Flick took the unusual step of becoming an assistant having previously held the top job, albeit with then lower-league outfit Hoffenheim prior to becoming Giovanni Trappatoni’s right-hand man at Red Bull Salzburg. It was with Joachim Löw that he formed his first successful partnership, however, as the two linked up for the Germany national team.
Together, they led the country to the final of UEFA Euro 2008, the semis four years later, the final four of the 2010 FIFA World Cup before their 2014 crowning glory in Brazil. Löw was later glowing in his appraisal of his second-in-command, saying, “Hansi worked with me for eight years. I know what he can do, what empathy he has. He speaks the language of the players and reaches them.”
After the World Cup, Flick became sporting director of the DFB for three years and followed that up with eight months in the same role at Hoffenheim. In July 2019, he was offered a pathway back into the dugout at Bayern by Kovač, but stepped into the interim head coach role just four months later.
