Flick also notes the wear and tear on the Barça bench.

BarcelonaWhen Barça's head of communications announced there were three rounds of questions left in the press conference, Hansi Flick turned his head in surprise to read the paper and check it. The initial gesture turned into an amused grimace and a subsequent joke. It could have been a simple anecdote, but what happened yesterday at the Ciutat Esportiva del Mar adds to the tone of the previous press conference, in the post-match press conference against Getafe. The German Barça coach admitted that it was a chore. "After a game, it's not easy for coaches either. We play every three or four days. It was a tough game, and I need to relax too," he told Johan Cruyff on Sunday. That match against Getafe was tense, with the Madrid team's actions on the edge and some refereeing controversy over the handling of fouls and cards. At the end of the press conference, aware that the tone hadn't been as positive as usual, he signed off with a joke about the journalists. "Hey, we won 3-0, huh?!" Everyone smiled at the joke.

The club is making light of the situation and dismissing it as a mere anecdote. They maintain that the coach is "fine" and explain that no changes or anything that invites pessimism have been detected. But the sources consulted, close to the board, admit that the start of the season has not been easy for Flick. Since preseason, he has been surrounded by uncertainties, starting with the signings, continuing with the tour, continuing with registrations, and ending with the frustrated reopening of the Camp Nou. In the middle, the management of egos in the dressing room, which is trying to keep in check despite the difficulties of reactivating a team that won almost everything last season. This season, he has already punished two players, Rashford and Raphinha, for arriving late.

Since he arrived at Barça in May 2024, both the board and the communications team tried to protect him. He was there for two months before giving his first press conference, a time they used to explain to him what Barça was all about at all levels: sporting, social, and media. Flick, they say, has been very receptive from the very beginning and has been involved in many events organized by the club, including those of the Foundation, where he has appeared accompanied by an interpreter. However, he did not make any statements, as his words were reserved for the numerous press conferences (he has held around 120). flash interview of the matches.

"He's not a newcomer. He speaks Spanish better, he understands journalists even if they use translations, he knows perfectly well what the environment is like and that they will often ask him things that he shouldn't answer because they correspond to the board," explains an authoritative source at the club, where they admit that they recommended that he continue speaking about it. He expressed himself well. From day one, Flick has tried to be respectful in tone and manner, even when there were questions he didn't like at all. He has never strayed from the script, no matter how much they probed him in the match against Getafe, where he conveyed fatigue and little desire to appear in public, although without dodging any answer and trying to be as understanding as possible with everyone.

The responsibility and demands of Flick in his second year on the Barça bench

Flick's arrival was a blessing for Barça, who found in the German coach someone capable of patching up the locker room and leading a sporting project that many thought would be doomed to failure. After winning almost everything and coming within three minutes of playing in the Champions League final, many expect him to repeat the same season. A responsibility he feels and which accentuates his weariness on the bench.

In public, Flick has always shown himself to be a club man, although internally he raises his voice when he considers it necessary. For example, during the tour of Korea and Japan, which was almost blown up, where he protested about the logistics of the trip and the difficulties of training properly. He has also wrinkled his nose at some of the attitudes of stars like Lamine Yamal outside the Ciutat Esportiva, although for now – Barça assures – the young player has not crossed any red lines. As for signings, the coach knew from the beginning that there were problems with the fair play, but neither Nico Williams's success nor the fact that, for the second summer in a row, the season would start without the entire squad registered was expected.

The board's core view is that Flick, as a true professional, has the capacity to adapt to all these setbacks, such as the fact that he has to change stadiums while waiting for the Camp Nou to reopen. But in the locker room, they empathize with the coach and maintain that his already complicated task would be easier if he only had one thing on his mind: coaching.