Barcelona have been adapting to Hansi Flick’s new style and fresh demands with mixed results in preseason, but he is set to lose a major asset from his opening weeks. The German coach brought in former Bayern Munich and Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara to aid his adaptation to the club, and it appears the temporary basis he agreed to join on will be just that.
According to all reports, Thiago has been having a major positive impact as part of Flick’s staff, and has become a nexus of communication between the squad and Flick. Sport say that he has helped Flick get off to a good start with the squad, and explain some of the infrastructure of the behemoth to Flick. However he will end his stay as part of his staff in September, as he assesses what to do as a next step in his career, having joined Barcelona again shortly after his retirement as a player.
Flick has Heiko Westermann as part of his coaching staff, who was brought in as someone who speaks Spanish, but was still addressing the crowd at Montjuic on Monday night in English. It is hard not to interpret the loss of Thiago as a blow to Flick, given how highly he has been spoken of, and he is the most fluent member of the coaching staff in Spanish.
Image via David Blunsden