Barcelona sealed their second La Liga title in a row with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday. The Catalans can now celebrate long into the night, although it was a bittersweet day for head coach Hansi Flick.
Flick’s father passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning, but despite this, he chose to be in the dugout for El Clasico. After the match, he spoke (via MD) on the mixture of emotions he was feeling, while also playing tribute to his squad for their La Liga success.
“I will never forget this moment. It was a tough day, my father passed away but here the team was fantastic and I’m delighted. They gave everything. I’m very proud of my players. It’s exciting with the fans, in a Clásico, beating Real Madrid. It’s impressive. You can see it. It was not easy. Everyone thought we could win, but Real Madrid are a great team. We played and defended well.”
Proud Flick pays tribute to key Barcelona personnel
As well as thanking his players, Flick also took the opportunity to pay tribute to president-elect Joan Laporta and interim president Rafa Yuste, as well as the club’s supporters, whom he hopes to see celebrating the La Liga title success.
“I want to thank the squad, the president, Yuste and everyone and all the fans who have supported us. The most important thing is that I am very proud to have such a good team. Thank you for everything. Thank you for that willingness to fight in every game. I appreciate it very much. I think we have to celebrate. Visca Barça and Visca Cataluña!”
Barcelona will hold an open-top bus parade on Monday to celebrate their success in La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup, which they won in January by also defeating Real Madrid. It remains to be seen whether Flick is involved, as he will be seeking to return to Germany as soon as possible to be with his family.
