FC Barcelona | Deco: “De la Fuente is not to blame for Lamin Yamal”

Lamin Yamal He was the main hero of the October break in the national team. The young star of FC Barcelona was forced to leave the Spanish camp due to some physical discomfort and “heated up” the already heated debate about the cruel calendar in the world of football. decoration He expressed his point of view on this matter in an interview with RAC1 TV channel, in which Luis de la Fuente “acquitted” and blamed for the large number of official matches during the season.

“The problem is not De la Fuente. He does his job, he is a coach and tries to bring out the best players. We need to do something with the calendar. All the national team’s matches are official; before there weren’t so many of them. It can be seen that young players are exposed to many games, including Gavi or Pedri, but not only ours. It seems like we’re risking our lives every game. We must take care of Lamin, he is still in the training process, but if we individualize, we will be unfair to the others.“, said sporting director Kühle in an interview dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of Leo Messi’s debut at Barça.

Deco did not consider it appropriate to compare Lamin with the Argentine star. “There will always be comparisons because football is passion and idolatry and we can’t ask people otherwise, but there is a time for everything,” he said. “Lamine writes his own story. Leo, Johan, Iniesta and Ronaldinho had their moment. Lamine has everything he needs to be a benchmark for this club and it’s great to have him at home to be cared for and appreciated.“he added.

As well as highlighting the “maturity and inadequacy of a 17-year-old’s decision-making”, Deco praised Lamine for “not being lucky enough to grow up in a team that won like Messi” but rather “it’s part of the renewal process”.

No surprises with Flick and Olmo

“In football you work to make things work.” Deco reacted firmly and perhaps a little coldly to his great success with Hansi Flick in leading the Barcelona project. “When you see a team enjoying the game, happy players, it’s very good.”assessed ahead of a “very important week” for the team: “We want to be leaders in the classics, the match with Sevilla will be an important test before the match with Bayern.”

He also did not want to talk about the signing of Dani Olmo, “another player who was not in our squad” who, before the injury, contributed to “arriving in the opposition area and being between the lines.” Egarense is still a “very high level” footballer.

Deco also played down all the “noise” caused by Javi Hernandez’s farewell because “when you work at Barça and have a position of responsibility, you already know that you will be praised and criticized” and this is “something I don’t think” . I’m worried, it’s part of my job.” “I always try to improve and do everything well. We felt we had to make a change. The idea is general, it’s not just about Flick.“, he assured. He sincerely admitted that “the work of a sports director is tiring and unpleasant” because “you have to change the coach, tell the player that he doesn’t count on him…” However, “It has always been clear to me that I want to help Barca get back to where they need to be.”“.

“I have never seen anyone like Messi”

Deco, who will always be able to boast of being “lucky” to be the footballer replaced by Leo Messi on his official debut in October 2004, and therefore to be “in a historic moment for the club and the world of football”, explained that both he and Ronaldinho knew ” about what was going to happen”, no matter how “amazing” “whatever it became” was. “There are players who have been touched by God and you can see that from the start. This is something different.”he synthesized.

“We joked a lot with “Ronnie.” We told him that he would be a number ten at Barça and that we would watch him from the sidelines. We knew he had the ability to become something very big, but imagining everything he would do was impossible,” he recalled. “Technically, Ronaldinho is the best player I have ever seen. However, in terms of ability to compete and create danger, I have never seen anything like Messi. It’s something that can’t be explained. This is something different, this doesn’t happen often,” he said.