Hansi Flick is back in football after being named the new coach of Spanish side Barcelona. 

The 59-year-old has signed a two-year deal.

Flick, who has not coached since being sacked by Germany in September 2023, takes over after the Catalan giants failed to win a trophy this season under their former player Xavi Hernandez, who was dismissed on Friday.

Flick won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern in 2020 but a fall-out with the board led to him leaving in 2021 after another German league title. He soon succeeded Germany's World Cup-winning coach Joachim Löw at the national team, where he had been assistant coach for their 2014 triumph.

His tenure started well but four friendly defeats out of six led to him being fired. His successor at Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann, also became his successor in the Germany job.

Flick will be reacquainted with former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski,  who now leads the line at Barcelona but was less effective in the season just finished as Real Madrid easily beat Barca to the Spanish title.

It's the first time Flick's taken a coaching job outside Germany.

mlm/msh (AP, Reuters)