New Barcelona coach having an impact as potential disciplinary issue is resolved

Barcelona and new manager Hansi Flick pushed hard to get Thiago Alcantara on board at the start of their preseason campaign, and the latest coming out of the Catalan capital is that it has paid dividends.

The ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder retired earlier this summer, and Flick was keen to have Thiago in the building as someone who he had worked with before, and a speaker of German, English and Spanish.

If Girona want Oriol Romeu to participate in the match against Barça, they will have to pay €300k. @ferrancorreas

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 8, 2024

As per Sport, he has become the main point of communication between Hansi Flick and the Barcelona squad. While Flick is hardly playing ‘bad cop’ yet, Thiago is playing ‘good cop’, and has the ear of the players. In particular, one player growing frustrated during a training exercise was on the point of leaving the session, and it was Thiago’s persuasion that he should take a deep breath and return to the session that prevented it from becoming more of an issue. He is respected by the players, admired by the youngsters, and all listen to him.

It remains to be seen if Flick and Barcelona will be able to retain Thiago. The initial agreement announced did not go beyond the summer, and there were reports that he did not want to commit to anything too long-term. It sounds as if he is a key part of Flick’s new regime though.