Barcelona sporting director Deco frustrated by Hansi Flick tactics

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has earned plenty of plaudits for his bold style of play, but not everyone at the club has been totally convinced by the German head coach’s tactics since his arrival last summer.

Barcelona’s uber attacking approach has seen them become Europe’s top scorers across all competitions, and while they have struggled defensively at times, they have been able to counteract this by outscoring their opposition.

But they were unable to do so in one match earlier this year, that being the 4-4 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid – although it mattered little in the end as Barcelona progressed to the final after winning the return leg at the Metropolitano earlier this week.

There was some criticism of Barcelona’s performance in the first leg at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, and as revealed by Barca Reservat, some of that came from sporting director Deco.

Deco was said to be very frustrated after Barcelona’s 4-4 draw against Atleti, and he questioned the decision of Flick to play in such a bold manner in that match. While he is a fan of the way that the first team plays, he believes that the German manager must be able to adapt in different game scenarios against different opposition.

Deco believes that the tactics can be effective against 90% of opponents, but Flick should consider a different setup in those other 10% of fixtures. And perhaps he took Deco’s words under advisement, as Barcelona produced a battling performance in Wednesday’s return leg to secure a 1-0 victory courtesy of a first half goal from Ferran Torres. The Catalans showed a different side to their game at the Metropolitano, proving once again that Flick is a top manager.

The fact that Barcelona can play both ways is bound to set them up well for the remaining matches of the season.