This is how Flick handles Barça's frustrations.

Special Envoy to DortmundHansi Flick did not like the atmosphere in the press room after the match. European match in Dortmund. Barça hadn't played well in the second leg of the quarterfinals, but they had achieved their objective: qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals. Most of the questions had a negative tone, or so it seemed to him. Without losing his temper, with elegance and a dose of patience, he spent a good amount of time turning the situation around, speaking positively. He knew perfectly well that self-criticism was needed, but he wanted to do it behind closed doors. Externally, the message had to be clear: no one would have imagined being in that situation—Champions League semi-finalist, Copa del Rey finalist, La Liga leader, and Super Cup winner—in mid-April. He believes it's important to embrace it.

This facet, that of a psychologist, is one of the ones that most pleased president Joan Laporta when he decided to invest in the German. Time has proven the Barça CEO right. Flick has managed to win over the dressing room by displaying one of his greatest virtues, emotional intelligence, which he also uses in the press room. He has the respect of the group and has found the right balance between authority and tactlessness.

He has known how to boo and punish players when they have arrived late, accusing them of a lack of commitment to the group, like Kounde. He also encouraged players frustrated by poor performances on the pitch, as he did with Fermín and Lamine Yamal in Dortmund. He worked with substitutes, like Gavi and Ferran, to make them feel part of the team despite having fewer minutes. He has shown in the youth academy (Bernal, Casadó, Fort, Gerard Martín) that the doors to the first team are open if they work well. And he's found the key with De Jong, a star who had lost his way and is now one step away from renewing with Barça.

Laporta knows that Flick is his bet and likes to boast in close circles. That's why they make his personality and his pose as a club man their own. He wants to be understanding of Barça's cash flow limitations or base his discourse on football and not look for excuses when the result isn't his. "The difference [with Xavi] is abysmal, in how he treats the players, how he prepares for matches, how he approaches training..." notes one of the president's advisors.

Those close to Laporta suggest the director believes Flick is the best and most powerful man in the press room since Guardiola. The coach signed for Barça in May but didn't make his first press appearance until July. During these two months, Laporta mentored the coach, teaching him how the club works and giving him advice on how to survive in the environment. He even advised him not to speak either Catalan or Spanish in public to avoid unnecessary confrontations. Ultimately, simultaneous translation acts as a filter and helps smooth over some potentially awkward situations.

"We've spoken with a coach."

Flick has received the complicity of the club's structure, which has worked to isolate the locker room. A fact he considers key to setting the tone on a day-to-day basis and ensuring everyone is on the same page. They've changed work routines, returned fines, and increased the standards in training. In the summer, his approach surprised, with some even describing it as a "military regime." As time has passed, those who were skeptical of Flick are praising the fact that "he has brought order to a locker room that was in disarray."

"We've spoken with a coach," concluded Deco and Bojan, Barça's senior technical secretary, when they met with Flick before signing him. His name had already been mentioned in 2021 as a possible replacement for Koeman, but by then Flick had committed to the German national team and was unavailable. The first references came from Ralf Rangnick, the current Austrian national team coach, whom Laporta invited to lunch. The signing was a piece of cake, taking advantage of the fact that Flick's agent is Pini Zahavi, a former business partner and friend of the Barça president.

At Dortmund, Flick was playing his 50th game in charge at Barça, and his record is hard to beat. He won 37 matches, drew six, and lost seven, with 147 goals scored and 51 conceded. His average is 3-1 per game. However, the most important thing, in Laporta's eyes, is his ability to turn the team around emotionally and go from a state of general pessimism in the summer to the dream of repeating feats like those of Guardiola or Luis Enrique, who won the treble in their debut year.