Hansi Flick speaks for first time as Barcelona manager – “Thank you to La Masia”

It’s been almost two months since Hansi Flick was appointed as Barcelona manager, replacing the sacked Xavi Hernandez. He’d never spoken publicly since being instilled, until now.

Flick gave his first interview to Barca One, Barcelona’s official media channel, on Saturday (via MD). He spoke on a variety of topics, which included his first few weeks in the job. He also discussed the effect that Barcelona has had on his managerial and tactical style.

“I’ve felt it from day one, the passion that the people have here, the fans, the president… everyone here who works for Barcelona has this passion, the devotion to give their best for this club, and this is also great for us, because we want to be part of this club and we also want to live with this passion, this devotion, because we want to give everything we have to take this club to the next level. I don’t know if we will, but we will do our best.

“When I decided to be a coach, I looked at Barcelona because they played fantastic football. You can see how they develop the players, everyone talks about it and also the passion you feel here is incredible, and that’s why we’re happy to be here. From the first day I could feel it, everyone shows respect, it’s incredible what we are experiencing.”

Flick also touched on the first week or so of pre-season training. He admitted to being very pleasantly surprised by the level shown by the younger players that have been included in the first team setup.

“Thank you to La Masia. What I’m seeing in the first training sessions, it’s unbelievable. Normally when international players are still on holidays and you bring many youth players, the quality drops a little bit. Here, that’s just not the case.”

Flick is expected to carry on Xavi’s legacy of promoting youth players into the first team. Last season, the likes of Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Fermin Lopez and Hector Fort all made the step up – it remains to be seen who does so for Barcelona during the 2024-25 campaign.