Barcelona’s German head coach Hans-Dieter Flick is set to part ways with physical preparation expert Julio Tous.
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FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is about to lose a key member of staff in physical preparation expert Julio Tous, who according to Cadena SER will leave the first team group.
Tous isn’t set for an exit from the club altogether, however. Instead, he has an exciting project on his hands.
It entails continuing with the Blaugrana, yet helping a selection of budding La Masia professionals considered to be elite, or on their way to it, that are currently in the Juvenil U18s category.
He’ll also work in other departments across the club, which could include the sports of other teams.
Tous’ replacement will be Holger Broich, who is described by SPORT as a man of “maximum confidence” for Flick. Broich previously worked alongside Flick during his highly successful spell leading Bayern Munich at the turn of the decade.
Flick and Tous didn’t see eye to eye towards the end at FC Barcelona
SPORT explains how Tous’ change of role comes after a lack of understanding between him and Flick towards the end of last season.
The 2025/2026 campaign can be considered a roaring success once more for the Catalans.
They retained the La Liga crown and the Super Cup while reaching the Copa del Rey semifinals, yet fell further away from the Champions League crown by only reaching the quarterfinals as opposed to the last four the term before.
That exit to Atletico Madrid was largely believed to be down to Raphinha’s absence. The Brazilian picked up a hamstring knock on international duty with Brazil, but he arrived to Carlo Ancelotti’s camp already fatigued before being pulled at the interval of an eventual 2-1 loss to France.
Yet Flick was left disturbed by Rapha’s relapse after suffering a similar knock earlier in the season only to fall to it again. There were cases of other players in almost identical cases too.
Tous’ work is said to have divided the first team squad, because some of Flick’s men believe that they’ve reached the highest heights of their careers thanks to his methods. Others weren’t entirely happy, however.
Could Broich be the key to FC Barcelona finally achieving Champions League glory?
There’s a lot of work that goes into a forming a Champions League-winning outfit on all levels.
Yet it’s Broich – as well as Flick – that is considered to be one of the main architects of Bayern’s 2020 Champions League triumph, which also took in an 8-2 quarterfinal destruction of Barça.
In a trade as demanding as modern football, fitness and physicality are two of the cornerstones to success. They must be nailed down properly in order to still be up and running in spring, when it comes to trying to lift the UCL’s coveted big-eared trophy.
While there have been fewer injuries compared to recent seasons as of late, it’s still an area where FC Barcelona can improve and Broich might be the man to right the ship.