Toni Kroos, now retired from professional football, has offered a rare and honest comparison between the coaching styles of Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and the more relaxed atmosphere at Real Madrid.
Having worked closely with Flick during his time with the German national team, Kroos shed light on the significant contrast in how discipline is handled between the two football giants.
Speaking on the podcast with his brother (h/t SPORT), Kroos explained how strict Flick can be with rules, especially around punctuality.
"With Hansi, some players have been left out of the team because they were late for a meeting," Kroos said, referencing well-known incidents involving Barça players Jules Kounde and Inaki Pena.
It must be noted that both players were punished by Flick for arriving late to team activities, leading to their exclusion from the starting XI in the subsequent match.
Kroos didn’t hold back when talking about his former club. He pointed out that such a disciplinary move, dropping a player for being just five minutes late, would be laughed off at Real Madrid.
"They are different philosophies. Many times you didn’t even know who was late, the player or the coach," he revealed, describing the environment in Madrid’s dressing room as chaotic at times.
He made it clear that Flick’s style wouldn’t have been accepted easily at the Santiago Bernabeu. "It’s a different mentality. At Real Madrid, that kind of discipline doesn’t exist," he said.
Despite this criticism, Kroos avoided declaring which approach is better, instead stating that both philosophies have their place. "They’re just different. We could say that Flick’s is typical of Germany," he concluded.