Tag: Hansi Flick

Barcelona have extended coach Hansi Flick‘s contract until 2027, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday as they rewarded the German coach who led them to three domestic trophies this season.

Flick, a treble-winning coach with Bayern Munich who signed for the club last year on a two-year deal, arrived in Barcelona eager to redeem himself after he was sacked by Germany in September 2023.

Barcelona quickly established their domestic dominance under Flick, sitting top of the table for most of the season before sealing their 28^th  LaLiga title with two games left to play.

They also won the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, beating arch rivals Real Madrid in both finals.

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Barcelona played Real in four Clasicos this season, winning all and scoring 16 goals against them.

“Hansi Flick has made Barca fans happy in his first season for many reasons: for the belief he has given to the team, for the epic comebacks and for the trophies,” Barcelona said in a statement.

“The excitement that the German has brought to the club in his first year in charge has made FC Barcelona a feared rival once again in Europe.

“Flick has won 43 of the 54 games he has been in charge, a win rate of 73%, the best in a first season since Luis Enrique recorded 83%.”

Flick also led Barcelona to the Champions League semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Inter Milan, with the Italian side edging them 7-6 on aggregate.

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was keen to keep talk of trophies in check after his side booked their spot in the Copa del Rey final against rivals Real Madrid with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Barcelona are on a 21-game unbeaten run across all competitions and are the only team in Europe’s top-five leagues yet to lose in 2025 as they bid for three titles playing some of the best football the fans have seen this season.

But Flick remained cautious about their chances of winning the treble and urged his players to maintain a next-game mentality, warning that the club have little margin for error.

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“I know everyone wants us to talk about the final, it’s a ‘Clasico’, I get that, but I don’t live in the past or in the future and our focus should be Betis, who are our next opponents in LaLiga,” Flick told a press conference. “Yes, we are in a great moment but I’ve been in this business enough time to know how everything can change in a heartbeat, so we need to keep focused.

“Dreaming is allowed but first we need to work really hard and stay focused so we can keep that dream alive.”

Barcelona are top of the LaLiga standings with 66 points, three ahead of Real, with third-placed Atletico six further points back in the title race with nine games left.

Real will travel to London to face Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals next week while Barca will host Borussia Dortmund.

They will meet in the Copa del Rey final on April 26 before they clash again at Barcelona on May 11 in a game that could decide the LaLiga title.

“Tonight I’ll stick with this formidable win which made me really happy,” Flick said.

“Everyone can be proud of this team, we coaches are proud of this team. I am always positive, so I won’t deny that I had great expectations for this team when I arrived last summer.

“I told them that I was very happy, that if we played like we did that day we would win. We were brave and we knew how to suffer. It’s not easy to keep a clean sheet in this stadium, Atletico are one of the best teams in Europe. So we should be really proud.”

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said he was delighted with the hunger and mentality shown by his players as they thrashed 10-man Real Sociedad 4-0 to return to the top of the LaLiga standings.

Goals from Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski in a dominant display moved them into first place with 57 points from 26 games, one ahead of Atletico Madrid and three ahead of rivals Real Madrid.

“It’s the style we want to play. Our first thought is always about the offence. We want to pass always. We are attacking well, everyone is hungry to score goals,” Flick told reporters.

“It’s good to have this. Today we were in the right positions, it helps us a lot because we have a lot of chances to pass through the last line. We are happy, but more happy about three points than scoring many goals.”

Flick also dispelled any doubts over the fitness of Gavi after the midfielder was left out of the lineup, saying: “We thought about starting with Gavi today, but yesterday he felt a little bit ill.

“He said yesterday he had a fever and we had to take care of that. It was not necessary to bring him in, so we started another player.”

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Halfway through the second half and minutes after Araujo had given Barcelona a 3-0 lead, Flick made a triple substitution to preserve his players for their Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Benfica on Wednesday.

The German manager said the changes had helped Barcelona ahead of their meeting with the Portuguese side, who last played on February 26.

“There are a lot of things that helped us a lot today. The red card was one of those, but also how we played. We were very dominant after this red card and this is how we want to play,” Flick said.

“Of course, the substitution was very important for us because they can rest a little bit more. This helps us a lot, but at the end, we will see.

“Benfica, they had one week to prepare for our match, so we have to be careful.”

Winning the LaLiga title remains Barcelona’s top priority for the season, coach Hansi Flick said on the eve of his side’s Champions League clash against Atalanta tonight, as the Spanish club have already booked a place in the last 16.

Barcelona, who have won all but one game in the competition’s new format, are second in the standings on 18 points, three behind leaders Liverpool, who travel to 19th-placed PSV Eindhoven.

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Whatever the result against Europa League holders Atalanta, Flick’s side are in the last 16 and so can afford to think about how they can make up the seven-point deficit to LaLiga leaders Real Madrid on the domestic front.

“For me, LaLiga is the most important thing we can win, and we can aspire to it all season long,” the German manager told a press conference on Tuesday.

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“Obviously there’s other competitions such as the Super Cup, the Copa del Rey or the Champions League, which is the most difficult to win because there are many great teams competing.

“We want to finish this first phase in the second place because it’s a good situation for the next steps in the competition.”

Serie A side Atalanta are seventh in the Champions League standings with 14 points.

“It’s always difficult to play against Italian teams because they defend great,” Flick said.

“Atalanta play one against one on the entire field. You’re always under pressure in the build-up, and when they win the ball they’re able to transition very fast. They always play with one contact, so we have to be ready for that.”

Barcelona are without defender Andreas Christensen, who suffered a calf injury during Monday’s training session and will be out for around three weeks, the club said, opens new tab earlier on Tuesday.

Flick has also made his intentions clear on who he trusts as his number one goalkeeper, favouring Wojciech Szczesny over Inaki Pena after both duelled for the role following the season-ending injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

“Number one, a goalkeeper, is a special position. So yes, I can say it was one of the most difficult decisions I had to make since I’ve been here,” said the German coach.

“I know that when I say something good about Wojciech it seems that maybe Inaki is weaker, but I don’t like this. My job is to make a decision.

“For me, Szczesny is an experienced player, he also has a great personality. But both are great goalkeepers, and I have decided together with my staff to go with Szczesny… In the past Inaki did a great job but now this is the decision I made.”