New Delhi: The recently retired Thiago Alcantara makes a quick return to football after announcing his retirement earlier in the month.
He rejoins his former club Barcelona as a part of the coaching staff of new manager Hansi Flick. The 33-year-old midfielder has a long-standing relationship with Hansi Flick as he won the treble under the German manager at Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season.
The Spanish midfielder has signed on as a member of the coaching staff for a short stint of two months and will accompany the squad on their tour of the USA. The midfielder has come through at La Masia and his close relationship with Flick were the two main factors that led to Thiago’s return to Nou Camp.
Barcelona confirmed the appointment in a statement stating, “Having recently called time on his playing career at the age of 33, Thiago Alcantara is set to spend the coming weeks as part of Hansi Flick’s staff in order to train as a coach.”
Flick 🤝 Thiago pic.twitter.com/rCf01tTyJs
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 17, 2024
He wasted no time in returning to club football as he joined the first-team training on the first day of Barca’s pre-season. As he knows the German coach’s tactics, mentality, and philosophy from their time together at Bayern, he is expected to help the new manager settle into his surroundings and will also help in communicating with the Spanish-speaking players of the squad.
One of the biggest challenges that lie in front of Hansi Flick is the language barrier that awaits him at Barcelona as the manager doesn’t speak any language other than German. Thiago, who is fluent in Spanish, German, and English courtesy of his stint in all three countries, will help in rectifying that communication gap.
Flick replaces club legend Xavi Hernandez in the Barcelona dugout on a two-year contract after Xavi was sacked at the end of a trophyless season. He added his former midfielder to his backroom staff which already contained Marcus Sorg, Toni Tapalovic and Heiko Westermann as his assistant coaches.
Thiago had a glorious club career turning out for three of the biggest clubs in the world in FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, winning a total of 28 trophies.
His stint with Liverpool was riddled with injuries and he could only make a solitary appearance in his final season with the club due to his injury problems. After his short stint with Barcelona, it’ll be interesting to see if he takes up another coaching role.
Former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder returns to football after announcing his retirement earlier in the month as he rejoins FC Barcelona as a member of the coaching staff. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
