Flick's Barça: What now?

BarcelonaBarça is now La Liga champion. It's the 28th time thanks to a team that has reconnected with its fans. It's also thanks to a German coach few knew beyond the 8-2 defeat in Lisbon. Hansi Flick has healed those wounds by making Barça compete in Europe for the first time in many years and, following the legacy of Johan Cruyff, has managed to build a brave, uninhibited, attractive, and winning team.

Brave because Barça's approach has been based on a very high defensive line. Perfectly calibrated by the starting center backs, Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez, it has been even more jarring when one of them was out. Normally, a lack of practice and, in the case of some players, like Araujo, a lack of concept. Flick's Bayern also played with a very high defensive line, but they did so in a more savage manner. Boateng and Alaba relied on their conditioning abilities to catch opponents running behind them, and they also had Neuer's net, so they didn't need as much synchronicity. Defending so high with center-backs who aren't especially fast or powerful at correcting yards backward is extraordinary merit. Cubarsí and Iñigo's season is worthy of praise.

Uninhibited because no team has been able to mentally dominate Barça. Flick's team played as if they were playing in a schoolyard. You saw them enjoying themselves, squeezing every minute, as if the result were a figment of the imagination and the goals conceded just another part of the spectacle. Barça played like Alaba did when he scored the own goal in Lisbon that equalized: with a smile.

Appealing because we saw a team that defended high and forward, a coordinated team when it came to pressing in the opposition's half and stifling their opponents' outlets, a Barça that was voracious in applying this pressure in a sustained manner and always seeking the opposing goal. On the individual level, it's also a joy to see the level of players like Pedri and Lamine Yamal, the season of Raphinha and Kounde, the emergence of Casadó and Gerard Martín, and the competitive maturity of often-interrupted players, like Eric Garcia. In fact, all the players, or almost all of them, have performed superbly.

Winning because, obviously, Barça has won La Liga and the Copa del Rey (yes, also the Super Cup), but, above all, titles aside, because of this mentality. In this sense, the former Bayern player has managed to transmit his essence and experience to the squad. And Flick's Barça has also been an emotional team. He reconnected with the people and made his fans feel proud of the football their team played. With a strong core of homegrown players, the sense of belonging and identification are assured.

What now?

Hansi Flick himself said after the match against Espanyol that the season has been very good, but that they can still do better. Many overlook the outcome of the match against Inter Milan and, in general, the management of favorable results. There's room for improvement here, but we can already say that this improvement doesn't mean abandoning the idea that has allowed you to build all this. No, Flick's Barça won't end matches locked in the box. They'll never want to; that, if anything, could push you over.

Managing certain situations better requires growing even more with the ball and mastering the rhythms. You have to have the calm, serenity, quality, and vision to see when one thing is needed and when it's time to do another, but always with the ball and with the intention of being an active team. And you also need a greater degree of experience in some actions. Sometimes it's okay to commit a tactical foul and stop the other team's counterattack.

Improving doesn't mean establishing a Plan B, but rather perfecting Plan A. That's what Flick feels, what the players experience, and what gives the club its footballing identity.