Barcelona director Deco talks Xavi, Laporta, Gavi, Vitor Roque, La Masia

Speaking in an interview with EFE (h/t SPORT), Barcelona sporting director Deco has claimed that he hopes to see Xavi’s project at the club continue for a long period.

Xavi recently completed two years as Barça manager and has come under some pressure of late due to some of the team’s recent performances.

But, Deco insisted that he has always defended Xavi’s appointment and that the former midfielder is the right man to lead the team forward.

“I hope his project is a long one, that we are at the beginning, not in the middle. From the beginning, whenever I was with the president (Joan Laporta) I always defended Xavi’s appointment, because Barça needed to rebuild with people who know the club,” he said.

“And Xavi is a coach who gave you that ability and that calmness to be able to build a team.”

On the recent criticism

Deco went on to add that the team is headed in the right direction, having won the league last season, as he said:

“We have won a very important league and we are building a team for the present and the future, and it is the way forward. We know that it’s important to get results and we also want to play good football, but I think Xavi has all the elements to do it well.”

While he admitted that Barcelona are associated with good, attractive football, it is also important to eke out results when things are not going too well.

“Barça has always liked to play attractive football. This is the club’s idea. But attractive football without winning doesn’t make a mark,” Deco remarked.

“Here, the teams that have made football history have ended up winning in the end. I believe that one thing cannot be without the other.”

On Gavi, Vitor Roque and January plans

Talking about the ACL injury to Gavi, Deco insisted that the 19-year-old is a player who is impossible to replace in the January transfer window.

However, he did insist that the midfielder’s injury does force the Catalans to think about their plans for the winter window.

“A new scenario arises and we are going to evaluate it according to what we can do. We are looking at what we can do financially,” Deco stated, as quoted by SPORT.

At the same time, though, the Barça director was pragmatic about the club’s chances, as he admitted other teams will be reluctant to sell players in the winter.

“In January, the important players play in their teams and I don’t see it as easy to sign an important player who can bring us things in the winter market.”

On the matter of incorporating Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense in January, he added: “The incorporation of Vitor Roque will be a matter of fair play. Depending on what we generate, we would do it.”

Dependency on La Masia

Barcelona have incorporated a number of young talents from La Masia in recent seasons, but Deco insisted that while the academy continues to churn out potential future stars, the club also needs to invest in top players from outside.

“Barça can’t be a team that only brings in young players and relies on the youth system; it has never been like that in its history,” he said.

“Having important young players is good and we are seeing it: we have invested in Araujo and it is paying off; the same with Pedri; Gavi and Lamine (Yamal) come from the youth academy.

“But we won last La Liga because we were able to bring in Kounde, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, players to compete. We have been able to keep Frenkie de Jong and bring in Lewandowski. It’s all a balance of the squad, of the team, of what we have to look for.”

On his appointment, and Laporta

Deco was brought in as the sporting director this past summer, at which point he had to let go of his player representation agency, something he admitted was not an easy decision.

“It was not an easy decision to make. I had to leave important things that I had built up over the last ten years, also on a family level. On a professional level, I wanted to change and I wouldn’t have made the change if it wasn’t for something long-term,” he said.

Furthermore, Deco insisted that he might decide to move on when club president Joan Laporta does, saying:

“Of course, the day Jan (Laporta) is no longer there, I will consider leaving. It’s a project that I’m looking forward to because of the president and the challenge it represents.”