FC Barcelona have announced the arrival of Hansi Flick as the new head coach. The German has signed a two year deal with the Spanish giants replacing Xavi who was sacked after Barca’s final game of the season against Sevilla.
Ahead of Flick’s arrival we take a look at some of the interesting facts about the German as he prepares to take helm at the Camp Nou.
- Hans-Dieter Flick was born on 24 February 1965 in Heidelberg a city that is about 340 kms away from Munich. He will be 60 next month.
- He began his career SV Sandhausen and at the age of 20 he joined Bayern Munich playing more than 100 games and winning four consecutive Bundesliga titles along the way.
- He retired at a relatively young age of 28 due to injuries playing a total of 128 games in the Bundesliga.
- He had crucial role to play in Germany’s 2014 world cup triumph as he played the role of assistant to Joachim Löw from 2008 to 2014.
- He managed his first ever game in 2008 in Euro quarter finals, when the head Joachim Löw was suspended. The Germans won that game 3-2 against Portugal in Vienna.
- As the head coach of Bayern Munich, he won two Bundesliga titles, one DFB Pokal, one UEFA champions league, one UEFA super cup, one DFL super cup and one FIFA club world cup.
- Flick, like Pep Guardiola 2009, did a sextuple in 2020. Guardiola swtiched from Barca to Bayern later in his career with the German taking the opposite route.
- This will be the first time that Flick is managing a team outside Germany and is reportedly learning both Spanish and Catalan to adapt to his new environment.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
