, he stressed that there are “quality” footballers in La Masía who can make the jump to the first team in the future, but that each one has to “earn their time.” We believe that there are quite a few possibilities for young players, but that’s it, it’s day to day and being aware that getting to the first team is not easy and you have to work hard,” he clarifies.
