When Hansi Flick touched down in Catalonia in the summertime of 2024, FC Barcelona was at a breaking level.
The membership was battered by a trophyless season, marred by tactical uncertainty, fragile participant confidence, and the load of monetary chaos.
Xavi Hernandez, as soon as hailed as the person to return the membership to its roots, had stepped down, abandoning a fragmented squad uncertain of its identification.
Yet, in slightly below 12 months, Flick orchestrated one of the astonishing revivals in trendy soccer – steering Barcelona to a home treble and taking them to the Champions League semifinals.
Orderless locker room
Flick inherited a locker room on the verge of implosion.
Veterans like Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong had regressed underneath Xavi, whereas wingers corresponding to Raphinha had been overtly clashing with the teaching workers.
Raphinha, specifically, felt stifled by Xavi’s brother and assistant, Oscar Hernandez, and had one foot out the door, entertaining presents from Saudi Arabia.
The squad’s morale was additional bruised by a reactive, uninspired tactical system.
Under Xavi, Barcelona struggled to get well as soon as they conceded, usually crumbling underneath stress.
Youth promoted by necessity, not technique
Xavi had promoted a number of younger gamers throughout his tenure – names like Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, and Gavi – however these strikes felt pushed extra by monetary desperation than by strategic foresight.
As the membership scrambled to register new signings resulting from ongoing monetary restrictions, integrating academy skills wasn’t only a philosophy – it was survival.
Flick would inherit this surroundings, however in contrast to his predecessor, he would weave these youthful skills into the tactical material of a coherent, title-chasing group.
Tactical U-turn
What set Flick other than day one was his refusal to adapt.
Drawing on his treble-winning expertise with Bayern Munich, he launched an aggressive, high-octane model of soccer that felt international but invigorating to a membership lengthy married to the extra affected person rhythms of tiki-taka.
Flick’s Barcelona pressed increased, attacked sooner, and moved with vertical urgency.
The full-backs and wingers turned weapons of suffocation, urgent opponents deep into their very own territory.
Defenders like Inigo Martinez, Ronald Araujo, and younger Pau Cubarsi executed a razor-sharp offside entice, remodeling the backline from a reactive shell right into a proactive drive.
Possession with a objective
This shift in identification sparked a metamorphosis.
No longer burdened by sterile possession for its personal sake, Barcelona turned a group of direct intent.
Quick transitions changed ponderous buildup; incisive motion changed lateral monotony.
The stats advised their very own story: 89 objectives in 33 league matches, a determine that underscored Barcelona’s brutal effectivity and attacking prowess.
Even former goalkeeper Victor Valdes, an emblem of the tiki-taka period, lauded Flick’s system as soccer’s subsequent evolution.
Midfield reinvented
Flick additionally revitalized the midfield, handing freedom and accountability in equal measure to the likes of Pedri and de Jong.
Pedri, whose expertise had flickered underneath Xavi, shone in essential moments, none extra so than within the title-sealing 2-0 win over Espanyol.
Flick’s religion within the Spaniard shone, trusting him to steadiness creativity with grit in a midfield engine that mirrored the German’s need for dynamism and management.
Man-management masterclass
Yet, as revolutionary as Flick’s ways had been, his man-management proved simply as transformative.
He rebuilt gamers’ confidence brick by brick.
Raphinha, who had been marginalized and unsettled underneath Xavi, exploded underneath Flick’s steerage – netting 31 objectives and supplying 25 assists throughout all competitions.
He turned not only a contributor however a frontrunner, publicly crediting Flick for altering his profession trajectory.
Lewandowski, who gave the impression to be fading, rediscovered his scoring instincts, whereas de Jong turned the midfield basic he was all the time meant to be.
La Masia’s position reimagined
Flick didn’t simply belief youth – he constructed round them.
Lamine Yamal emerged as a generational expertise, his marvel strike towards Espanyol not simply sealing the La Liga title however symbolizing the membership’s rebirth.
Pau Cubarsi held his personal in Europe’s greatest matches, and Alejandro Balde flourished as an lively full-back.
Where Xavi gave youth an opportunity, Flick gave them objective and construction inside a ruthless, profitable machine.
Mentality shift
Perhaps essentially the most telling shift was psychological.
Where Barcelona had as soon as panicked after conceding, underneath Flick, they responded with hearth. In matches like the two–1 comeback over Real Valladolid and the Copa del Rey last towards Real Madrid, Barcelona demonstrated a resolve not often seen lately.
That transformation in mentality wasn’t unintended.
Flick’s post-match group talks, significantly after the Champions League semifinal loss to Inter Milan, emphasised reflection and resilience.
He reminded his squad of how far that they had come, channeling setbacks into gas for additional development.
Staying above the noise
Off the pitch, Flick navigated the treacherous terrain of Barcelona’s inner politics and media circus with unflappable composure.
Despite not talking Spanish fluently, he took Xavi’s recommendation to coronary heart – ignore the noise, deal with the work.
He prevented the widespread entice that swallows many international coaches on the Camp Nou and tuned out distractions to pay attention solely on his group.
Even because the membership struggled to register summer time signing Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, Flick labored throughout the limitations, doubling down on La Masia and squeezing each ounce of high quality from what he had.
Big matches, larger moments
The 2024-25 season was filled with pivotal moments that made Flick a Barcelona people hero.
A 4-3 win over Real Madrid in La Liga – one of the thrilling Clasicos in years – adopted Copa del Rey last conquer the identical opponent, showcasing Barcelona’s newfound aptitude and resilience.
The home treble was accomplished with victories within the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey, crowning a season of dominance.
Even the semifinal exit within the Champions League to Inter Milan felt like a signpost slightly than a setback, proof that Barcelona had been again amongst Europe’s elite.
Xavi’s shadow
Flick’s success inevitably sparked comparisons with Xavi.
The membership legend had laid essential foundations – introducing younger stars, profitable La Liga in 2022-23, and managing by a monetary storm.
Yet his last 12 months uncovered limitations in tactical flexibility and motivational edge.
Flick constructed on that groundwork however with a unique lens.
Xavi acknowledged as a lot in a candid interview, expressing delight in Flick’s progress whereas defending his personal contributions to the membership’s journey.
Raphinha’s contrasting assessments of each males painted a clearer image. Where Xavi’s man-management fractured relationships, Flick’s elevated them.
By the season’s finish, Barcelona’s board had seen sufficient. Flick was rewarded with a contract extension by 2027 – a press release of religion not simply in his outcomes, however in his imaginative and prescient.
Source: www.dailysabah.com