Josep Maria Bartomeu has looked back on Barcelona’s 2015, the decision to sack Andoni Zubizarreta as sporting director and last season’s turning point.
Bartomeu was speaking after he was recognised for his part in the club’s trophy-laden 12 months at the Globe Soccer awards, and recalled a defeat early in the year at Real Sociedad.
“I always said we had a great team. Zubizarreta did a great job with Luis Enrique. There was a good base and from the game at Anoeta we made a change, even though the season wasn’t bad before,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“For me, the key game was Barca-Atletico Madrid [which Barca won 3-1], where the team regained its self-belief. Since that game the feelings were very good. The details of what happened already belong to history.
“The important thing is that they did things well, thinking first of the club and the team and then came the fruit.”
Zubi was sacked as sporting director in early 2015 and Bartomeu elaborated on the reason why, and admitted it was a decision that could have worked out very differently.
“There wasn’t just one reason to change dynamics and in this case we thought it was best for the club to change Zubi, after thanking him for his work and recognising that it was very good and also to hold elections,” he explained.
“They were decisions that could have been right or wrong, and luckily it went well. The important thing is that the team made a change, recovered feelings and returned to be competitive.”
