Hansi Flick compares FC Barcelona to German province
With FC Bayern, Hansi Flick wins everything, with the DFB-Team he suffers the worst setbacks. The German football coach is aiming high again with FC Barcelona - and at his first press conference, he reveals who he's looking up to.
Hansi Flick's debut at FC Barcelona lasted exactly one hour and began in Catalan. "I am very happy," the former German national team coach told the press as he stepped onto the large podium of the world-class club for the first time, wearing trainers, a shirt, and a jacket. He was "very pleased." After that, Flick continued his statements and answered numerous questions in English.
When it came to football, the team at Camp Nou, where Flick was to play until the summer of 2026 according to his contract, wanted to play active football and "great football." Flick revealed that he would look up to another former coach for this: Pep Guardiola. The Catalan had led Barcelona to two Champions League titles and had established a dominant playing style.
Real Madrid is ahead of FC Barcelona
"I'm not far from the Barcelona idea. I want a team on the field that's active. We want to play fantastic football," said Flick. When asked about a dialogue with the current Manchester City coach Guardiola, he replied: "Speaking with Pep is always inspiring. But what we speak about, that remains private." Flick even made a comparison to conversations with close friends.
For Barcelona, the coming season is about regaining the national and European primacy from Real Madrid. President Juan Laporta announced that they believed Flick was the right man for this ambitious task. "The team around sporting director Deco has decided that the best coach who meets all the criteria for leading the team is Hansi Flick. We believe he's the best coach. The best coach to give us the push we need," Laporta said.
Laporta and Deco took the new coach for photos with them after the 60-minute press conference. On the red-and-blue jersey, his name "Hansi Flick" was already written, and on the banners it read: "Welcome Flick" (Welcome Flick).
EM-stars in the transfer rumors
The 59-year-old has celebrated great successes and endured massive failures in recent years. With FC Bayern Munich, he won the Triple of the championship, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League in 2020. A year later, when he became the German national team coach, the success streak came to an end. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar ended in the group stage. Nine months and several setbacks later, Flick was out of a job.
The trainer knows that the demands in Barcelona - like in Munich and with the DFB - are the highest. "The pressure is okay for me. I have my family around me, with them I can talk about things outside of football. That helps me," said Flick. When asked about the immense pressures at the Catalan world club, he replied: "That's my job. The results are very important."
In the details of his squad, Flick didn't want to go yet. For weeks, it has been speculated that the Catalans will sign Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao or Dani Olmo from RasenBallsport Leipzig this summer. "Nico Williams is not a player of Barcelona, therefore I can't say anything about him. He plays for another club. My focus is fully on our team", said Flick. Both Williams and Olmo were key figures in Spain's EURO title win barely two weeks ago.
Flick mentioned that he looks up to Josep Guardiola, who led FC Barcelona to two Champions League titles and established a dominant playing style, as an inspiration for his team at Camp Nou. Regarding transfer rumors, Flick stated that Nico Williams, who was key in Spain's EURO title win, is not a player of Barcelona yet and he cannot comment on him as his focus is on the current team.
