The merit of Hansi Flick and the consecration of a golden generation

BarcelonaLeague champions on the field. And for the first time in history, in a classic against Real Madrid. The script dreamed of by the Barça fan has been fulfilled. It is the club's 29th League title, Hansi Flick's second in a row, just the day his father died. The coach decided to stay on the bench in a key match. An example for the locker room and further evidence of Joan Laporta's success in giving him command of the first team. The team had three matchdays to spare.

They say all's well that ends well. The good final run, the players' involvement, and overcoming multiple injuries have given an extra boost to the triumph. But the truth is that the start of the season raised some doubts. "In the beginning it wasn't easy, but we recovered," admitted captain Ronald Araujo. Champion teams are always accused of complacency when they start the season with worse records than the previous year. Especially if it was completed with a state treble.

A start with doubts

Flick's second year began with difficult months, full of doubts. They started with the umpteenth low-cost summer due to unresolved problems with financial fair play, which meant having to give up the signing of Nico Williams — who was practically done — and ended with Iñigo Martínez's departure a week before the competition began. They continued with a pre-season marked by problems on an Asian tour that was about to be cancelled and continued with interferences in the locker room between what the coach wanted and what some members of the sporting committee decided. The uncertainty about the reopening of the Camp Nou, the three matches at the Johan Cruyff, and the doubts at home (an agonizing victory against Levante, a draw in Vallecas, and a collapse in Seville) did not invite optimism. "We've had good moments and bad moments. But this team, with its character, has picked itself up," Raphinha pointed out.

It will never be known what would have happened if Vinícius hadn't thrown that tantrum like a spoiled child at the Bernabéu, the day Real Madrid won the first-round Clásico (2-1), broke a streak of four lost Clásicos, and took a five-point lead. The Whites, with a new coach — Xabi Alonso — were starting a project that looked promising until the Brazilian made it obvious to everyone that the coach had no control over the locker room. Florentino, the plenipotentiary president, sided with the players, and that's where a footballing decline began, which ended with Alonso out the door — after losing the Super Cup, precisely against Barça — and the emergency arrival of an Álvaro Arbeloa who has not only drawn a blank but has worsened his predecessor's records. Internal conflicts, division among the players, and the fistfight between Tchouaméni and Valverde that ended with the latter in the hospital were the last straw.

But it would be unfair to say that Barça won the League because Madrid resigned. To begin with, because they won it right in front of their rivals. But furthermore, one of the team's great merits has been overcoming a plague of injuries that has taken its toll. They have suffered up to 20. And despite everything, the coach's good management and the willingness of players who under normal conditions would be in a secondary role have allowed the Blaugranas to be the most consistent in the domestic competition, especially at home, where they have won all 17 matches played. The last defeat was at Montilivi, with refereeing controversy. Since then, 10 consecutive victories, with 25 goals scored and only six conceded. For now, they have scored 91 goals in total and conceded 31, figures quite similar to those of a year ago at matchday 35 (96-36).

An imperturbable Barça in the League

Nothing has disturbed Barça in the regular tournament. Not the elections, nor the phased reopening of the Camp Nou, nor the noise coming from Madrid due to the refereeing controversy, nor the final injury of Lamine Yamal, nor the two injuries of Raphinha, the captain without a armband, or the relapse of Gavi, who was undergoing surgery for a knee injury affecting the meniscus. The young players from home have continued to pull the cart, giving the team a motivation boost that cannot be bought with money, with an imperial Pedri in midfield even though he was not at one hundred percent throughout the season, Gerard Martín's step forward in defense, Fermín's offensive flair in attack, the risky bet, but one that has paid off well, to bring back Cancelo in the winter market, the success in signing goalkeeper Joan Garcia —who will win the Zamora—, or the wildcard of Eric Garcia, capable of playing all the roles in the nativity play.

However, the standout name, once again, has been Lamine Yamal, with 16 goals and 11 assists. The winger from Rocafonda is only 18 years old and has already surpassed a hundred games as a Blaugrana. And this despite missing games due to two injuries, a pubalgia and a thigh tear. When he has been fit, he has performed even more magic with the ball at his feet and has shown that last season's exhibition was not fleeting. Goals and assists that have compensated for the decline of a Lewandowski who, as life goes, feels the physical wear and tear, but who continues to show sparks of quality like the goal in Pamplona, on Saturday. On the day of Betis, if there is no change of script, he will say goodbye to the Camp Nou to make way for new talents who, after demonstrating that this Barça reigns in the state competitions, will seek to reign in Europe next season.