“I’m delighted to be working at Barcelona and to live in Barcelona. It’s a fantastic job, I’m very happy… We have played a fantastic game and I am so proud,” Hansi Flick said in the post-match press conference after Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 at Santiago Bernabeu. The game of football has not witnessed many coaches who have such a massive impact on the team in its first season at the club that too at a time when the club struggled in the last season, but Barcelona are lucky that they have got Hansi Flick – signing of the season.
The German arrived at Barcelona this season after the club sacked their legend Xavi Hernandes as manager, which attracted some scrutiny from President Joan Laporta. However, the club’s rich legacy attracted Flick, who was willing to join despite all its financial problems.
The 59-year-old arrived with a big reputation as a sex-tuple-winning manager at Bayern Munich, who once humiliated Barcelona 8-2 in the Champions League under Flick only. However, the table has turned as the two catalysts—Hansi Flick and Robert Lewandowski of the Bayern side—have joined the Blaugranas. This season, they finally avenged the German giants with a 4-1 win in the Champions League.
Gone are the days when Barcelona were rigid about playing with the tiki-taka philosophy for the entire 90 minutes, as Flick brought a fresh perspective to their game by promoting young talents from La Masia to the senior team. With financial restraints, Barcelona could only afford Dani Olmo in the summer transfer window when their opponents were splashing money to make some superstar signings – Real Madrid getting Kylian Mbappe and Atletico Madrid acquiring Julian Alvarez.
Barcelona started the season with identical results in their first three matches: 2-1 against Valencia, Athletic Club, and Rayo Vallecano. But the match against Real Valladolid CF saw the Barcelona attackers on steroids, with a 7-0 win, which saw Barcelona go all out until the final minutes of the match.
They kept winning game after game, and suddenly, the fans started witnessing dominant aspects of their play, but they were skeptical about whether the direct football and the off-side trap of Flick would work against big clubs or not. And Barcelona proved their doubters wrong when they faced three big clubs in the space of 6 days – Sevilla, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, where they ended up scoring 13 goals and conceded just two to show they are so back to rule the footballing world once again.
It started with a 5-1 win over Sevilla, in which the Barcelona youngsters ran the show alongside an ageing Lewandowski. This year, his astonishing goal-scoring stats are rolling back the years. After annihilating Sevilla, Barcelona were seeking their revenge on Bayern, who they hadn’t beaten for the past decade, but then came Thursday when a reinvented Raphina smashed a hat-trick to pin The Bavarians down with a 4-1 win, which also put an end to Thomas Muller’s mocking the Spanish giants for now.
Meanwhile, they didn’t stop there and then hunted down the European champions Real Madrid at their own den with a 4-0 win. It was an even game in the first half, where both teams fought hard, but then Flick brought his trump card onto their field at the start of the second half – Frenkie de Jong as his calm presence helped Barcelona control the game. The Catalan giants reworked their plans and looked rejuvenated as they completely exploited Madrid’s weaknesses on the field. Lewandowski opened the scoring courtesy of a line-breaking pass from Marc Cassado, and it was another ‘LewanGOALski’ night where he netted another one, and this time, it was a long-range header to double up Madrid’s misery.
Lamine Yamal – the Starboy of Barcelona, showed Kylian Mbappe how it’s done as the 17-year-old netted the third goal and hit Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Calma Calma’ celebration to show Bernabeu they are witnessing something special.
Raphina put the final nail in the coffin with a chip over Andre Lunin to make it 4-0 as Carlo Ancelotti’s men left the field in embarrassment after getting owned by Flick’s boys.
Barcelona have now extended a 6-point lead at the top of the table in Laliga with 10 wins in 11 matches.
How has Flick changed Barcelona this season?
The Off-side Trap
Jules Kounde, Inigo Martínez, Pau Cubarsi and Alejandro Balde – this has been Barcelona’s backline this season – two La Masia youngsters, one Spanish centerback who was set to leave the club before the start of the season and a French centerback who Barcelons are using as a right back this season. No one thought these four would form one of the best backlines in Europe, with Flick and his coaches planning the off-side trap to restrict the opposition attackers.
Barcelona has drawn more than 70 off-side traps this season, the most by any team in Europe. This is double the 35 drawn by second-placed Brighton. The Los Blancos were caught offside 12 times against Barcelona last night, with Mbappe getting over the line on 8 occasions. The Blaugranas defenders have been keeping close eyes on the opposition’s final passes and making some smart movements in the final seconds to move ahead of the final opposition attacker.
Direct and Counter-attacking football
Flick has added a twist to the tiki-taka style of football and tweaked it to get the desired results. There was a time when Barcelona used to make 10-plus passes for the build-up towards a goal, but Flick has told his players to play it more directly. The midfielders get the liberty to make some direct passes, be it line-breaking on long to break the opposition team in half. Pedri and Marc Cassado have been doing it on a regular basis to help the front three get their names on scoring sheets.
The coaching staff has worked on the players’ fitness, which has helped them in their counter-attacking moves, which has helped Barcelona score late goals, which was once a strong pursuit of Real Madrid. But the tables turned in the El Clasico as Madrid conceded three counter-attacking goals, with Barcelona looking fresher on the field till the last minute of the match.
The La Masia Effect
Flick has relied heavily on the La Masia kids to fill up every department’s big shoes. Cassado, 21, has been a rock-solid force in the midfield as they have stopped missing Sergio Busquets for now. The Spaniard, who was playing in the third division last year, has suddenly become one of the brightest youngsters in the La Liga. He has made crucial assists in two of the biggest games for Barcelona this season – against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
In the defensive line, Pau Cubarsi, who made his debut under Xavi, has flourished well under Flick, as he has always been ready to put his body on the line with last-ditch defending. He has also been one of the best passers from the back with his line-breaking passes to cut the opposition in half.
Lamine Yamal—The world started getting to know about the 17-year-old Spaniard last season, but under Flick, he looked more mature on the field. Yamal’s understanding of the game has proven as he has started making crucial passes outside the box, which were not on the points last season, with his desire to attack more inside the box. The flair that he has brought into the side has left people comparing him to the likes of young Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr.
Best Attacking Trio in the World
‘LewanGOALski’ is back to his best. He has netted 12 goals in La Liga this season and four assists, and the return of Flick has helped the Poland star rejuvenate himself. His second goal against Real Madrid displayed that he is in no mood to stop and is still one of the best in Europe, while many of his contemporaries have joined the Saudi and MLS clubs.
Raphinha reinvented himself when some Barcelona fans wanted the club to replace him with Nico Williams. However, the Brazilian has shut his doubters and has become Europe’s most in-form winger. The captain’s armband looked good on his bicep, and he has led the team from the front with a couple of hat-tricks already this season, one of which came against Bayern Munich.
Yamal has shown that the world’s age is just a number, and he is ready to take over the footballing world at 17. If he continues at the same rate in a year or so, we might see him with a Ballon d’Or trophy in his hand.
