Barcelona chief surprises by declaring Hansi Flick is ‘not as tactically gifted’

Barcelona chief advisor Enric Masip has never been a stranger to expressing his opinions, and has surprised many by openly stating that he does not see manager Hansi Flick as a top tactical play. Masip is one of the figures who has President Joan Laporta's ear when decisions are made.

During an interview with El Chiringuito, Masip stated that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is 'by far the best coach in the world', as quoted by Relevo. Masip then compared Flick to Carlo Ancelotti rather than Guardiola.

“There are two types of coaches. Pep who is pure technical essence, work, leadership qualities… and then there is another style, which is more of a manager, who does not have as much tactical ability as Pep. That would be an Ancelotti, Flick or Del Bosque type.”

Masip also had kind words for Xavi Hernandez, who replaced Flick despite advising Laporta to sack the legendary midfielder last season.

“The signing of Olmo is a great signing, but the squad is the same. To praise what Flick is doing, there is no need to bury Xavi. He came in a very difficult stage… the team finished ninth or eleventh and gave a dose of hope. The following year they win a Super Cup and a League. It deserved a lot of credit. [It’s also clear that] the all players version is much better than last year. It was said that Lewandowski was ready to retire,” Masip noted.

Flick's early success is certainly a good basis for claiming that his tactical setup has been as good as anyone's so far this season. While undoubtedly the atmosphere may be the biggest change of the past six months, their offside trap has stunned both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The upcoming matches will be interesting to watch, with Real Sociedad seemingly suffocating Blaugrana.