Barcelona (dpa) – The president of FC Barcelona has not yet had any contact with ex-national coach Hansi Flick during the complicated search for a successor to the outgoing coach Xavi.
“Deco (sports director) has to decide that. I haven’t spoken to any trainers. Of course, there aren’t too many options. It has to be a coach with a strong background and there are certain conditions that the new coach must accept, which are non-negotiable and which we want to maintain, such as our youth structure,” said Joan Laporta in an interview with the Catalan radio station RAC1.
Laporta is said to hold Flick in high esteem. In addition to Flick, the names of Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, Jürgen Klopp, Imanol Alguacil and Julian Nagelsmann were also mentioned.
Laporta: “Marquez knows the players perfectly”
Laporta now brought up a new name with Rafael Marquez (44). The Mexican trains the Catalans’ second team. «Marquez is not excluded, he learned his job here and knows the players perfectly. That’s an advantage,” said Laporta.
When asked about the former successful coach Pep Guardiola, who still has a contract with Manchester City until 2025, the president said: “He respects the contracts. I talk to him often and he knows what the club thinks about him.”
Club legend Xavi Hernández recently announced that he would be leaving his position on June 30th. The former midfield star returned to Barcelona as a coach in November 2021, having previously coached Al-Sadd in Qatar.
He won the championship and the Supercup with the Catalans last year, but the current season is disappointing, especially in the league. In the Primera División, the team around national team captain Ilkay Gündogan is already ten points behind arch-rivals Real Madrid.
2024-02-03 15:25:44
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