Background and career
Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick (German: [ˈhanzi ˈflɪk]; born 24 February 1965) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of La Liga club Barcelona. He is widely considered to be one of the best managers in the world.
A midfielder, Flick played for SV Sandhausen, Bayern Munich, and 1. FC Köln during his career as a player. He made two appearances for the Germany under-18 national team but never played for the senior national team. At Bayern, he won four Bundesliga titles as well as one DFB-Pokal title. After playing at 1. FC Köln, Flick began his managerial career as player-manager of fourth-division club Victoria Bammental. In 2000, he became manager of fellow fourth-division side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, leading the team to promotion to the Regionalliga Süd before leaving in 2005. From 2006 to 2014, Flick was the assistant coach of the German national team under Joachim Löw, contributing to their victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He subsequently served as the sporting director of the German Football Association (DFB) from 2014 to 2017.
Having rejoined Bayern Munich as an assistant coach in 2019, Flick was made interim manager following the departure of Niko Kovač in November 2019. He was later appointed permanently, and won the UEFA Champions League that season, completing the club's second continental treble. In 2021, Flick also led the side to a FIFA Club World Cup and another Bundesliga title. He, along with Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, are the only managers to have ever achieved a sextuple with their team. He later replaced Löw in charge of the Germany national team in 2021, leading the team to qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, before being dismissed in 2023. In 2024, he joined Spanish club Barcelona, winning a domestic treble in his debut season at the club, followed by a La Liga and a Supercopa de España titles in his next.
