FC Barcelona have made an impressive start to life under Hansi Flick. Despite missing a number of first-teamers, La Masia has stepped up and put in promising performances against both Manchester City and Real Madrid.
The fact that the Spanish club is still unbeaten in pre-season is a testament to their performances. It looks like the players have already brought into Flick’s methodology and the style of play he wants to implement.
Some of the standouts from the pre-season so far have been Marc Bernal, Pau Victor, Marc Casado, Pablo Torre, and Alex Valle. These youngsters have made the most of the opportunities afforded to them.
It’s not just Barcelona fans who have taken notice of Flick’s work. Pundits and commentators around the world have been impressed with what they’ve seen in these initial games and are buying into the new project at the club.
Discussing after the El Clasico, ESPN pundit Shaka Hislop was full of praise for what the young Catalan team has shown during pre-season. When quizzed about the positives, here is what the ex-player had to say:
“A lot. Going back to before that City game I was thinking listen if Barca could come away from here losing 5-0 or 6-0 and it would be a total embarrassment and what an awful start for Hansi Flick.”
“But then, we see the two performances, and on the one hand, you want to say don’t get overly excited, it’s still pre-season, nothing matters at this point but given all the changes and everything that’s been going on at Barcelona for the last couple of seasons, for the last few months what you saw in both those performances is real reason for encouragement.”
“I thought you can see what Hansi flick is trying to get this team, how he’s trying to get them to play, not just the high-pressing but how wide they make the pitch and how difficult it is for opponents, opponents even at under-strength like Real Madrid to defend against and you saw that in both games against City and Real and while they still have a lot of players to come in.”
“However, one thing that Barcelona cannot get away from is their reliance on youth and those players coming through the academy, the performances that we’ve seen now in two games when we had no idea what to expect gives everybody who is of a Barcelona fan real reason to believe.”
“Now I’m not going to say that this team can eclipse Real Madrid particularly Real Madrid at their best with all their new signings which I’m sure we get to but given what we’ve seen I know Barca won the title a couple of seasons ago but given what we’ve seen particularly to start last season this is some improvement on it.”
Those are the exact words, Mr. Hislop! There is a reason for encouragement when you see this Barcelona team play in pre-season. The general vibes surrounding the club seem extremely positive and Flick seems to be sharing a great relationship with the players.
Let’s not forget – this is a Barcelona team that hasn’t made any new first-team signings yet except maybe Pau Victor. Despite the lack of activity in the transfer market, it looks like the team has taken a step forward in the right direction.
It’s exciting to imagine how this team would play with the return of first-teamers like Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and further down the line Araujo and Gavi. Exciting times lie ahead as a Barca fan and we couldn’t be more excited for it! Let’s hope Flick lives up to the initial promise and sets us up for glory, both domestically and continental.
