The praise of former culés and coaches towards Hansi Flick's Barça

FC Barcelona's good start to the season has had Hansi Flick as its main protagonist. Despite the multiple difficulties (few reinforcements, plague of injuries, short squad, tight schedule...), the one from Heildelberg has found the formula to get the best out of its players, giving the young people the necessary confidence to carry themselves with the responsibility of assuming stripes in a team that looks solid despite the absences.

And, in the first two months of 2024/25, the German coach has managed to rebuild the team with up to nine injured players, most of them undisputed during Xavi Hernández's cycle. To the casualties derived from the previous season (Gavi and Frenkie de Jong), other key pieces were added since the summer (Ronald Araújo and Andreas Christensen), along with other serious injuries (Marc Bernal and Ter Stegen) that have crowded the infirmary culé.

However, Flick has maintained a solid foundation that combines youth and experience, along with a well-oiled base scheme (4-2-3-1) since the summer. Having Raphinha as a midfielder and Pedri further back, lending a hand with recovery, have given the team the necessary balance to press and counterattack with high efficiency. In addition, the defense has also improved a lot with the return of Balde and the indispensable leadership of Iñigo Martínez and Koundé, two players whose future was in doubt during the summer.

Iniesta, Busquets... The Barça legends, happy for the work of Hansi Flick

In that sense, there are many former Barcelona players who have praised the work of the new Barça coach. The last of them was Andrés Iniesta, who took the opportunity this week to greet the squad and technical staff. "I'm happy that the team is like this. They transmit very good feelings. The quarry always responds and the young people will continue to grow," said the former midfielder, recently retired.

Barça is doing very well, the young people are playing very well. They deserve to be there. Hansi Flick is doing a great job (Patrick Kluivert)

 

For his part, Sergio Busquets was more specific when congratulating the German for the management of the squad. "Despite the multiple casualties it has, Barça has started the season very well. Barcelona fans are excited about the players who are coming out. I hope they can maintain this pace throughout the season," said 'Busi'. Other offensive references, such as Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo, have congratulated the coach and the players for their good play, as has Bernd Schuster, who was happy to once again see a Barça "in conditions to fight in LaLiga."

Rival coaches also surrender to Flick's Barça

For their part, several LaLiga coaches have also surrendered to the new Barça, sparing no praise despite taking tough defeats. Míchel (Girona) had no qualms in admitting the Barça superiority and improvement after the defeat in Montilivi (1-4). "Flick has managed to get the player to come to an idea very quickly. The German coach is establishing a very fun game," explained the Madrid native.

Along the same lines, Marcelino García Toral made it clear how much he suffered to try to stop the culés with his Villarreal (1-5). "This is a Barça that runs a lot in volume and intensity. I'm surprised that the culés praise Flick's style because it seemed like there was a gene that was non-negotiable." In the case of the last Catalan rival, Alavés (0-3), there was also praise from their coach, Luis García Plaza. "Barça is amazing with their way of playing. They have a brave proposal and many players at their best level." In general terms, there is no one who refuses to recognize the superiority of the leader of a League that was destined to be dominated with an iron fist by Real Madrid and its 'galacticos'.

It seems that there is much more order on the field than outside in this Barça. It is more difficult to read the news during the week than on game day (Jorge Valdano)