With Xavi Hernandez’s dismissal, FC Barcelona are going into the next season under a new coach, and the person most likely to replace the former midfielder on the Catalan team’s bench is the German tactician, Hansi Flick.
The German has a highly decorated profile ahead of his move to Barcelona, as he won a treble with Bayern Munich during his first season in charge of the Bavarian team.
It was not only the trophies that made his tenure at Bayern a memorable time, but as one of the players in that team explained at that time, the coach’s personality also made the players remember him fondly.
As Mundo Deportivo has reported, these were the feelings of the now Real Madrid defender, David Alaba, who was a part of Flick’s squad that won the treble. In July, the Austrian appeared in an interview with the German publication Kicker, and highlighted the upcoming Barcelona coach’s relationship with the players:
“His doors are always open, he has a very positive way of leading the team that I have not seen before.”
Furthermore, the defender also highlighted the positive impact that Flick had on group cohesion in the Bayern team: “It’s the positive energy he brings to the team. You can see it on the field, everyone follows this path and that is not always so easy.”
Further commenting on how Flick’s appointment had a positive impact on the team, Alaba said:
“He managed to activate the ‘switch’ in a very short period of time; his role is certainly important… We saw that it was necessary to turn a few screws, which in hindsight worked very well… Hansi has his own philosophy.”
One of the changes that Flick made in the Bayern team after his appointment was to make Alaba play more centrally in the defense, and the defender acknowledged that this move further improved his game:
“I felt comfortable as a full-back, but that also applies to the central defense position… I took another step as a figure on the field because from there I can lead the team in a different way, from the back.”
While this is not yet confirmed, Flick is expected to start working as the head coach at Barcelona from today. With this move, David Alaba and Hansi Flick will find themselves in opposing camps after having worked together at Bayern Munich, and this will give another different dimension to the El Clasicos next season.
But for now, these comments from David Alaba can help Barcelona fans rest assured that their next head coach is a highly competent manager who has the ability to turn the fortunes around for this team.
