The precedent that Hansi Flick should not repeat

BarcelonaBarça won at the Metropolitano (1-2), but was eliminated from the Champions League (3-2). The Cules were unable to overcome the 0-2 deficit from the first leg and from now until the end of May they will only fight for one title: La Liga. Hansi Flick's team has seven matchdays ahead (Celta, Getafe, Osasuna, Real Madrid, Alavés, Betis and Valencia) to finally secure a trophy they are already touching with their fingertips. The nine points separating the Cules and the Whites allow us to get out the calculator to know where they could mathematically be crowned champions, with the classic match on the horizon for all culés.

Flick began the season with the saying "second seasons of the German are not good". After winning the treble in 2020, in the midst of covid, with Bayern Munich, the coach began his second year in the Bavarian team in the best possible way, a thrashing against Schalke 04 (8-0). Shortly after he would win the European Super Cup (2-1 against Sevilla) and the German Super Cup (3-2 against Borussia Dortmund). The first major disappointment would come in January 2021, when they were knocked out in the second round of the Cup on penalties against Holstein Kiel, who at that time played in the Second Division. 

Despite winning the Club World Cup –and thus signing a historic sextuple–, the elimination in the Champions League quarter-finals against PSG (2-3 defeat at the Allianz and 0-1 victory in Paris) was the last straw. "I want to terminate my contract [I had two more years signed, until 2023] this summer. It was important that the team found out from me, I informed the management after our elimination in the Champions League during the week," the coach told Sky Sport in April 2021 after winning at Wolfsburg's ground. The announcement came four days after the Champions League exit, on April 17, 2021.

So, Bayern was leading the Bundesliga by seven points over second-placed Leipzig. A gap that would eventually widen to thirteen. However, results were not the only factor in Flick's decision-making. His relationship with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had been deteriorating. Rummenigge's departure – which was made official in June 2021 but he had been considering since before – also influenced the final decision. "The person who had brought him to Bayern was leaving. That was a blow to the club's stability," recalls José Araoz, a journalist from OneFootball.

Furthermore, the coach had the opportunity to manage his country's national team in the 2022 World Cup, his "great dream." “The national team is an option that every coach must consider. These past few weeks have not been easy for me, I was in the process of informing the club and the team, which was very important,” hinted Flick, who would go on to manage the German national team before landing in Barcelona, where he assures he is very happy. Now, he has also stated in a press conference that he will not manage any other club once his tenure at the Camp Nou bench ends. He has a contract until 2027, and despite the European disappointment, he does not plan to break it prematurely. In fact, he has the option to extend it for another year, until 2028.

Flick's Barça improves on Bayern

The German coach played 50 games in his second season with Bayern, the same as he has with Barça at this point in the season. With the Bavarian team, he won 37 matches, drew seven, and lost six, with 139 goals for and 59 against. "The second season with Bayern also showed serious defensive problems," recalls Araoz. In contrast, this year he has 39 wins, three draws, and eight losses, with 133 goals for and 57 against with the blaugrana team.In short, with Bayern he had an average of 2.36 points per game, and with Barça it is 2.40 points. 

Hansi Flick will not be able to surpass the number of titles won last season –if there are no setbacks, he will add two more, the Spanish Super Cup and the League–, but he has a new motivation for the rest of the season: to become the third coach in La Liga's history to reach 100 points. To achieve this goal –which only Tito Vilanova and José Mourinho can boast of–, the Barcelona team would have to win all the remaining matches. The challenge is set.