Hansi Flick will still manage Barcelona in El Clasico on Sunday night after his father’s death was announced hours before kick-off. The Catalan club released a statement on Sunday confirming the death of their head coach’s father and expressing their support for the German player.
The message read: “The entire FC Barcelona and Blaugrana family would like to send all our love to Hansi Flick following the passing of his father. We share your sadness and our thoughts are with you and your families at this difficult time.” However, Flick will be in the dugout as a substitute against Real Madrid, with both clubs to pay tribute to his father by wearing black armbands and a minute’s silence will be observed before kick-off.
Barça’s powerful rivals showed extraordinary dignity by expressing their condolences to Flick. “Real Madrid, the president and the directors deeply regret the death of Hansi Flick’s father. Real Madrid would like to express its condolences and love to his family and all his loved ones. May he rest in peace,” they said in a statement.
If the hosts avoid defeat, they can win the La Liga title with two games remaining. This feat marks Flick’s first consecutive wins in his first two seasons at the club.
The coach highly praised the atmosphere within the team going into this match. “The atmosphere, the connection between the players is really special,” Flick said.
“We have a lot of quality, world-class players. The connections between everyone are great, especially the academy players, because they have known each other for many years.”
“It would be unbelievable to win the second title with such a young team. The players have done a great job and now we want to win the title for the second year in a row. This is amazing. It’s not normal here in Spain.”
He added: “Selecting 11 players is not easy. Almost all of them are back. They are all showing a great level.”
“We want to play our game and not focus on anything else. It’s clear what we have to do and we want to show it. We’re in this situation because we had a great season as a team.”
