Barça indicators Hansi Flick for his or her bench after the departure of Xavi Hernández

BARCELONA —

Barcelona introduced on Wednesday the hiring of former Germany and Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick as a substitute for Xavi Hernández.

The German coach signed a two-year contract with Barça, which introduced his signing minutes after confirming that it had reached an settlement with Xavi “for the separation of the contract between the coach and his employees”, which expired on the finish of the subsequent season.

“It’s a nice honor and likewise a dream for me to signal a contract for Barcelona to work with this unbelievable crew,” Flick, 59, informed the crew’s press.

Flick, 59, had been with out a crew since his dismissal from the German nationwide crew in September final yr. He had beforehand coached Bayern for 2 seasons during which he received the Champions League and two consecutive Bundesliga titles.

“I received some titles with Bayern Munich and my urge for food for titles is absolutely massive. I want to proceed on this path with Barcelona. We are able to do it collectively,” Flick stated.

The brand new coach referred to the truth that he and the membership share the identical philosophy of ball possession and assault. “These are issues I really like.”

I reward the combination of youth and expertise that characterizes the crew.

“Barcelona has top-of-the-line youth groups on the earth and an excellent mixture of skilled gamers and gifted younger gamers. We’ve to work with them to allow them to enhance. “That’s our position.”

Flick was accountable for Bayern when the German squad crushed Barcelona 8-2 within the Champions League quarterfinals in 2020.

Hernández, one of many legends of the Barça membership as a participant, leaves the crew after ending the season in second place within the League, far behind Actual Madrid. Her final recreation was on Sunday, the 2-1 victory over Sevilla on the final date of the competitors.

His departure comes a month after the 44-year-old former footballer reversed his choice to go away the reins of the crew in the summertime, one thing he had introduced in January. In April he justified his change of coronary heart by claiming that the crew was taking part in higher and that he believed he may bounce again after a titleless season.

At the moment, the president of Barcelona, ​​Joan Laporta, publicly celebrated Xavi’s choice. However, apparently, final week he was displeased with some statements by the coach during which he acknowledged that Barça’s poor monetary scenario made it nearly unattainable for him to compete towards Actual Madrid and the opposite massive European golf equipment.

Flick’s Bayern received the Champions League after defeating Paris Saint-Germain weeks after crushing Barcelona, ​​inside a powerful streak of titles within the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that included the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Membership World Cup.

Till now, that two-year interval in Munich was Flick’s solely expertise on the bench of a top-level membership. He beforehand acted as assistant coach of the Germany crew that received the World Cup in 2014.

Flick left Bayern to educate his nation’s nationwide crew in 2021, however was fired final yr after shedding 4-1 in a pleasant towards Japan, his sixth straight recreation with out a victory. The crew’s elimination within the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was a significant component and followers had been involved that his type may alienate key gamers.

A documentary following Germany in 2022 included scenes of Flick making an attempt to encourage optimistic pondering amongst gamers who appeared bored or distant.

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Related Press writers Steve Douglas and James Ellingworth contributed to this report.