Xavi reveals what Flick told him in two-hour chat after taking Barca job
The two men had a lengthy conversation
Xavi Hernandez has opened up on Barcelona and revealed what he told Hansi Flick after the German coach succeeded him as first-team coach.
Flick met with Xavi after taking on the job and the club legend says they had a very long chat where the new boss made it clear how grateful he was to his precedessor.
“We have a very good team that is only going to get better because it’s so young. Hansi came here to see me here and we spoke for two hours,” he told The Athletic.
“We have a good relationship and he said, ‘Thank you so much. What you helped create here means I’m happy. The players train hard and they get some of their mentality from you’.
“And then you have what the media and the board members say. It can be difficult in Barcelona. That if you say something positive about the current coach then that’s negative to the former coach — me. It doesn’t need to be like that.
“I have a good relationship and respect for Hansi and his players, just as I had for Ronald Koeman before me. Koeman should be credited for bringing in Gavi, Balde and other young players, which I benefited from, and he won the Copa del Rey.”
“But if you ask if I’m happy and proud to have given debuts to Lamine and Cubarsi, of course I am. Lamine is a genius. He will become the best.”
Barcelona are enjoying a fine season under Flick. The Catalans have already won the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey and sit top of the table in La Liga with four games left.
“It was too emotional for me because I was a supporter too. It’s different for Hansi. He’s not speaking Spanish; he’s not a Barcelona supporter. I said to him: ‘Don’t follow anything in the media or you will go crazy. Just concentrate on the team because if you are from here you suffer a lot’.
“You feel your energy going down because you and your family are from here. If we go somewhere else, I said to my staff: ‘We will win with commitment and passion’.”
Source: barcablaugranes.com
Post a Comment