Deco spotted FLIRTING! Out of work manager watches Barcelona

Robin Bairner

• 13 Mar 2024 12:35 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona could be closing in on their next head coach, with sporting director Deco spotted with an out of work manager who could potentially take the reins when Xavi steps down at the end of the season.

Xavi has already made it clear that he will leave the Camp Nou side in the summer, despite having another year to run on his contract.

His announcement has left Barcelona seeking a top-class replacement in a market that sees Liverpool and Bayern Munich also searching for a manager for the summer.

With the likes of Xabi Alonso expected to move to one of these rivals and the star of Thomas Tuchel having fallen due to a disappointing campaign, could the Catalans be looking to a leftfield solution to fill Xavi’s void?

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Barca’s sporting director seen with Van Bronkhorst

Deco was understandably delighted as he watched Barcelona progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Napoli at the Estadi Olimpic.

He was spotted, meanwhile, leaving the temporary home of the Blaugrana with Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a former player of the Catalan side but also an outside contender for the head coach job.

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Van Bronckhorst, after all, has experience coaching with Feyenoord, Guangzhou and Rangers. The 49-year-old built a solid reputation in these roles but has been out of work since leaving the Glasgow club in 2022 having led the Gers to the Europa League final a matter of months earlier.

How much, if any, of the discussion was over the forthcoming vacancy at Barcelona is unclear. Van Bronckhorst and Deco were teammates at Camp Nou from 2004-07, winning the Champions League together in 2006 thanks to a victory over Arsenal in Paris.

While he might seem a long shot for the job, Barcelona have history of keeping close bonds with former players and, of course, their love of the Dutch style of football has been established for half a century.