Barcelona’s unimaginable resurgence beneath Hansi Flick, culminating in a home treble within the 2024/25 season, has rightly earned widespread reward.
A lot of the credit score has gone to the gamers and their new supervisor, however behind the scenes, one determine’s quiet work continues to form the inspiration of this success – Deco, the membership’s sporting director.
Commercial
It os straightforward to get misplaced within the glitz of silverware and tactical brilliance, however newest revelation sheds gentle on how Barcelona’s present trajectory might need adopted a really totally different path, one which Deco had initially deliberate.
What’s the story?
When the choice was made to half methods with Xavi, Deco had solely two names on his shortlist for the job: Luis Enrique and Rafa Marquez.
Deco believed Enrique was the best candidate to extract essentially the most from Barça’s promising younger core. His spectacular historical past with the membership and aptitude for managing youth abilities made him Deco’s most popular alternative.
Barcelona did make makes an attempt to lure Enrique again, however the timing was not beneficial. The previous Barça supervisor had simply completed his first season with PSG and was not ready to stroll away.
Deco wished Barcelona to re-sign Luis Enrique. (Photograph by Dan Mullan/Getty Photos)
In hindsight, Enrique’s continued brilliance was clear for all to see as he went on to information PSG to a continental treble, including a second to his managerial report. It’s a improvement that quietly validates Deco’s preliminary judgment.
Want Doue’s case
Deco’s eye for expertise has additionally stood out in different areas. Whereas all eyes have been mounted on Nico Williams final summer season, Deco had Want Doue excessive on his radar.
Commercial
, however monetary restrictions imposed by La Liga and PSG’s swift manoeuvres left them powerless.
Luis Campos, the sporting mastermind behind PSG’s recruitment technique, finally sealed Doue’s signing, however not with out Deco having first recognized the expertise.
Curiously, Deco had lengthy advocated for Campos even earlier than becoming a member of Barcelona’s inner construction.
Throughout Joan Laporta’s presidential marketing campaign, Deco, then nonetheless a soccer agent, urged Laporta to nominate Campos, believing him to be the best determine to unearth expertise amid a looming monetary disaster.
Laporta opted for Mateu Alemany as an alternative, and he was later changed by Deco himself.
