Canizares: Deco Barcelona's biggest problem - not Xavi

Valencia great Santiago Canizares says Deco is Barcelona's biggest problem and not coach Xavi.

There is now talk of Xavi reversing his decision to step down at the end of the season.

Canizares told Radio Marca: "Luis Aragonés finished the 2006 World Cup and said he would leave if we didn't reach the semi-finals, the team reached the quarterfinals and after some reflection decided to stay and we became champions.

"For me the mistake is making hasty decisions because football is very changeable from Sunday to Sunday. The next debate is whether Xavi has to be the coach of Barcelona. I distrust the project that Deco can make. For me, the Messi of the offices for Barça was Mateu (Alemany)."

Cañizares went a step further when talking about what Xavi means for the Barça team.

"(President Joan) Laporta has something fantastic in Xavi, who is a shield against failure because he is a Barcelona legend, you respect him even if you don't like him. The board feels protected by having Xavi."