What Hansi Flick can do to achieve success at Barcelona soonest

After two and half years of Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona will officially begin life under Hansi Flick this month.

The Blaugrana and Flick are heading to the United States this July for their preseason tour, with upcoming games against Manchester City, Real Madrid, AC Milan and AS Monaco. 

Those games will give fans a foretaste of what to expect under the German's management. And should he do well, he will make fans excited about buying Barcelona tickets for the upcoming season.

However, before the season begins and his side plays Valencia in one of the must-watch games of week one in La Liga, Flick has a few housekeeping to do. The German manager is walking into a very difficult job that demands so much.

But what does he have to do to succeed in Barcelona?

This article suggests five key things that may help his time in Barcelona yield success.

Win the trust of fans

One of the first things Flick must do to succeed at Barca is get the fans on his side.

The German manager is walking into a hostile environment, but this is due to no fault of his. Even before he was announced as Barca's boss, fans were unimpressed by the possibility of having him coach the team, and there were statements by Barca fans online suggesting that he was unwelcomed at the club.

His hostile reception by Barcelona fans is due to several reasons, including his association with rivals Bayern Munich. Rivalry and national roots are a big issue for a club as deeply political as Barca, and Flick happens to be on the other side of the divide.

Barca have a strong association with Spanish and Dutch managers, due to the influence of Johan Cruyff. Since 1997, the Blaugrana have appointed 15 managers, including interim managers, and only two of them have not been either Spanish or Dutch: Radomir Antić and Gerardo "Tata" Martino. Antić was appointed midway through a season and left before the next one started. Martino only managed for one season, too.

Flick is thoroughly German and a proud one at that. He has a previous history with Barca, but not a good one as far as the club's fans are concerned. 

Flick was at the helm at Bayern Munich when the Bavarians gave Barcelona their heaviest-ever defeat in Europe– an 8-2 thrashing in the Champions League.

Apart from that previous bad blood between them, the 59-year-old is also coming into a club whose fans are unhappy with the way their previous manager was dismissed.

Xavi, a bonafide club legend, was embarrassingly shown the exit door after being begged to stay by the club's president, Joan Laporta. 

Although his second full season at Barcelona didn't yield as much success as his first, the majority of fans wanted the club to back him, as they saw in him a loyal club servant and fan.

But he will eventually leave, rather acrimoniously, raising distrust between Barca fans and the club's hierarchy while making whoever will replace him the public enemy number one. 

It's even worse that the man replacing him was Barca's former nemesis, making the task of winning the fans over harder.

However, since none of the issues he's facing is his fault, Flick will do well to put some of his energy into winning over a fanbase that can make or mar his coaching career. 

Though he is no PR expert, the German will have to learn how to appeal to the fanbase so that he doesn't end up like Ronald Koeman, who though was a bonafide Barcelona legend, learnt the hard way about how powerful Barcelona fans can be. 

Keep La Masia culture alive

One of the biggest achievements of Xavi was his inclusion of many youngsters who came through the club's famed academy.

The former Barca boss trusted youngsters and gave them the opportunity to play. Lamine Yamal, though an obvious prodigious talent, may not have had his chance at the club at such a young age had someone else been in charge. 

The likes of Pedri, though not a La Masis graduate, and Gavi were already known names before Xavi walked into the club, but he still trusted them much. 

Marc Casado, Pau Cubarsi, Fermin Lopez and Hector Fort, who has just renewed his contract until 2026, also have Xavi to thank for their Barcelona careers so far. 

One could argue that Xavi's hand was forced, and he may not have trusted the youngsters had the club been able to sign better and more experienced players. 

However, whether it was forced or intentional, Xavi's desire to give youngsters a chance kept him popular with the fanbase. 

Flick will do well to copy that method as it will keep him popular and, in any case, give him the tools to work with, considering that Barcelona is not wealthy enough to sign more expensive options. 

The German is a straight-talking manager who will only use players based on merit, but to succeed, he must not neglect the La Masia youngsters who have already proven their quality in the first team.

Speak the Language 

Although this is no guarantee, for Hansi Flick to succeed, he will need to learn Spanish.

For now, the German manager is only ardent in the German language and English, and so far, has communicated with the club's hierarchy and players in English. 

But he will need to learn Spanish and then the local Catalan. That is something coaches can do that always brings joy to many Barca fans and demonstrates more commitment to the club. 

It will also bridge any communication gap even though Flick already has a few familiar faces through whom he can communicate his ideas, such as Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ilkay Gundogan, and former Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

According to sources, Flick is already learning the language, and that should put him in good stead with the fans.

Manage His Players Well

As we have already mentioned, Barcelona do not have the luxury of buying as many players as they want.

Unlike Real Madrid, who are able to purchase any player they want, Barca's financial issues mean they have a limit on spending and said additions. As such, the Blaugrana have a very thin squad. 

So then, for Flick to succeed, he will have to figure out how to get the best out of every player in the club, including squad players and outcasts like Vitor Roque and the returning duo of Eric Garcia and Ansu Fati.

Fati was considered one of the best players to graduate from La Masia since Lionel Messi. But the Spaniard's injury has left him short of confidence and he now needs rebuilding. 

Barcelona needs him, as well as the likes of Ferran Torres and Roque, to step up this season. 

Get the best out of Yamal and the wingers 

Lamine Yamal's performance for 2024 Euros winners Spain in the last European Championship bodes well for Hansi Flick and Barcelona at large.

The youngster has immense talent and is ready to be the leader of the new Barca. Therefore, managing him properly will be one of Flick's biggest jobs and achievements. 

The German loves wingers and fast attackers. His Bayern Munich team was greatly helped by the pace and trickery of Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Ivan Perisic. As Germany's boss in the 2020 World Cup, he called up players with the same profiles: Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala or Gnabry.

So, for him to succeed at Nou Camp, he must find a way to bring the best out of Yamal and Nico Williams if Barca signs him. If the Catalan club are unable to sign him, the likes of Ferran Torres and Raphinha will have to step up their game for Flick to succeed. 

Crack the Fitness issue 

One of Barcelona's greatest undoings in the last three seasons is injuries.

The Catalan club has been hampered by several injuries in recent seasons, with Gavi, Pedri, Raphinha, Fati, Frenkie de Jong, and Ronald Araujo all staying out of action for a large part of the season.

When Xavi arrived, he tried fixing the problem by bringing along his own fitness doctor– Dr Ricard Pruna. 

However, that move failed to fix the issue as several Barca players still had extended times on the sidelines during Xavi's time at the club. On the one hand, it looks like Barca is just unlucky with injuries, but on the other hand, there are pointers that the club's medical and fitness team are just incompetent. An example to back up the latter claim is the case of Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman could never stay fit at Barcelona during his six years at Camp Nou. But since moving to PSG, his fitness issues have disappeared and he rarely misses games through injury. 

Whatever PSG are doing right is something Barca and Flick must learn. With the Catalan club stretched to its bare bones in terms of finances and squad depth, Flick will need to crack the issue of lack of fitness if he wants to succeed there. 

Every player has to be available for selection so that he can compete favourably with Real Madrid, who are looking likely to defend their La Liga crown, and the top teams in Europe. 

Conclusion 

Hansi Flick succeeded as Bayern Munich coach, winning the sextuple with the Bavarians. During his tenure, Bayern lost just seven games and won seven trophies.

So, he arrives in Barcelona with such a huge pedigree that few coaches can rival. He's tactically astute and there's no denying that he knows how to win games. 

However, his tactical prowess is no guarantee that he will succeed at Nou Camp, given the enormity of the work to be done here. 

Already, Xavi, before he left, claimed that his successor should be prepared to suffer. Flick will likely suffer this season, but if he can get the fans on his side and fix the above-listed issues, he will likely succeed at the club.