Barcelona sporting director Deco has told the media at the World Mobile Congress that they no longer need many scouts going forward, due to the way technology has changed recruitment. According to the former agent, his job is not finding the talent but attracting it.
Deco is facing is first full summer as a sporting director at Barcelona in the summer, and after what was widely considered to be a good job by director of football and sporting director duo Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, the spotlight will be on him. During a speech in which he explained the role of technology in his job, Deco gave his views on how he saw things changing, as covered by Sport.
“Before we needed scouts, now everything has changed a lot. Now it is impossible for a young player not to be known. Anywhere in the world, it is easier to find talent. Our job is to attract talent and adapt it.”
However for him, the hardest part is not bringing in the talent, but working out how the talent will respond to adversity.
“The great difficulty is knowing how the players will adapt to the pressure. At Barca there is great pressure, they are always fighting for titles. We have all the data, physical or statistical, but the great challenge we have is knowing what a footballer is like mentally.”
🚨 Nico González has consolidated himself as a starter at FC Porto and Barça are attentive: they have a buy-back option and will also get a % of a future sale. @didacpeyret pic.twitter.com/eo0Q8YFjbx
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 27, 2024
Asked for his advice for other sporting directors, he explained that going to the games was important, despite the advantages of technology.
“You have to go to the stadiums to watch games, there are also several courses for sports directors. But first you have to develop a passion for sport, it doesn’t matter whether or not you have been a professional footballer to be a sports director.”
January singing Vitor Roque will be an interesting case in point of exactly that, having come in on the recommendation of Deco. Roque has been eased into action slowly, and shown some excellent cameos, scoring a good header and an accurate finish against Alaves. Equally he has missed a number of relatively simple chances in his opening two months at the club. Just 18 years of age, being asked to perform up front for Barcelona is one of the most pressurised positions in the game.
