Hansi Flick is the man tasked to bring Barcelona back to the top of Europe in his first Champions League campaign with the Spanish giants.
Barcelona has had no shortage of silverware in recent years. The Catalans added five La Liga titles, five Copa del Rey trophies, three Spanish Super Cups and one Champions League title to their trophy cabinet over the last decade.
Despite its domestic success, though, Barcelona has not hoisted the biggest trophy in Europe since 2015, when Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar led the side up top. In fact, four of the club’s five Champions League titles came with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner in the side; in the aftermath of his departure, Barcelona has yet to make a semifinal, let alone another final.
The club failed to even make it out of the group stage in 2021 and 2022. Xavi Hernández seemed poised to lead his former club on a promising run in the competition last year, but he, along with a shocked Camp Nou, watched as Barcelona suffered an embarrassing 1–4 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals.
One year later, the pressure to get Barcelona its sixth Champions League title falls on new manager, Hansi Flick. The 59-year-old previously won the competition with Bayern Munich back in 2020 as he led the German side to its second ever continental treble.
Flick’s success in Europe’s biggest tournament brings some much-welcomed experience to such a young Barcelona team. The German manager already has the 27-time La Liga champions off to a perfect start in the Spanish league and now must translate the club’s domestic success to Europe, just like he did with Bayern Munich.
Barcelona’s 2024–25 Champions League draw pits the five-time UCL winners against Monaco, Crvena zvezda, Borussia Dortmund and Benfica away from home, a rather favorable draw for the Pot 1 team. The club faces more difficult matches at the Camp Nou, though, as it gets set to host Young Boys, Bayern Munich, Brest and Atalanta.
Flick’s biggest tests will come against his former club and Borussia Dortmund. BVB made it to the Champions League final last year and Bayern Munich has won its last six UCL matches against Barcelona in dominant fashion.
Even if the La Liga runner-up struggles against the German giants, Barcelona has six other winnable matches so long as Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski maintain their recent form.
Barcelona’s schedule also helps the new manager ease into his first Champions League campaign at the club. The Catalans’ opening matches are against Monaco and Young Boys before they welcome Bayern Munich to Spain. Then, Barcelona faces Crvena zvezda and Brest.
By the time Flick's men face Dortmund, Benfica and Atalanta, Barcelona’s path to the knockout stage should be clear, especially if the German manager lives up to his reputation in the Champions League.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Previewing Hansi Flick’s First Barcelona Campaign in the Champions League.
