The announcement was utterly unexpected. - Former national athlete joins Flick as his assistant coach.
According to Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo," Heiko Westermann (40) is likely to become a co-trainer for Hansi Flick (59) at FC Barcelona.
Westermann has a couple of advantages that could lead to his involvement with the Spanish team. Firstly, he has coaching experience with the DFB, where Flick also worked. The ex-Bundesliga player has been coaching junior teams since 2019, currently serving as co-trainer for U19 under Christian Wörns (52). Flick was a coach with the German national team for two years, and before that, he was a coach and sporting director for a total of eleven years. When Westermann (27 international caps) made his debut for the German national team in 2008, Flick was his co-trainer. The pair are familiar with each other.
Another factor is Westermann's knowledge of the Spanish language. After playing for HSV, he moved to Betis Sevilla for a season in 2015 and played 20 games in the Primera División.
These two factors could make Westermann a good fit for Barcelona. The former HSV player was recently in talks with his previous team, but it seems that he will soon be headed to Catalonia.
Flick is not the only German coach joining Barcelona. Toni Tapalovic (43), who was goalkeeper coach at FC Bayern until 2023, and Flick's former DFB co-trainer Marcus Sorg (58) are also set to join the team.
Flick signed a four-year contract on Wednesday, replacing Xavi (44) as coach of FC Barcelona. After a season without any trophies in 2023/24, Flick is expected to bring home some victories for the Catalonian club.
Reports from Spanish media suggest that Flick's salary at Barcelona will be three million euros per year, half of what Xavi received. But there are high bonuses attached to this base salary — one million euros for winning the Champions League and 750,000 euros for winning the Spanish league.
