THE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Since 1988 Johan Cruyff joined Barça, the Club has developed an unique model of working and playing. This model, where all trained and played in a particular way, had its zenith with Guardiola as coach and remained with Tito Vilanova. With Tata Martino last year and now with Luis Enrique, this has changed. The first team plays and trains in one way and the rest of the Club doesn't know what to do.

All this, when President Bartomeu said yesterday in a newspaper that the profile he was looking for to replace Zubizarreta was closer to a Technical Secretary like "Txiki" Begiristain than a Technical Director as Zubi was doing until now.

See, I'm lost. Who do you think should be the executive officer of sports policy at Barça? The President? The sports Vice-President? The Official of the Club responsible of Grassroots? No. None of them. This must be the Technical Director (as in any other club, don't you think we're doing strange inventions). And as such, it must be a technician. A few days ago, I read that people are proposing a non-technical person for this place. With all due respect, what does this guy know about football? ¿About positional playing? About training methodologies? About recruiting structures? About coach education? What do you think, that the Technical Director has only to negotiate the contracts of players?

We have arrived. Because this is the work of the Technical Director. And, more, in a place like Barca. He must know all this. Like everywhere, he'll know more of some things than others. But he must master these basic points.

He must know that what Luis Enrique is playing now has nothing to do with "Barça model." That there is no wingers neither positional game. Now of course if you are going to sign a coach without knowing if he fulfills what we need...

He must know that Barca B is a formation team that should be as high as possible. That is not the same 2nd or 3rd Division and, if the case, the players have to leave on loan to take these experiences, and that they can not sign every year in 4 or 5 players for this team... because this means the job of those coming from behind is not good.

He must know what the training models are and decide that all will have the same training (with the obvious differences of age, of course). I insist: the first team, too. Therefore, we must go find those coaches, for any of the teams in the Club, who know how our way of working or that are able to adapt. And therefore, just as there must be a recruitment of players also we must have with the coaches.

He must know how to organize the Technical Secretariat (Recruitment), to reach as many places as possible, starting Catalunya, continuing in Spain and then Europe and the rest of world. The presence of scouts of Barça is much lower than that of other clubs and also many boys are missed by not knowing their existence, that is, not to go to places where they should go.

Therefore, the role of the Technical Director is basic. He's not only someone who manages a group of people. Here's more. Is someone who, apart from managing all this group, must know what they are doing, technically. And besides, considering that there are areas or departments that are transverse (as it is supposed to be the famous "Area of Methodology" managed by Seirul·lo). Or the famous "COR" program, the vast database that has the club, but that when it's time to use it, it seems that it's not useful or do not know how to use it.

Therefore, two things are necessary. The first, an Official who knows the world of sport, and that knows, at least roughly, what type of functional organization should be created to achieve this. The second is that the person who is Technical Director, in addition to the capabilities mentioned above, has the ability to modify this structure or organization to make it better and be able to find a team that can do better.

Moreover, the Club must create a structure that allows that changes, whenever there is new Board, are minimal. That is, a stable and permanent structure which is not subject to constant change. And this, as I also said once, involves establishing a clear and concrete "model", the "philosophy" to follow and that it is permanent or, in the worst case, need for consensus very broad to be changed.

Jordi Pascual

You can follow me on twitter: @JordiPascualP