Flick determined to win titles at Barca after being appointed coach
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Hansi Flick, who was also assistant coach of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad, said it was an honour to helm the La Liga side.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MADRID – Former Germany and Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick has been tasked with reviving Barcelona’s fortunes, with the Catalan giants announcing the 59-year-old’s appointment on a two-year contract on May 29.
Flick, who has not managed a team since being sacked by Germany in September 2023, replaces Xavi Hernandez, who was dismissed last week after a trophyless season in which they finished 10 points behind La Liga champions Real Madrid.
In a statement, Barcelona said they had “chosen a man well known for his teams’ high pressing, intense and daring style of play which has brought him great success at club level and international level, winning pretty much all there is to win in the world of football”.
Flick, who was also assistant coach of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad, said it was an honour to helm the La Liga side.
The German told Barca TV: “In the first team there is a good mix of experienced players and talented young players. I think we have to work to be able to improve... I won a few titles with Bayern Munich and I’d like to continue this path at Barcelona.”
Barcelona highlighted Flick’s success during the 2019-20 season, when he led Bayern to six trophies – the Bundesliga, the German Cup, the Champions League, the German Super Cup, the Uefa Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
That season, Bayern battered Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition.
After a successful Bundesliga title defence in 2021, Flick left Bayern to take on the Germany job.
But he was criticised for Die Mannschaft’s poor 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated at the group stage. He was sacked less than a year later after they lost 4-1 to Japan in a home friendly.
Meanwhile, Bayern have appointed Vincent Kompany as their new coach on a deal until June 2027, after the Belgian parted ways with Burnley following their relegation from the English Premier League, the two clubs announced on May 29.
Bayern’s supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had told Sky Italia a day earlier that their former coach and current Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had helped them pick Thomas Tuchel’s replacement.
“Pep gave us a big helping hand. He had (Kompany) as captain at City and he also followed him when he was at Burnley. We count on the expertise of Pep,” said the former Bayern player. AFP, REUTERS
