Difficult Xavi legacy
Hansi Flick becomes new coach of FC Barcelona
29.05.2024, 13:48
Since his dismissal from the German national football team, Hansi Flick has been without a job, but that is now changing: the 59-year-old is succeeding club legend Xavi at FC Barcelona. A difficult legacy awaits the former FC Bayern coach.
Former national coach Hansi Flick will be the new coach of FC Barcelona. The 59-year-old will take over from club legend Xavi, who was sacked on Friday, starting in the new season. Flick signed a two-year contract with the Catalans until summer 2026.
“This is our moment, Forza Barca,” said the Catalans’ new German coach emphatically in Spanish. “It’s a great honour and a dream for me,” said Flick: “I’m happy to start here, the club is incredible. I will do my best to lead this club to success. The club and I have the same philosophy, I will love it. My hunger for titles is extremely high. We can achieve a lot together.”
Flick had been without a job since his dismissal from the German Football Association (DFB) in September 2023. He won seven titles at Bayern during his short tenure from 2019 to 2021. He is the third German coach at Barça after Udo Lattek (1981 to 1983) and Hennes Weisweiler (1975 to 1976).
Flick was already considered a hot candidate to succeed Xavi in January and is said to have already diligently learned Spanish. He has enjoyed a very good reputation since his sextuple with the Munich team and Bayern’s impressive 8-2 win over Barça in the 2020 Champions League quarter-finals in Spain.
He will probably bring Marcus Sorg and Toni Tapalovic with him as assistants. The coaching team will face a mammoth task, as Xavi made clear before his departure. “I want to tell the new coach that he will suffer and that he should be patient, it is a very complicated position,” the 44-year-old told his successor.
“The only thing that will save the new coach is victories,” said Xavi, who led Barça to the championship in 2023. His successor is in “a difficult situation” because “Barça is a difficult club and there is also a difficult financial situation – it will not be easy.”
But Flick will not have expected that either. And perhaps he will bring along an old friend from his Bayern days; Joshua Kimmich is said to be on his wish list. The 29-year-old was also on the pitch in Bayern’s 8-2 win over Barça.