“The Los Blancos are starting their dominance in Spain.” was said before the LaLiga 2024-25 was even up and running. And frankly, it made sense to me because of their mentality along with great financial backing that allowed them to sign one of the best clutch players in football – Kylian Mbappe.
But you know what, it is football. I have been streaming LaLiga in 4K from the very first matchday and it’s a bummer for Madridistas, it doesn’t look like the way future was predicted.
Thanks to Flick’s football, Barca is looking relentless after a perfect start to the season until the 8th game of LaLiga (Yes, I am talking about Barca-Osasuna here).
With just one major signing coupled with the talented input from LaMasia Academy, there is a complete refresh in playing style which really dominates the opponents (more on that later).
On the flip side, Real Madrid looks nice, sharp, and quick in attack because of the front four’s firepower – Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Bellingham. But here is the catch – their midfield has been left with a vacant hole after Toni Kroos’ retirement.
Modric is still playing, but his legs are getting old and while Tchouameni and Valverde are great, the balance is not just there now.
Anyhow, let’s get back to Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona and how he transformed this team into a relentless side without much of the financial support.
Off the Ball
I was greatly interested in watching how Flick is going to deal with all the problems on the pitch and off the pitch.
I planned to follow every press conference and obviously, the matches too. And for that, I needed a reliable internet connection. Upon my research, I found one that was dependable because of their no-to-minimal outage rates, affordable plans, and customer service tailored for Spanish speakers like myself at Xfinity internet en español.
Anyhow, here I begin – the one thing I found with consistency was when they are off the ball they had one mantra and its application – press, press, and press until they have the ball back.
This style of off-the-ball play is reminiscent of Pep’s Barcelona where a similar strategy was followed to have more possession on the ball. Even though the off-the-ball plan is similar, on-the-ball movement and play is pretty distinguishable.
That said, Barca has had the most turnover (winning the ball close to the opposition’s goal) in LaLiga this season. Lamine Yamal has been most effective in winning the ball in the opposition box.
Raphinha and Lewandowski then accompany Yamal to launch a well-coordinated press that makes it an uphill battle for the teams to play short and build from the back.
The midfielders then follow the same coordinated sequence and it gets even more suffocating.
With that said, it can’t be all the petals without thorns. There are some flaws too with these off-the-ball movements: the moment the opponents beat that press, it becomes a big fat trouble for the Blaugrana because of the shaky defense.
In my opinion, that shaky defense’s root causes are injuries and then a high defensive line. Barca’s defensive Talisman Ronald Araujo has been absent from the 11 for quite a while after pulling his right hamstring tendon. The reliable Andreas Christensen has also been sidelined because of the injury.
Though Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez have been successful in providing the backup cover. But with Araujo, it’s going to be another story.
On the Ball
Yeah, we need to talk about that because the beauty lies there.
The beauty lies in the attack – the quick movements, minimal and direct passing, switching the side of the play, and the play through the center all add up and become a treat to watch.
I, along with other fans should be grateful to Xavi for giving us Lamine Yamal – oh my! That teenager is a freakin’ baller. He just turned 17, and at this young age, he looks mature and confident. He likes, no, he loves to take on his man and he is quite successful in his 1v1’s.
Raphinha – that captain’s armband has given him a third lung. He is the most effective player in the FC Barcelona lineup. The guy just keeps on running while producing the numbers.
As for Lewandowski, Hansi Flick has done some magic on him and he has transformed his lackluster performances into season 2020 Lewandowski.
The front three have been phenomenal and as of now, they form the most lethal attacking trio in the whole of Europe.
On the ball, the front three know what they have to do and the positional freedom is something that has really kicked in to change the fate of Culers.
At the heart of the midfield, Pedri is the one who orchestrates the play with the support of another pivot which is either Marc Casado or Eric Garcia. On the ball, when Pedri plays as number 10, one of the pivots stays right in front of the defense to provide the cover. If Pedri is giving the defensive, it’s either Raphinha or Yamal playing as the number 10 while Balde and Kounde provide the width.
Playing from the Back
One of the peculiar sequences of play that’s been quite effective is playing from the back.
It wouldn’t have been possible if that wasn’t for the injuries of Araujo and Christensen. The rise of Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez in the lineup is a blessing in disguise. Both center-backs have proven to be reliable and their specialty is line-cutting progressive passes.
With that ability, pressing them is mostly futile because of the exploitable space left behind. And that’s what they do, invite the press and then break the lines through a single pass. The ball moves quickly and there is nothing the opponent can do when Pedri uses his mastery or Dani Olmo finds the tightest of the spaces and converts them into xGs.
This playing from the back is right in line with Flick’s philosophy of football – move the ball as quickly and as direct as possible.
All in all, Flick’s Barcelona plays a very different football from their DNA. Even though it’s different, it’s still a joy to watch. Speaking of which, if you are a Culer and love to engage in FC Barcelona-related conversations, here’s a great subreddit to join.
