Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has urged his side to deliver their best performance in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund, despite holding a commanding 4-0 advantage from the first leg.
Speaking at Monday’s pre-match press conference, the German tactician made it clear that his team will not be easing up at the Westfalenstadion.
“The idea we have of football is to give our best performance possible,” said Flick. “We’ve got high quality in our team, and our expectation is to show that game after game.”
Flick returns to familiar territory in Germany, where he famously guided Bayern Munich to a historic sextuple in the 2019–20 season after taking over from Niko Kovac, who now finds himself in the opposing dugout at Dortmund.
Now in his debut season at Barcelona, Flick has the Catalan giants on course for a possible treble. They currently lead La Liga by four points ahead of rivals Real Madrid and have booked a Copa del Rey final date against Los Blancos.
“I don’t live in the past or in the future. That’s all up in the air. We’re focused on Dortmund, and everything that comes would be welcome,” said Flick.
“We want the players to enjoy tomorrow, measuring themselves against some of the best in Europe. We don’t take anything lightly. We’re in the quarter-finals and have the chance to make it to the semis—and then maybe achieve even more.”
Veteran goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who came out of retirement to step in for the injured Marc-André ter Stegen, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“It’s a big moment for everyone and a big moment for me,” said the 34-year-old former Arsenal and Juventus shot-stopper.
“We need to manage a game where everyone thinks it’s finished, but it’s not. If you let them back into the game, they’ll take their chances.”
Szczesny revealed he was on the golf course with his son when Barcelona sporting director Deco called him to step in.
“I was playing golf, which makes everything even more bizarre. At that time, I was more of a golfer than a footballer.”
