FC Barcelona presents new corporate structure for sport
FC Barcelona has presented its new sports structure at a Wednesday morning press conference held in the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. President Joan Laporta, together with his board, head coach Xavi Hernández, first team captain Sergi Roberto and members of the coaching staff were there to explain the organigram of the football section.
As already announced, following extensive work in liaison with Mateu Alemany, Anderson Luis de Souza, better known as Deco, has been appointed sporting director for the football area and will be reporting directly to president Joan Laporta and the vice-president for sport Rafael Yuste.
New organigram
Xavi Hernández will continue to manage the senior football team, with Bojan Krkic coming in as the new football coordinator. His main job will be to monitor the youngsters at La Masía together with the head of youth football, Alesanco.
Deco will also be working with Paulo Araujo on scouting and his managing director will be Franc Carbó. These will all be supported by the Sporting Commission chaired by Joan Laporta and formed by Rafael Yuste, Joan Soler, Deco, Enric Masip and Bojan Krkic.
Laporta: 'Deco has it all'
Laporta opened the event by thanking Mateu Alemany "for all the work he has done in these two and a half years."
He then introduced Deco, saying that "as a player he set a high standard and played together with our coach. Ever since he arrived they have understood each other to perfection. They speak the same football language."
"He has excellent knowledge of both traditional and emerging football markets. He has been learning ever since he retired from playing, and now has everything in him to be an excellent negotiator and to produce fruitful operations."
"I am very pleased with the football structure. When I see Xavi, Alesanco, Rafa and Bojan, I see people who once wore the Barça shirt and who have always been fully committed to the badge."
Deco: 'Important to work hard'
Deco opened his own speech by thanking the club for the opportunity, saying "I am very excited to be part of this new era at Barça, but I also know what a big responsibility it is."
He went through each of his colleagues, and particularly Bojan Krkic, the new coordinator of the football area, who will be observing the youngsters rising up through the ranks. He also highlighted Xavi Hernández, with whom he will be working to keep the squad balanced and competitive. "Xavi earned the respect required to coach FC Barcelona. He isn't there just because he's Xavi, it's because he has proved to be a good coach. He earned his new contract."
"Barça's goal is always to win and that's why the squad has to be balanced and competitive. We need to play well, but ultimately the most important thing is to win ... on paper the sporting structure looks nice, but the real thing is hard work and effort every day. Nothing happens by chance."
Deco ended by saying that after a successful transfer window, the job now is to continue working on player contracts. "We are already working on extensions for Balde and Lamine Yamal" he said. "They are young players and I'm sure they'll want to stay."