To succeed at a top club like FC Barcelona, the dedication and commitment of the players must be extreme. Such is the nature of the footballing world, and those who do not maintain their devotion get eaten up sooner or later. Fortunately, this current squad that Barcelona has seems to be quite positive in that regard.
From the captains to the stars of the team, every player understands their role well and is dedicated to doing their best in order to help the team. For Hansi Flick, that in itself is a great blessing and getting to work with such committed players would surely be a delight for him.
However, some players are anomalies even by that regard. For instance, players who go above and beyond in order to showcase their own unique commitment to the cause and the lengths they are willing to go to in order to maintain their overall quality and even hone their already impressive qualities.
One such player at Barcelona is Jules Kounde, a French defender who seems to be going from strength to strength over the last several months. Now a right-back, despite his original position being that of a centre-back, the former Sevilla player has managed to impress even Hansi Flick with his dedication and work ethic.
As pointed out by Samuel Marsden, Hansi Flick had the following to say regarding Kounde’s approach to his preparation and just how extraordinary his own desire to train and improve is:
“You tell him he should rest! It’s unbelievable, I never had this before. After the match he wants to train. I said OK, only treatment & he said no. It’s unbelievable. It’s good to see he wants to improve. It’s fantastic. This attitude isn’t normal, but it’s good.”
While this dedication in itself is commendable as it is, Kounde is also delivering on the field for Barcelona. So far, it seems that this extra work and motivation is surely paying off for the Frenchman and it is even more beneficial to a Barcelona side that is dealing with several injuries.
Thanks to mindsets like the one Kounde possesses, Barça are able to recover well in games now and Hansi Flick’s team seems to have unlocked a new sense of confidence even if they are in tight spots during any particular game. While the season is still long, there is a lot of reason to hope for the best.