Vitor Roque case shows the disconnect between Xavi and board, sporting director
FC Barcelona are looking to move on promising young star Vitor Roque, according to reports. This after he signed from Athletico Paranaense and arrived just earlier this year.
This situation points to a bigger problem behind the scenes, a disconnect between Barcelona’s manager Xavi, its board, and its sporting director, Deco.
Of course, the person in charge of it all is club president Joan Laporta, who hires the people who make the decisions. He’s the one who will be ultimately judged for the success or failure of the project.
Rumors of a disconnect between Xavi and Deco are nothing new, and there is hope that Xavi’s decision to stay after saying he would leave at the end of the season meant that the pair had reached a better understanding.
Some say Xavi has not received the backing he wanted from the board, and that the new sporting director does not have the same priorities he has.
The manager clearly wanted a new top defensive midfielder for this season after the departure of Sergio Busquets. The board told him that basically, there was no money for that.
Barcelona instead bought Roque. But as it turned out, they were lacking in midfield throughout the season. Oriol Romeu, who was signed for a cut-rate price to add steel to the middle of the park, flamed out and did not contribute as expected. Pedri and Gavi were the victims of nasty injuries.
Andreas Christensen was thrust into a defensive midfield role, and Sergi Roberto ended up picking up crucial minutes there, too. Let’s just say that the idea of Roberto starting in an UEFA Champions League elimination match is not what Xavi had in mind when the season started.
Roque, meanwhile, showed promise, but Xavi has been reluctant to use him. Now, he may even be sold.
The young Brazilian was bought before Deco came on as a sporting director, although he did not actually join until the next transfer window.
Barcelona may be in need of a top class centerforward soon, of course. Roque may have not been too bad a signing, then, as Robert Lewandowski’s legendary career winds down.
But a lack of a coherent strategy from the board to the sporting director to the manager is a problem that leads to situations that should have been avoided.
The hope is that all of them are more in sync as Barcelona takes on an important summer transfer window. Otherwise, they may be in for another messy situation.
