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, he also led the side to a FIFA Club World Cup and another Bundesliga title.[2] Alongside Pep Guardiola, he is the only manager to achieve 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 was appointed to manage the Spanish side, Barcelona.
Playing career
During his playing career, he was a midfielder who played 104 matches for Bayern Munich and scored five goals between 1985 and 1990. [3] At Bayern, he won four Bundesliga titles as well as one DFB-Pokal title, and played in the 1987 European Cup Final.[4] He later played 44 matches for Köln before retiring from professional football in 1993 due to injuries. His last spell as a footballer was with Victoria Bammental from 1994 until 2000.[5]
Flick's managerial career began in 1996 as a player-manager of Viktoria Bammental, which was playing in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg at that time. At the end of the 1998–99 season, the club was relegated to the Verbandsliga Baden, but he remained their coach for one more season.[5]
1899 Hoffenheim
In July 2000, Flick became a manager of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg side TSG Hoffenheim, winning the league and gaining promotion to the Regionalliga Süd in his first season at the club. After four unsuccessful attempts to reach the 2. Bundesliga, he was released from duties on 19 November 2005.[7][8]
Red Bull Salzburg (assistant)
Flick later worked briefly as an assistant of Giovanni Trapattoni and Lothar Matthäus and sporting coordinator at Red Bull Salzburg.[7] He stated that his work under Trapattoni, one of the world's most renowned managers, taught him many things, especially on tactics and in developing relations with players, but also said that he disagreed with Trapattoni's defence-first approach.[9]
Germany (assistant)
Flick was named the assistant coach for Germany on 23 August 2006. Although not listed as an officially recognized manager by the DFB, due to the sending off of Joachim Löw in the previous game, Flick was technically the German manager for the UEFA Euro 2008 quarter final against Portugal on 19 June 2008, which ended in a 3–2 win for Germany. After finishing second at the UEFA Euro 2008 and third at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he reached the semi-finals at the UEFA Euro 2012 and won the 2014 FIFA World Cup as assistant coach of Germany. He became sporting director at the German Football Association after the 2014 World Cup until 16 January 2017.[10][11]
Hoffenheim (sporting director)
Flick was appointed Sporting Director of Hoffenheim, the team he had previously coached, at the start of the 2017–18 season.[12] However, the contract, which was signed for five years, was terminated after just eight months.[13]
Bayern Munich
On 2 July 2019, Flick joined Bundesliga club Bayern Munich as an assistant coach, under the management of Niko Kovač.[14] When Kovač left Bayern by mutual consent on 3 November 2019, he was promoted to the interim manager position.[15][16] In his first match in charge, Bayern defeated Olympiacos 2–0 in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 6 November 2019.[17] After a satisfying spell as interim coach, Bayern announced on 22 December 2019 that Flick would remain manager until the end of season.[18]
In April 2020, Bayern Munich gave Flick a new contract lasting until 2023.[19]
On 17 April 2021, Flick announced that he had told the club he wanted to leave at the end of the season. He voiced his desire to coach the Germany national team, given his previous job as an assistant to present German team manager, Joachim Löw. Flick left Bayern with one of the greatest winning records in modern football history. During his tenure, Bayern lost just seven games and won seven trophies (Bundesliga twice, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Supercup, Club World Cup). Bayern went undefeated in the 2019–20 Champions League, the first team in European/Champions League history to lift the trophy with a 100 percent win record, and won 23 matches in a row across all competitions between 16 February 2020 and 18 September 2020, a record in German professional football.[25] Flick also coached Bayern to a treble, the second treble in Bayern's history. Flick held one of the highest win rates in football history, winning 83% of his games and helped Bayern average 3.0 goals per game across all competitions.[26] In October 2020, Flick won Europe's Coach of the Year, an award for the best coach in football in the major football leagues of Europe.[26]
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Germany was eliminated in the group stage for the second time in a row, as they finished third in their group, despite winning their final match 2–4 against Costa Rica.[29][30] Flick received criticism for his substitutions, particularly against Japan in their tournament opener, which they lost 1–2.[31]
Flick was sacked on 10 September 2023, a day after a 4–1 loss in a friendly against Japan, the team's third defeat in a row.[32] Flick lasted two years in charge and had the second-worst point rate of 1.72, only ahead of Erich Ribbeck with 1.50 points per game.[33][34] He was also the first manager of Germany to be sacked in the role's history.[35]
Barcelona
On 29 May 2024, Flick signed as the new head coach of La Liga club Barcelona on a contract until 30 June 2026. He became the third German in the club coaching history, after Hennes Weisweiler and Udo Lattek.[36][37]
On 17 August 2024, Flick won his first match as Barcelona manager, securing a 1–2 comeback victory against Valencia at the Mestalla, breaking Barcelona's 2 year streak of 0–0 draws on matchday 1.[38] However, on 28 September 2024, he suffered his first La Liga defeat as Barcelona manager, a 4–2 loss to Osasuna.
Manager profile
Reception
While in charge of Bayern Munich, Flick developed the name 'Flicki-Flaka' in the media to characterize the mixed gegenpressing and possession based style of football the team played.[39]
Tactics
Flick consistently deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation at Bayern Munich featuring a high defensive line that encourages their double pivot and full-backs to adopt positions where they can press the ball as it approaches the midfield third, and to screen and block against switches of play.[40] In Bayern's 8–2 win over Barcelona en route to winning the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, 3 out of their first 4 goals came within 10 seconds after regaining possession as Flick likes to keep passing lanes short with players much closer to the ball. Another tactic that Flick uses to create space on one side is to begin the play on one side of the field and gradually draw the opposition to shift to the ball side.[41]
While in charge of the German national team, Flick experimented fielding a back three system with indifferent results.[42]
Personal life
Flick is married to Silke Flick. As of 2020, they have been married for over 30 years. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.[43][44]