With the approaching arrival of Hansi Flick as coach of the team, the Spanish club Barcelona began searching for a new assistant, provided that he is fluent in speaking German and Spanish.
Yesterday, Friday, Barcelona announced the dismissal of coach Xavi Hernandez, and according to most press reports, Flick is the closest candidate to succeed him at the present time.
The Spanish newspaper “as” said that Barcelona has drawn up a list consisting of Thiago Alcantara, the Liverpool midfielder, Javi Martinez, the Qatari club’s midfielder, and Marc Bartra, the former Barcelona and Real Betis defender currently, in order to appoint one of them as Flick’s assistant.
The newspaper pointed out that the first player Barcelona contacted was Thiago Alcantara, as his contract with Liverpool expires this summer and he will not continue at Anfield, but he is 33 years old and may prefer to play rather than retire to help his former coach at Bayern Munich.
The call to Alcantara came first, because he meets the qualities required for an assistant to Flick, due to his good spirit, strong personality, and ability to communicate with players.
As for Martinez, things seem easier as he is close to retirement, and the opportunity to work as Flick’s assistant in Barcelona may be attractive to him.
Also comes Bartra, who is not considered to have the strongest chances, despite his playing for Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund and his adaptation to Spanish football and its German counterpart.
Another name appeared on the list of candidates, which is Ivan Rakitic, the Saudi Al-Shabab player, who is considered one of the favorite players of Barcelona fans, and it is not yet clear whether the club will contact him officially in the coming days, despite his name being frequently mentioned in order to cooperate with Flick.