Hansi Flick met Pep Guardiola 3 months ago in Manchester and asked him about Barcelona. The two talked about the club and their football ideas. [@alexpintanel]

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1. Hans-Dieter Flick (1965, Heidelberg, Germany) is Joan Laporta’s choice for the culé bench , once the departure of Xavi has been officially confirmed , who will direct his last game against Sevilla. The president likes the German school. And among the Germans, at the top of the list is the former coach of Bayern and the German national team. Flick is admired for his philosophy of offensive football , his good handling of the ball, his pressure and his tactical work that led him to achieve the second sextet in the history of football , behind the one achieved precisely by Pep Guardiola’s Barça.

   Flick has been thinking about Barcelona for months . Since the end of January, when Xavi announced that he would leave his position at the end of the season, the club got down to work. And Flick’s appeared among the list of candidates. The favorite option of the president , a great admirer of the German school. Furthermore, the coach’s representative is Pini Zahavi, a very good friend of Laporta. In fact, the president called the agent last night to give him the final ok. The former coach even reached an agreement with Barça before Xavi’s ratification. As Relevo learned, this bothered Flick, who already saw himself directing the Blaugranas next season.

   The German’s dream is about to become a reality . He said no to Manchester United and Chelsea recently. A lover of tactics and family, in Germany they doubt his performance in an unstable Barça . Several German journalists consulted by Relevo believe that the disaster of the World Cup in Qatar , where the Germans did not even get past the group stage, damaged their reputation despite the great successes achieved in the past with Bayern. One of the qualities that stand out from the German is his commitment to young people , he worked with the lower categories of the ‘Die Mannschaft’ and managed Hoffenheim, a club that bets on the youth team, and also his relationship with the heavyweights , as already demonstrated in Munich with Lewandowski or Müller. In addition, he gave Jamal Musiala his debut at the age of 17 years and 115 days, being the youngest Bayern player to debut in the Bundesliga.

   At the beginning of March, the German traveled to the English city to watch City’s victory against Copenhagen in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 (3-1). The next day he came to watch the training of Pep Guardiola’s players. There he stayed chatting and had a good time with Pep and his work team, sharing experiences.

   Flick fits most of the needs that Barça seems to ask of a substitute. During his short stay in Manchester he coincided with Pep’s former assistant at Bayern, Domènec Torrent , who was visiting, meeting up with old friends and former teammates. There he met Flick. They had dinner together , in one of the city’s traditional places, a typical rodizio, at the Fazenda restaurant. Talking about football and Barça, of course. So if there’s one thing Flick already knows, it’s what Barça is .

   The agreement with the former Bayern player is total . The bases of the contract were closed last Wednesday in London, although as we reported in Relevo, the agreement between the Blaugrana club and the German coach was already agreed before Xavi was ratified and, therefore, he would sign for one season, more another optional depending on performance, which would coincide with the end of Laporta’s mandate. Flick is waiting to have the club’s approval to travel to Barcelona in the coming days to sign his contract, once Xavi’s dismissal is known.

2. Xavi was always a great caretaker coach. But he did not have what it takes to take this team to the next level