It’s been just three games (four if you count Olot) for Barcelona under Hansi Flick and there are so many fascinating things to observe about how he goes about his business. Many players have been a revelation under the German in these first few matches.
Whilst the likes of Pau Victor, Marc Bernal, Marc Casado, and Alex Valle have walked away with all the plaudits from pre-season, there have been a few performances that have rather flown under the radar.
As per SPORT, one such tactical re-imagination of Flick that has gone under the radar is that of Quim Junyent, the 17-year-old La Masia starlet. The youngster is a typical interior midfielder cut out for Barcelona’s traditional 4-3-3 system.
However, the German coach has moved to a 4-2-3-1 formation which completely eradicates the necessity for an interior. Flick’s formation has a deeper-lying double pivot with a playmaker up front, which neutralizes the qualities of a natural #8.
However, Flick has shown how good a tactician he is by reinventing Junyent as an inside winger ala Iniesta from the left. The 17-year-old has featured in all three games and has looked comfortable playing this role.
On the left side of the attack, Junyent is expected to hold width or beat his man one-on-one like Nico Williams would do. Instead, the 17-year-old is allowed to do what he does best – move into midfield and make space for an overlapping fullback like Balde.
Junyent is very clever on the ball and can weave his way out of tight spaces. He is not talked about as much as others of his age like Marc Bernal despite being a regular call-up for Spanish youth teams.
It’ll be surprising to see Junyent have a first-team role under Flick this season but this kind of indicates the role the German could assign to Dani Olmo, who is expected to be on his way to Barcelona.
For Junyent, if he continues impressing for the youth team, a first-team call-up could be around the corner. It might take some time but the 17-year-old is surely talented and could make it big in the years to come.
