After several days of rumors and news about Xavi Hernández's departure, FC Barcelona and Hansi Flick signed an agreement on Wednesday for the acclaimed German coach to become the head coach of the men's first football team until June 30, 2026.
Flick, 59, accepted the clauses at the offices of the Culé entity, where Barcelona's president Joan Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste, and sports director Anderson Luís de Souza, better known as “Deco,” were present.
According to the statement from the Catalan club, the new acquisition stands out for his "high pressing, intense style, and nonconformity in addition to having extensive experience both at the franchise and national team levels, where he has practically achieved all the titles that can be won."
On its official website, Barcelona reported that "Flick began coaching in 1996, serving as player-coach at FC Victoria Bammental (1996-00), before taking the reins of Hoffenheim for five seasons (2000-05)."
The press release recalls that he served as an assistant to Giovanni Trapattoni and Lothar Matthäus at RB Salzburg, just before joining the German national team in August 2006, a moment when everything changed.
As Joachim Löw's assistant, the “Mannschaft” reached a Euro Cup final (2008), a World Cup semi-final (2010), and another Euro Cup semi-final (2012) between 2008 and 2014, before lifting the World Cup in the summer of 2014 in Brazil, marking the first of their major successes on the sidelines.
After the 2014 World Cup, with a historic 7-1 victory in the semifinals against Brazil included, Flick takes a step aside and stops being an assistant to work as a sports director for the German Football Federation until 2017 and, later, he holds the position of sports general manager at Hoffenheim until February 2018.
One year later, in the summer of 2019, Bayern Munich hires him as Niko Kovac's assistant. Months later, the Munich team decides to part ways with the Croatian and places Flick at the helm.
At that moment, the team was in fourth place in the domestic league, but after two victories, Bayern's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirms him until the end of the year. The season ends with the club's second treble in history, including the 2-8 win against Barça. These results endorsed Flick as the UEFA Coach of the Year.
Flick left Bayern to coach his country's national team in 2021, but he was dismissed last year after losing 1-4 in a friendly against Japan, his sixth consecutive game without tasting success.
The elimination of the team in the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup also proved to be an important factor, and fans were worried that their playing style could drive away key players.
However, Xavi Hernández, one of the blue and burgundy legends as a player, leaves the team after finishing the season in second place in the League, behind Real Madrid. His last match was on Sunday, when he secured a 2-1 victory over Sevilla in the farewell of the competition.
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