Barcelona president Joan Laporta has turned down a move for 49-year-old highly-rated FC Porto manager Sergio Conceicao.
According to Jose Alvarez on El Chiringuito TV, Sergio Conceicao has been the subject of interest from Barcelona. Deco has advocated for the Blaugrana to appoint the 49-year-old as Xavi Hernandez’s replacement. But Joan Laporta has vetoed the notion as the highly-rated FC Porto manager does not “fit the Barca DNA”.
Sergio Conceicao has achieved tremendous success since joining FC Porto in 2017. A journeyman in his playing days, the former Portuguese international represented ten clubs in his career while representing his national side 56 times. He entered the managerial world as an assistant at Standard Liege before embarking on his first full-time job at SC Olhanense.
Short stints at Academica, SC Braga, Vitoria Guimaraes, and FC Nantes followed before he joined FC Porto in 2017. Since then, the 49-year-old has come leaps and bounds, evolving as a manager while enjoying an excellent win rate of over 70%. Conceicao has overseen a period of success, winning ten trophies with FC Porto.
So, it is hardly surprising that Sergio Conceicao features on the radar of several high-profile clubs across Europe. Reports have linked him with many Premier League bigwigs in the last few years. But Barcelona also reportedly considered launching the offensive for the highly-rated FC Porto manager.
Barcelona’s reported interest in Conceicao made sense, considering his style of play and stature in the game. The 49-year-old has enjoyed tremendous success at the club level and commands respect in the dressing room. So, he emerged as a viable target for Barcelona. But Joan Laporta has vetoed the move.
Deco was pushing to bring Sergio Conceicao to Barcelona. But Laporta has other ideas, as he feels the Portuguese tactician “does not fit the Barca DNA”. Instead, the reigning La Liga champions will likely pursue a German manager, with Hansi Flick becoming the top target for Laporta.
It will be interesting to see if the former Bayern Munich manager arrives at the Catalan club as Xavi’s replacement. But the Blaugrana will unlikely launch the offensive for the 49-year-old FC Porto manager.
