FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick channelled his inner Lou Reed by hailing a ‘perfect day’ which saw his team return to its Camp Nou home and the top of the La Liga table by beating Athletic Club 4-0.
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FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick channelled his inner Lou Reed by hailing a ‘perfect day’ which saw his team return to its Camp Nou home and the top of the La Liga table by beating Athletic Club 4-0.
Flick famously visited the iconic ground as a lower league manager, after being gifted tickets by Nike for being a top sneaker salesman.
In the stands of the Catalan fortress, however, the German promised himself that he would one day sit on the home team bench and has now made that a reality as Barca reopened a half-ready, renovated Camp Nou for the first time since spring 2023.
“For me, training also ten days ago was a great feeling, when you go out on the pitch and see all the fans. I was here a long time ago, and I said to myself that one day I wanted to be here on this bench, and it’s like a dream come true,” Flick explained.
“When you work hard and believe, anything is possible. We just have to work hard, think about our quality, our strength and play as a team.”
As for the match itself, Flick called it special ‘for everyone’.
“To be back here, in the stadium, was an incredible feeling. We also won three points, it was not easy, especially in the first half, but we kept a clean sheet, everything went in the right direction, four goals and three points, it’s a perfect day for us,” he beamed.
Flick said that while he respects Athletic Club, he was “very happy with how we played”.
“ Everything went well, the players were connected. I’m happy, of course, I’m happy here, my whole coaching staff has that feeling of being in this stadium. We have to wait, step by step, we are happy to return home. I am very positive. We are focused, wanting to give our best,” the manager further added.
FC Barcelona fans have nothing to worry about on Balde
With the left back brought off at half time after suffering a knock to the head, Flick put Culers’ minds at rest on Alejandro Balde.
“He’s fine. We simply made the substitution as a precaution because the action took place a few minutes before the break,” Flick stated.
With a win under its belt and a return to the top of the La Liga table ahead of Real Madrid playing, FC Barcelona will be back on the pitch away at Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.