Barcelona's first pre-season friendly of the summer ended in a penalty shootout win over Manchester City, but new coach Hansi Flick was left unhappy with his side's performance against the Premier League champions at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, USA.
"Hansi Flick was angry because we only pressed until the 70th minute. I like the way he demands so much," Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed last week.
Laporta has long been a fan of Flick and reportedly tried to convince him in 2021, after sacking Ronald Koeman. However, the former Bayern Munich coach politely declined, having just accepted the German national team job. Finally, in May, Flick, unemployed, agreed to take over at Barcelona, who had just parted ways with Xavi Hernandez.
In just over 100 days in charge, Flick has made his mark with the Blaugrana's impressive start to the season. Flick's side have won all four of their opening La Liga games and are top of the league.
Barca's basic stats like possession, passes and recoveries are not too different from last season. However, the way they play on the pitch is a completely different picture to when Xavi was in charge. The Blaugrana defend high, press better and attack more directly.
Off the pitch, Flick has so far managed to navigate the “noise” that often plagues Barca coaches. The tactician has accepted the club’s difficult financial situation, refusing to complain when Barcelona failed to sign new signing Dani Olmo early.
In addition, the German "captain" also continuously praised and promoted La Masia, the club's youth academy. And Flick did not just talk when he created conditions for 3 17-year-old Barcelona players to play in the opening matches of the season.
Flick was voted La Liga's Coach of the Month for August, a well-deserved reward after an impressive start to life with Barcelona. The 7-0 win over Real Valladolid in particular sent Blaugrana fans into a frenzy.
However, sources close to Flick say he is still trying to keep his players' feet on the ground. The German coach knows that this is just the beginning and the honeymoon period in Catalunya could quickly end.
