Has Thiago Alcantara been more than just a part of Barca's coaching staff?

Since retiring from professional football, it was always expected that Thiago, a former La Masia prodigy, would join Barca's coaching staff. The obvious did happen, and so far, Thiago's appointment as Flick's staff member has proved to be one of the biggest decisions the Blaugrana club took.

Has Thiago Alcantara been more than just a part of Barca's coaching staff?

Brought in as a mediator between the Catalan players and the German boss Flick, Thiago has been much more important for FC Barcelona. Being familiar with Flick's playing style and Barcelona's ideology, Thiago has been seen illustrating tactical concepts for the midfielders and conveying Flick's message to the players enthusiastically. In all, Thiago has been acting as the 12th Blaugrana player on the pitch.

Thiago, being trained by the greats, including Pep Guardiola and Hansi Flick, has been showcasing his management potential at the Catalan club. Flick has been entrusting Thiago with important roles, including developing star midfielders like Gavi and Pedri. Thiago has stood on every challenge brilliantly.

Even in Barça's warmup drills before games, long and short-distance passing drills are led by Heiko Westerman and Thiago Alcántara. Helping in every aspect the Spaniard could help, Thiago has become the Blaugrana players' role model. Marc Casado had this to say about Thiago's role:

""He helps us a lot in many things. Not just the midfielders, everyone. But he tries to help the midfielders make those passes he gave.""

- Marc Casado

Not only this, Diario SPORT had recently reported an anecdote describing Thiago's tough mentality. During one of the training sessions in America, one of the players decided to relax for a few seconds because he was unhappy with his role. On his way to the locker room, Thiago went to him and advised that the best thing was to take a deep breath and return to training. The player went back and resumed training.

In short, apart from being the perfect link between the players and the coaching staff, Thiago Alcántara does everything; he talks, listens, and advises the players a lot. Thiago has become one of the main supporters of the young players in the team, especially the midfielders, who see him as their idol.

Overall, there isn't a doubt that Thiago's staff addition has been Barca's biggest value addition to their coaching list. Be it advising the youngsters, consulting with Flick regarding the club's important decisions, and being a link between Flick and Barca, Thiago's tenure has been superb, and Barca hopes the Spaniard keeps it up.