Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has said the club is even bigger than he imagined after being officially unveiled on Thursday, almost two months after his appointment was confirmed.
Flick, 59, replaced Xavi Hernandez at the end of May and takes charge of a Barca side that failed to win a title last season.
Despite that, he is excited about what he has seen since taking office and insists he is ready for the pressure and expectations that come with the role.
“I felt it from the first second. This is an incredible club,” said the former Bayern Munich and Germany coach. “It's an amazing club, very big, bigger than I imagined.”
“For me it is one of the biggest clubs, maybe the biggest. To win titles, you can only win with the biggest clubs, and that is why I am here.
“I'm not saying we're going to win all the titles, but if we work hard we can achieve it and have a chance of winning. We know that hard work and results count, nothing more, but I'm really looking forward to this moment.”
Barca president Joan Laporta has previously said that “losing has consequences” and as well as winning trophies, there are also demands on Flick to play a certain style of attacking football.
“This is my job, I'm Barca's coach and I know what happens,” he said when asked if he was prepared for the pressure that will follow when the new LaLiga season begins with a trip to Valencia on August 17.
“[The aim is] Playing well, of course, but also giving everything on the pitch and being well prepared. The players have to show how they perform on the pitch. For me, it is essential that they give 100% in training.
“I'm not far from the idea that Barça had before when they had that incredible success with [Johan] Cruyff or Pep [Guardiola]”I want a team that is active on the pitch, with and without the ball, setting the pace of the game.”
Flick has had to deal with a disrupted pre-season so far due to the delay in players returning from major tournaments this summer, including the European Championship and Copa America, and other players now away at the Olympics.
There have also been a number of injuries to deal with. Gavi and Frenkie de Jong have been sidelined since last season, while Pedri and Ronald Araújo have both struggled with their national teams this month.
The latest setback came on Wednesday when Ansu Fati, returning from a season-long loan at Premier League side Brighton, injured his foot in training, ruling him out of the US tour where Barca will play Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
“The situation with the injured players is a shame,” said Flick. “Ansu, in the first few days, was incredible. He was really fit, he showed it on the pitch and on the field.” [fitness] training.
“It's not good not to have him in the United States, but we have to accept it. We will help him come back stronger.”
The lack of available first-team players has meant Flick has had time to work with some of the club's in-house talent from La Masia, the club's renowned youth academy.
“Thanks to La Masia, working with these players is great fun,” he said. “The quality, the intensity they have… and always focused on what we are doing.”
“Hopefully we can bring players from La Masia into the first team. Everyone looks at La Masia and talks about how fantastic the work is with young players; I can see that now.
“They work very hard, they have very good quality. They also have to improve, of course, it's not like they are now in the [highest] “The level is good, but the foundations are fantastic. It's not fair to name names, but there are many interesting players.”
One La Masia graduate Flick has yet to work with is Lamine Yamal, who remains on holiday after helping Spain win Euro 2024. He will miss the US tour but Flick has already been in touch with him, texting him during the Euros and praising his performances in Germany.
“He's done a great job in the last year, he's improved a lot and now he's, step by step, at this level,” he said of Yamal, who turned 17 earlier this month.
“What he did at the Euros was also incredible. But great players also continue to put in great performances.” [up] And it is necessary that he now keep his feet on the ground.
“He's a great guy. I've been able to speak to him. He can give us great moments, but he can also improve and do things better, that's our part, but he's in fantastic form.”
Flick refused to discuss possible signings when asked about the club's interest in Athletic Club striker Nico Williams and the need for a defensive midfielder, while he would not even delve into the situation of Sergi Roberto.
Roberto, captain of Barça last season, has been without a club since his contract expired on June 30.
“He is not a Barça player at the moment,” was Flick's limited response to a possible new deal.
Laporta, sitting next to Flick, gave a much more optimistic message, reiterating once again his belief that Barça will be able to undertake the operations that appear in the media despite being above the spending limit imposed by LaLiga.
The Barça president assured that there will be news about the financial agreements “soon” and that talks on a new deal with kit supplier Nike are progressing at a good pace.
ESPN has previously reported that Barca's priorities this summer are the signing of winger Williams, who has a release clause of 58 million euros ($63 million), and another midfielder.
