HANSI FLICK’S start to life at Barcelona has been better than anyone could have expected.
After another summer of financial acrobatics within the walls of the club in Catalonia, a pre-season with most of the star names absent and some key injuries it was hardly a settled start.
Hansi Flick has dived into Catalan culture to take Barcelona back to the top[/caption]
But the German’s eagerness to embrace the culture of the club and its surrounding areas has seen the Spanish giants flourish.
They are top of LaLiga, three points clear of Real Madrid, and have won all but one of their ten league games so far.
But Flick’s flying start is about to face its litmus test. They host his former club Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before visiting Real on Saturday evening.
Weeks do not come much more taxing than that.
Flick returns to Bayern finally feeling at the top of his game once more following the brutal and bruising experience of becoming the first manager to ever be sacked in the history of the German national team.
He took his time in choosing a next step, there were trips to watch Premier League games and a brief flirtation with the West Ham job in the summer. Things have worked out rather better, for both him and Barcelona.
After the chaos of last season’s dance around the future of club legend Xavi, in Flick the club now have a manager in whom everyone appears completely invested.
From players benefiting from a clear plan and strict fitness regime to a board blown away by his investment in the culture.
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Flick has dived head first into Barcelona and Catalonia, touring the area in the early weeks, attending an event on National Day of Catalonia and, first and foremost, embracing La Masia.
Ten graduates from the club’s famed academy were involved in Sunday’s 5-1 win over Sevilla, with seven of them starting.
Club president, Joan Laporta, said: “Flick understood perfectly what our value is, our jewel: La Masia.”
He travelled to meet Xavi at his home and involved former midfielder Thiago Alcantara in his staff for a short period early on.
Flick even earned the seal of approval from Pep Guardiola during a pre-season game against Manchester City, drawn 2-2.
Guardiola said: “They have done a lot of things well. The positional play of his team is extraordinary, I wish them all the best.”
Lamine Yamal, now at the grand old age of 17 following his Euro 2024 heroics, continues to shine while Ansu Fati, following a dispiriting season on loan with Brighton, is back in the picture.
Pedri is thriving and Gavi has now returned from his long injury lay-off.
Improving Robert Lewandowski
But it is not just the youngsters Flick is getting the best out of.
Robert Lewandowski, with whom Flick won the treble at Bayern in 2020, is playing a more advanced role and reaping the rewards once again.
The Pole, 36, is LaLiga’s top scorer with 12 already – double that of Kylian Mbappe, Real’s marquee arrival.
Having not had a number of his senior players during the summer, Flick had to work hard to blend what was a positive pre-season with the more senior players as they returned.
It was another challenge which meant he did not foresee such a fine start.
He said: “I always think positive but at the end it’s a project we started with the players from La Masia, because a lot of players were with the national teams at the Euros, it feels really good.
“Because also the young players are doing great.
“The players came back, it was the same and I think this is an important thing… That you have a good feeling and, step by step, the players get the confidence to play how we want to play, to do it on the pitch and at the end we have the quality.”
