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Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has said the club is even bigger than he imagined after he was officially presented on Thursday, almost two months after his appointment was confirmed.
Flick, 59, replaced Xavi Hernández at the end of May and takes over a Barça side which failed to win a trophy last season.
Despite that, he is excited by what he has seen since taking over and insists he is ready for the pressure and expectations which come with the role.
“I could feel it from first second, this is an unbelievable club,” the former Bayern Munich and Germany coach said. “It is an amazing club, very big, bigger than I imagined.
“For me, it’s one of the biggest clubs, maybe the biggest club. To win titles, you can only really win with the biggest clubs, which is why I am here.
“I am not saying we will win every title, but if we work hard we can achieve and have options to be successful. We know hard work and results count, nothing else, but I am looking forward to this.”
Barça president Joan Laporta has previously said that “losing has consequences” and, in addition to winning trophies, there are also demands on Flick to play a certain style of attacking football.
“This is my job, I am coach of Barça and I know what happens,” he said when asked if he was ready for the pressure that will follow when the new LaLiga season gets underway with a trip to Valencia on Aug. 17.
“[The aim is] to play well, of course, but also to give everything on the pitch and be well prepared. The players have to show how it works on the pitch. For me, it’s crucial that you give 100% in training.
“I am not far away from the idea Barça played before when they had this unbelievable success with [Johan] Cruyff or Pep [Guardiola]. I want a team on the pitch that is active, with the ball and without the ball, dictating the rhythm of the play.”
Flick has had to deal with a disrupted preseason so far due to the delayed return of players from this summer’s major tournaments, including the European Championship and the Copa América, with other players now at the Olympic Games.
There has also been a spate of injuries to contend with. Gavi and Frenkie de Jong have been sidelined since last season, while Pedri and Ronald Araújo both picked up problems while with their national teams this month.
The latest setback came on Wednesday when Ansu Fati, who has returned from a season-long loan with Premier League side Brighton, injured his foot in training, ruling him out of the tour of the United States, where Barça will play Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
“The situation with the injured players, it’s a pity,” Flick said. “Ansu, in the first days, was unbelievable. He was really fit; showed it on the pitch and in [fitness] training.
“It’s not good to not have him in America. But we have to accept this. We will help him to come back stronger.”
The lack of available first team players has meant Flick has had time to work with some of the club’s in-house talent from La Masia, the club’s famed youth academy.
“Thankyou for La Masia, to work with these players is a lot of fun,” he said. “The quality, the intensity they have… and always focused on what we are doing.
“Hopefully we can bring players from La Masia into the first team. The whole world looks to La Masia and speaks about how fantastic is the job with the young players — now I can see it.
“They work so hard; they have very good quality. They also have to improve, of course, it’s not like they are now on the [highest] level, but the basics are fantastic. It’s not fair to give names, but there are many interesting players.”
One La Masia graduate who Flick is yet to work with is Lamine Yamal, who remains on holiday after helping Spain win Euro 2024. He will miss the U.S. tour but Flick has already been in touch with him, texting him during the Euros, and praised his performances in Germany.
“He has done a great job in the last year, he improved a lot and he’s now, step by step, at this level,” he said of Yamal, who only turned 17 earlier this month.
“Also what he did in the Euros, it was unbelievable. But big players also continue to bring their performances [up] and it’s necessary for him now to stay with both feet on the ground.
“He’s a great guy. I have been able to speak with him. He can give us the great moments, but he also can improve and make things better, this is also our part, but he’s in a very fantastic way.”
Flick refused to talk about possible signings when asked about the club’s interest in Athletic Club forward Nico Williams and the need for a defensive midfielder, while he would not even be drawn on Sergi Roberto‘s situation.
Roberto, Barça’s captain last season, has been without a club since his contract expired on June 30.
“At the moment, he is not a player from Barça,” was Flick’s limited response on a possible new deal.
Laporta, seated alongside Flick, gave a much more optimistic message, once again reiterating his belief that Barça will be able to afford the deals being reported in the media despite being in excess of their LaLiga-imposed spending limit as things stand.
The Barça president said there will be news on financial agreements “soon,” and that talks are progressing well over a new agreement with kit supplier Nike.
ESPN has previously reported that Barça’s priorities this summer are the signing of winger Williams, who has a €58 million ($63m) release clause, and another midfielder.