Barcelona director downplays Guardiola's success.

According to Sporting Director Deco, what Pep Guardiola did at Barca shouldn't be considered a great revolution.

"When he arrived at Barca, everyone was talking about a great revolution, and that was a big lie," Deco told La Vanguardia on February 5th. "Ronaldinho and I left, but Barca still had Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Sergio Busquets coming up from the youth team, Samuel Eto'o, and of course Lionel Messi."

While downplaying Guardiola's achievements, Deco also acknowledged the former manager's intelligence in inheriting the old squad, thereby imposing order and quality to build the team. "Guardiola built the best team I've ever seen. He didn't waste a single moment," Deco added.

Barcelona players celebrate Guardiola after their 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome, Italy. Photo: PA

In 2008, after former coach Frank Rijkaard went two consecutive seasons without winning any trophies, President Joan Laporta decided to promote Guardiola from the B team to the first team at Barca. One of Guardiola's biggest decisions was selling two established players, Ronaldinho to AC Milan and Deco to Chelsea. However, Barca at that time still had Xavi, Iniesta, Toure, Eto'o, Messi, Carles Puyol, and Thierry Henry. Guardiola combined these players with young talent Busquets, new signing Gerard Pique, and Dani Alves to create a top-class team. He won the treble in his first season managing the first team, before winning another Champions League and two La Liga titles in the following three years.

Guardiola's legacy also became the foundation for Barca's subsequent success. Building on the generation of Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi, former coach Tito Vilanova won one La Liga title, Luis Enrique won a treble, two La Liga titles, and one Champions League title, and Ernesto Valverde won two La Liga titles.

After leaving Barca, Guardiola won three consecutive Bundesliga titles with Bayern. He has managed Manchester City since 2016, winning a treble, a Champions League, and five Premier League titles. Guardiola is the only manager to have won two trebles with two different clubs.

Deco played for Barca from 2004 to 2008, a period in which they won one Champions League and two La Liga titles. This season, the 46-year-old former Portuguese midfielder returned as Sporting Director under Laporta. According to an announcement on January 27th, coach Xavi will leave at the end of the season. Laporta and Deco are reviewing a list of potential replacements, including Hansi Flick, Roberto De Zerbi, Rijkaard, Mikel Arteta, Imanol Alguacil, and Michel.

According to Catalunya Radio , Deco is also keeping an eye on FC Porto's coach, Sergio Conceicao. In over six years, Conceicao has led Porto to three Portuguese league titles and three Portuguese Cups. In this season's Champions League group stage, Porto lost both matches against Barca, but still finished level on points and qualified for the round of 16, where they will face Arsenal.

Thanh Quy (according to La Vanguardia, Catalunya Radio )

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