Special Edition Barça Tour USA 2024 | Page 16

FIRST TEAM

A NEW IMPETUS

B A R Ç A U S A T O U R 2 0 2 4
In the second edition of Barça One ’ s El Pòdcast del President , Joan Laporta explained that he decided to change the first team bench because he felt that a new impetus was needed . " The best thing was a new coach who believed in the squad and had the necessary ambition . Then the Hansi Flick option appeared on the table ,” he said . The president also stated that the German ’ s profile could suit a team like Barça : “ Deco and Bojan had an interview with him and the feedback was very positive . Flick is an experienced , serious coach with a sense of responsibility . And , above all , he believes in our style of play and in the possibilities of the squad .”
Laporta revealed that , despite being a technician far removed from the Barça environment , Flick was already aware of the Club and the squad . “ He had been studying our style of play and how to incorporate it for a long time . He also knows the current squad and the La Masia players very well . I gave him a letter because I knew which club he came from and he surprised me very positively , because he already knew a lot .” The president made it very clear that what is required of the new coach is to “ win ” and that he must make “ an unconditional commitment ” to the young talents of La Masia . “ He already knows that here he has jewels with Lamine Yamal , Héctor Fort , Cubarsí , Balde , Gavi ... And he is excited to work with them . He is highly motivated to get the best out of this team ,” he comments .
According to Joan Laporta , it is necessary to improve the physical preparation of the first team and the German coach is aware of this . “ The team will need to adapt to other positions , but more physical preparation is also needed . This season we have had problems with injuries and also with a drop in performance from the 60th minute onwards . Flick is clear that the players need to be better prepared physically ,” he says .
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