With Xavi’s tenure as Barça coming to an unfortunate end, President Joan Laporta already made his choice on who should be Xavi’s successor, by hiring Hansi Flick. It was a marriage of convenience between the club and manager; A damaged club hiring a damaged Hansi Flick.
It was the worst kept secret that Laporta was looking to
hire a German manager to run our beloved Blaugrana. Laporta just missed out on
Hansi Flick in 2021 before hiring Xavi to manage Barça. Lady luck shined on
Laporta when Hansi Flick was now available to take the job following Germany’s disastrous
performance at the 2022 World Cup and subsequent matches. Flick’s stock was absolutely at an all-time low and Barça was in need of a manager to get
them back among the elite clubs in Europe.
This is not uncommon ground for FC Barcelona. Barça has a storied history of willing to gamble on managers whose philosophies align with the club's philosophy, even if their previous experiences were not always successful. One notable example is Frank Rijkaard, who took over as FC Barcelona's manager in the summer of 2003. Before joining Barça, Rijkaard had been let go at Sparta Rotterdam after they were relegated in his lone season there in 2002. Even though his managerial career consisted of being the Netherlands national team manager from 1998 to 2000 along with his only stint at club level with Sparta Rotterdam, he guided Barça to resurgence. The Blaugrana won two La Liga titles and their second UEFA Champions League in 2006.
The man who guided Barça’s Dream Team, Johan Cruyff, to their
first Champions League crown also came to the club with a somewhat damaged reputation as
a manager. Although Ajax won two Dutch cups and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup during
the mid to late 80s, Cruyff was unable to steer Ajax Amsterdam to a Dutch
league title and subsequently resigned in January 1988 as Ajax struggled. A few months later, Barça hired the
football legend and the rest, as they say, is history. Cruyff’s arrival ushered
in a successful era for the Blaugrana where he implemented his groundbreaking
"Total Football" philosophy at Barcelona, which revolutionized the
club's style of play and laid the groundwork for its future success.
Luis Enrique is another prime example of a manager whose
managerial career before Barcelona was not spectacular and somewhat damaged. He
lasted one season coaching Roma without winning any major trophies. However,
after taking over as Barcelona manager in 2014, Luis Enrique led the club to an
unprecedented treble in his first season, capturing La Liga, Copa del Rey,
and the Champions League, and amassed a total of nine trophies in his three seasons at the club.
However, not all damaged managers have been successful after
taking the reins at Barcelona. One noteworthy example would be Louis van Gaal.
When van Gaal was first hired by the club in 1997, he was considered one of the
top managers in the world following his accomplishments with Ajax. His first
stint as Barça manager saw the club win consecutive league titles but failed in
Europe. However, when he was hired by Barça again in 2002, it was fresh from
his unsuccessful stint as the Netherlands manager who failed to qualify for the
World Cup. The second era of van Gaal with the Blaugrana lasted a few months
before he was fired due to the club’s woeful league position. Then there is Quique
Setién, who joined Barcelona midway through the 2019-2020 season without much
of a successful reputation. He had been hired after leaving Real Betis where they regressed from 6th to 10th in the league standings, and he tried his best to showcase his commitment to the Blaugrana's
possession-based style of football. However, Setién only lasted a few months
without winning any major silverware and will forever be remembered as the
manager in charge during that 8-2 defeat to Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich side in the 2020
Champions League Quarter-Finals.
Barça has a history of hiring managers based on their potential to align with the club's footballing philosophy and their ability to meet the high expectations of both the club and its fans. Hansi Flick’s hiring is a slight deviation from Barça’s DNA, where the hope is he will mutate that DNA with the German football DNA to create a new successful formula for success. Hopefully his hiring will usher in a new successful era for the Blaugrana, and thereby end years of frustration in Europe while also navigating the club to more success in domestic competitions.
