Hansi Flick’s 10 “barracks” rules, with which he turned FC Barcelona into a beast. The “iron fist” with which the German ended up demolishing Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu

Hansi Flick, who came to Barcelona this summer, turned the Catalan team into a beast and demolished Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona humiliated their lifelong rivals, Real Madrid, in their own stronghold, handing them a 4-0 drubbing in the 11th round of La Liga.

What are the 10 rules established by Hansi Flick, thanks to which he turned Barcelona into the beast that demolished Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu

The goals were scored by Lewandowski (54, 56), Yamal (77) and Raphinha (84), and following this result the Catalan team is the authoritative leader in La Liga, after 11 stages, with 30 points, six more than its eternal rival.

Many were skeptical that Hansi Flick, who arrived at Barcelona this summer, would be able to perform in the context in which he is not “from home”. It was pointed out that the technicians who brought glory to Barcelona were drawn from former players, Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola being the most eloquent examples.

Everyone must be present at the training an hour and a half before it starts

But Hansi Flick brought something newwrite AS. The German came with a special authority in the dressing room, a calm one, without outbursts. When the German coach enters the Ciutat Esportiva, everything has to be in place.

He does not miss any detail, he is meticulous in all aspects. He immediately eliminated the fines, but also the prizes or challenges. He also took over some rules from Xavi’s time as coach and brought in new ones.

Here are Flick’s 10 commandments.

1. Punctuality. Everyone must be present at the training an hour and a half before it starts

Flick sets the best example and is the first to arrive at the Ciutat Esportiva training base. Everyone, both players and staff, must be there 90 minutes before training, which is 9:30 Spanish time.

While the players eat breakfast, Flick consults with the technical staff about the preparations for the meeting, with the doctors about the condition of the injured and with the physical trainers about the workloads.

In the medical tests, Hansi Flick also included a dental check-up

2. Daily weight control

Every day, without exception, before training begins, the players must step on the scale. Data is recorded and evaluated weekly. So far, no one has made a mistake. Not since the days of Luis Enrique has there been such a strict highlighting of physical parameters. In the medical tests, the German coach also included dental tests to complete the clinical picture of each player.

3. Mandatory eating habits

The team eats in the Ciutat Esportiva dining room. There are no exceptions. It is not necessary for the footballers to eat together, because they have different schedules, but they are all obliged to go to the buffet prepared by Silvia Tremoleda, the nutritionist from the first team.

4. Match day activation session

Players have a warm-up session on the morning of the match. Flick considers this training essential for match preparation. Several times the starting formula underwent changes after this session. In Xavi’s first season, the activation session was still on match day, but the players complained and it was decided to remove it.

If the away match starts after 21:00, Barcelona do not return home the following night

5. Focused on match day

The activation session returns to another old habit. Since Flick’s arrival, the players gather at the hotel for lunch, even if the match is at the Montjuïc stadium. In this way, unpleasant surprises related to city traffic or any other last-minute incident are avoided.

6. Rest after the match

Late night journeys home have been eliminated. If the away game is at 21:00 or later and the plane flight takes more than an hour and a half, the team stays to sleep in the city where they played. Flick believes that the player needs to rest after the exertion of a match and it is not in his favor to arrive in Barcelona at 3:00 in the morning, for example, exhausted, possibly without having slept during the journey.

7. Long and intense workouts

The German coach imposed a very clear discipline in the training sessions, with an emphasis especially on physical training, with the help of Julio Tous, brought in this summer. Training plays a key role in knowing the status of each player.

In this sense, footballers do exercises with a GPS on their arm that provides all the data and which are later evaluated. Sessions usually last 90 minutes, excluding pre- and post-session work. At the end of the day, the footballers will have spent around 5 hours in the Ciutat Esportiva.

Flick doesn’t want to be the father or colleague of the players, but the coach

8. The disappearance of sanctions and “economic challenges”

Flick considers the players to be professional players and as such a penalty system makes no sense, nor does one provide any additional motivation. Everyone knows what they did wrong and what they are doing right and they are responsible not only to the coach but also to the team.

Under this premise, the German coach decided to eliminate the fines, which were valid during Xavi’s tenure. This does not mean that an act of indiscipline goes unnoticed or has no consequences, but is achieved with other types of punishments. The players are also not rewarded, the rule being instituted by the German coach.

9. Delimitation of days off

Hansi Flick is passionate about his work and wants maximum commitment from both staff and players. He believes that to be at the highest level, you have to give it your all in training and in games.

A day without work is a day lost for Flick. Therefore, he is not a fan of giving too many rest days, at most one per week. It is equally true that more cannot be given when the team has two games in a week.

10. Professional relationship with footballers

Flick wants to be neither the father nor the colleague of the players he trains, but the coach. He maintains an excellent relationship with all players based on respect and commitment. He has his office doors open to anyone, but that doesn’t mean he encourages camaraderie.

Flick has very well demarcated the line between footballer and coach, which neither of them should cross. He tries to be fair in his decisions, but does not allow interference.