Barcelona will be in the market for a new manager when the summer transfer window opens, as club legend Xavi has decided to step down from his position after a season of intense scrutiny.
Although Xavi led Barça back to the summit of LaLiga last season, there have been valid questions regarding his tactical nous and ability to manage a club with the expectations and credibility of Barcelona.
La Blaugrana need an unquestioned, elite manager to lead the way into the future, and, right now, it looks like Hansi Flick is the favorite of many Culers to take the position.
Currently a free agent after a failed spell as the German national team coach, Flick dominated world football in the 2019/20 season with Bayern Munich, taking home the treble and embarrassing Barça along the way.
Hansi Flick can keep the Barcelona flavor in his tactics
Speaking with Gerard Romero, former Bayern defensive midfielder Javi Martínez spoke about Flick and gave him quite the endorsement, “Flick’s way of playing is total Barça. We played the Pep style with him, with the centre-backs at the starting the build-up play.”
Culers will especially love this quote from someone who was a top player in Spanish football and then went to Bayern, because Martínez knows both clubs and situations pretty well.
For Barcelona, playing style matters. Keeping the principles the club holds dearly and winning a certain way is important to Barcelona, even as that romanticism has become lost in the modern game.
Barça do care about winning; that can never be mistaken. However, they would love for someone to come in who can value keeping the ball, having solid build-up principles, and wanting to play off the front foot from the back.
Flick is known for an aggressive, fluid high-pressing game that prioritizes goals, but part of that goes to how he asks his center backs to play in aiding the attack. David Alaba, for example, was key as a ball-playing CB in that season.
Former editor of The Real Champs and Old Juve, covering Real Madrid and Juventus
