On Thursday, Hansi Flick was presented to the media for the first time as Barcelona manager. The former Bayern Munich and Germany manager has been in the position for almost two months, but it was the first opportunity for him to speak in front of the Catalan and Spanish press.
As per MD, Flick spoke on the moment that he was offered the manager’s position by Joan Laporta, who was seated to his right as he spoke.
“I want to say I’m very happy. From the first minute, before signing my contract, we had dinner and the president gave me a letter translated into German in which there was something written that made me feel from the first moment that it is an incredible club, very big, and everyone has that respect.
“I’m very happy with the first few weeks. We have a lot of players from La Masia, and I’m very grateful for the work done at La Masia with these players. It’s very good, we have a great time and the first thing I saw was the quality and intensity. We work very hard in training, we have wonderful young players who want to give 100%.
“I can feel it from the board, the staff, the coaches… The technical team is new and the club has made great efforts to bring them in. You have to create this atmosphere for the players, so that you can develop them and take them to a higher stage in their career. And that’s what I’m going to focus on.”
Flick also spoke specifically on Ansu Fati, who had a very bright start to pre-season before suffering a foot injury earlier this week.
“Ansu in the first days of (pre-season) was amazing. He was very fit and he showed it in training. It’s a shame not to have him here or in the United States. We will help him to come back stronger.”
It’s clear that Flick is set to count on Barcelona’s younger players for the upcoming season, just as Xavi Hernandez did during his final campaign in charge. Given the quality in La Masia, as well as the club’s precarious financial situation, it does make complete sense.
The post Hansi Flick highlights “unbelievable” performances of Barcelona star during pre-season appeared first on Football España.
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