Barcelona sporting director Deco opened up about Xavi’s decision to resign and if Bologna coach Thiago Motta is considered a replacement in Catalonia.
Motta took over at Bologna from the late Sinisa Mihajlovic in September 2022 and has quickly made a name for himself in Emilia-Romagna, taking the Rossoblu to fifth in the Serie A table after 22 games this season, attracting the attention of clubs across Europe.
Barcelona coach Xavi recently announced his decision to resign at the end of the season, having fallen out of love with the job in the Catalan capital. The Blaugrana currently sit third in the La Liga table, eight points behind league leaders Real Madrid.
Speaking to La Vanguardia via TMW, Deco first discussed Xavi’s decision to resign from Barcelona.
“I didn’t expect it. I work with him every day and we have planned signings like that of Vitor Roque and made other decisions. There is always speculation, but I didn’t think about it. There was already talk about next season, we had renewed for this reason.
“Many things have already been explained. My feeling is that the league won last year was not celebrated enough, the fans celebrated it, but the press minimized its importance. I understand Xavi’s frustration in not feeling celebrated.
“It is arrived at an important moment in which he showed a lot of courage and defended the club. Each person knows their own level of tolerance and how distracting some situations are.”
He was asked about possible successors for Xavi at the club.
“At the moment we haven’t spoken to any coach. We are still assimilating his departure. The decision will be made by the club, not just one person decides.
“Whoever arrives must follow a line of work and we will hardly accept a team that doesn’t play well and doesn’t want to have the ball.
“We will start from that idea, then each coach has his own characteristics, but whoever arrives must have ambition and hunger to do great things.”
Finally, Deco discussed the idea of appointing Bologna coach Thiago Motta, who has been linked with the role.
“I don’t follow Motta’s work much because he’s not at an Italian team that I usually watch. We’re following Marquez because he is here. He is a young coach who is growing despite the difficulties.”