It was already speculated, but now it’s confirmed: Heiko Westermann is moving to FC Barcelona to become Hansi Flick’s assistant coach
Westermann has been with the DFB since the summer of 2019 and has been involved in various years there. Most recently, he was assistant coach of the U19s. It was officially announced on Saturday that he is now leaving the German Football Association. The former defender is moving to FC Barcelona, where he will become Flick’s assistant coach. Bayern’s former goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic (43) and Flick’s former DFB assistant Marcus Sorg (58) will also join the coaching team.
“I am grateful for five intensive years at the DFB, during which I learned a lot. Be it on numerous work shadowing assignments at home and abroad or in developing the defensive player program. It was always an honor to work with the best young players in the country. We celebrated victories together and dealt with defeats, there were highs and lows,” Westermann is quoted as saying on dfb.de. “What remains is the close relationship with all my fellow coaches from the DFB’s U division.”
It is a bitter loss for the DFB, as Kai Krüger, head of the junior national teams, explains: “Heiko is leaving us as an absolute expert – a coach who lives soccer with passion. With his meticulous approach, he has helped our talented players to progress immensely. The fact that he is now continuing his coaching career with Hansi’s team at FC Barcelona fills us with pride. This appointment also shows that we at the DFB not only closely support our talented players, but also develop talented coaches and prepare them for the big stage.”
After the back and forth with former coach Xavi, Barcelona have decided to start the coming season with new coach Flick. Together with him, Westermann, who made 318 appearances in the Bundesliga (26 goals), now wants to ensure a more successful season in Catalonia than last season, when Barcelona were unable to win a title
Westermann succession already settled
Westermann’s successor at the DFB has already been decided. Rainer Zietsch will succeed the former defender as the new U-18 coach in line with the rotation in the transitional area. Together with Markus Reiter, he completes the coaching team around head coach Christian Wörns.