Barcelona put together their title challenge somewhat on the fly this summer, with Dani Olmo arriving in mid-August and waiting a couple of weeks to be registered, with only Pau Victor for company in the inbox. In addition, Thiago Alcantara flew into Can Barca to help out in the early weeks of Hansi Flick’s spell, providing a language bridge between the German coach and the squad.
On the eve of their league debut, it was announced that Thiago would be leaving his role, and would be replaced by under-15 coach Arnau Blanco. The 30-year-old has impressed early on in his coaching career though. Relevo spoke to his former President Carlos Cebrian, who promoted him from the under-14 side to the first team at Atletic Sant Just after just a year of work. Blanco won promotion in his only year with the team.
Marc Casadó and Raphinha have been training in the gym today. @JijantesFC
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 27, 2024
Cebrian predicted that Blanco would be ‘in the elite in two to three years’, explaining that he communicates well.
“We have always said that Barca had him underused. Because above all it has energy and communicates great. He is close [with the players] and at the same time demanding.”
One of his stars, Jan Gonzalez, at Atletic Sant Just had the following to say.
“All of us who played that year agreed that it was the season we enjoyed the most. The promotion was an addition. We enjoyed every task, every training session, seeing what happened later in the games… We left training at 11 at night looking forward to the next one. He is a born motivator.”
“You have to be in the right place and at the right level, but with it above all there is meritocracy. Someone arrives who deserves it on a personal and football level. It was a good fortune to meet him,” Gonzalez continued.
"You tell him to rest (laughs). It's unbelievable, I never had this before. After the games, we say to him, OK may you recover with treatment, he says no, he wants to be on the pitch. He's a great professional, looks after himself. It's not normal."
Flick on Kounde. #FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/40qvGhyRv1
— Football España (@footballespana_) September 27, 2024
One of the reasons Blanco was given the job was because he could speak English with Hansi Flick, just as Thiago did before him, but it is noted that his level of English is not necessarily perfect. Ex-Real Betis and Hamburg defender Heiko Westermann is cited as the best working across languages.
It has been reported that Thiago could return to Barcelona once his tax residency period is up in January, and it is not clear where that would leave Blanco. However if he makes as good an impression as he did elsewhere, he might have earned himself a spot on the coaching staff permanently.
