- Barcelona sacked Xavi last week after originally convincing him to say on as boss
- The Catalan giants have moved quickly to appoint German coach Hansi Flick
- Sunday league, grassroots, pub football… how Pep’s influence has trickled down the pyramid – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Barcelona have announced the appointment of Hansi Flick as their new manager after the departure of Xavi.
The former Germany and Bayern Munich boss has penned a two-year deal with the club after a tumultuous few weeks at the Nou Camp.
Xavi had originally announced in January that he was going to depart his role in the summer, before Barcelona president Joan Laporta convinced the club legend to stay in April.
However, the former Spanish midfielder then publicly criticised Barcelona’s financial position, infuriating Laporta, who decided to sack him last Friday.
He oversaw a 2-1 win in the Catalan giants’ final game of the season against Sevilla on Sunday to secure a second place finish in LaLiga, before the final details of his departure were ironed out.
Barcelona have announced the appointment of Hansi Flick as their new manager
The former Germany and Bayern Munich boss replaces Xavi, who was sacked last week
Barcelona confirmed Xavi’s departure in a statement on Wednesday afternoon where they ‘thanked Xavi and the rest of the coaching staff for their commitment, dedication and generosity, and for their help in reaching an agreement to sever the contract’.
Just 23 minutes later, the Catalan giants then unveiled Flick in a video on their social media channels, as the German simply said: ‘Cules, it is our moment, forza Barca!’
Flick, who retired in 2000 as a player, originally began his career in the dugout with regional side Victoria Bammental, where he was player-manager, before he spent five years with Hoffenheim.
After then becoming an assistant boss at several teams, including Red Bull Salzburg, Germany and Bayern Munich, he took the reigns with the Bavarian giants as interim boss in November 2019.
Flick excelled, and was kept on permanently, as he won an astonishing 70 of his 86 games in charge, which saw him lift seven trophies at the club.
This included two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League, while current Barcelona and former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski scored 103 goals in just 87 games during Flick’s tenure in Bavaria.
He was subsequently appointed as Germany boss in 2021 after a disappointing exit at Euro 2020 in the last-16 stage to England.
Despite overseeing a 10-match unbeaten run to start his tenure, Germany crashed out in embarrassing fashion at the group stage in the 2022 World Cup.
Although he initially kept his job, embarrassing friendly defeats to Poland, Colombia and Japan saw him sacked by Germany.
Despite the huge opportunity taking over at the Nou Camp bring, it won’t be an easy job for Flick, with Barcelona’s well-publicised financial problems likely to hamper his efforts to get the club back to the glory days they enjoyed under Pep Guardiola.
In fact, speaking after his final game in charge of Sunday, Xavi warned of the perils of being Barcelona boss while he also talked up his achievements during nearly three years in the role.
‘To the new manager, I tell you: You will suffer.’ He said after Barca’s 2-1 win over Sevilla. ‘This is a difficult job and you have to be patient.’
He added: ‘I think that our work has not been appreciated enough. I took over when the team was in ninth place, finished the season in second place, and won the league the next season.’
Xavi guided Barca to his one and only LaLiga title as manager last season, but struggled to replicate their domestic success this year as Real Madrid raced ahead to clinch the league.
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