Former Arsenal defender visits Barcelona training to observe Hansi Flick’s methods

Former Arsenal defender visits Barcelona training to observe Hansi Flick’s methods According to Carlos Monfort of SPORT , former Arsenal and Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi visited the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper to watch the Barcelona first-team players train under Hansi Flick. The former Germany international is currently the assistant manager of the nation’s U21 team. Currently spending a few days in the Catalan capital, he took the opportunity to observe Flick’s methods and how he conducts his sessions. Mustafi observes Barcelona training As per the report, Mustafi visited Barcelona’s training a day after he watched the club’s Juvenil A side in action against Aston Villa in the UEFA Youth League. It was Flick himself who extended the invitation to the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner. The Barcelona manager’s assistant, Marcus Sorg, showed the former defender around and gave him the opportunity to closely observe how the Barça coaching staff operate. Mustafi visited Barcelona’s training facilities. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images for DFB) Mustafi called time on his professional career in football in 2024. Not long after, he began his coaching journey, starting off with the Germany U17 national team before becoming Antonio Di Salvo’s assistant with the German U21 national team setup. Just 34 years old, Mustafi is still in the nascent stages of his coaching career. And observing the way Flick and his staff works at Barcelona will have been a learning experience for the former Arsenal defender. Not the first visitor This is not the first time a coach or a manager has visited to observe Barcelona’s training sessions under Flick. In February earlier this year, Edin Terzic paid a visit to the Blaugrana training facilities accompanied by Sebastian Geppert to take a closer look at how Flick works and pick his brains. This came only a few months before Terzic was appointed the manager of Athletic Club, with Geppert joining him at the Basque club as his assistant. Flick doing a brilliant job at Barcelona. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images) It should not come as a surprise to see coaches wanting to see and learn from Flick and his methods, considering the exceptional work he has done since taking over at Barcelona back in 2024. In two full seasons at the club, the German tactician has already won five trophies, while having the team play an intense, attacking brand of football. Barcelona will be back in action on Sunday when they take on Atletico Madrid in a top-of-the-table La Liga clash away at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.