Who Is Hansi Flick?
The Barcelona season resembled a soap opera in 2023/24, with on-the-pitch struggles compounded by hierarchical uncertainty, which left them unable to defend their La Liga title.
After a positive end to the season, a soured relationship between head coach Xavi Hernández and club president Joan Laporta has forced Barcelona into drastic action- with the decision made to sack the La Masia legend and search for an alternate approach.
With the departing coach being brutally honest about Barcelona’s ambitions ahead of a difficult period concerning financial fair play, Laporta has turned to a coach who has certainly raised eyebrows and invoked heated discussion across the footballing world.
Hansi Flick has taken the reins ahead of the upcoming season, a rightfully welcomed manager with a significantly contrasting managerial career thus far.
With only one full season in club football management, everything Flick touched turned to gold—guiding an FC Bayern side towards a historic treble amid world chaos in 2020.
On the other hand, a swift departure to manage the German national team culminated in an embarrassing group-stage exit in the 2022 World Cup.
This incident hurt Flick’s public perception and managerial pedigree.
After a short period of reflection, Hansi Flick is ready to go toe-to-toe with Carlo Ancelotti in an attempt to reclaim Barca’s crown as Spanish champions.
The appointment of the German coach signifies a key switch towards attacking fluidity, rapid progression, and remarkable energy exertion when out of possession.
Culers should hopefully eagerly anticipate the shift.
Barcelona had become slightly static and uninspiring as pressure grew under Xavi’s tenure.
This Hansi Flick tactical analysis will begin to highlight how we would expect Flick’s tactics to take shape with this current crop of FC Barcelona talent.
Our analysis will also look to suggest which key signings Barcelona could make to fit these changing tactics.
Hansi Flick Tactics & Setup
Hansi Flick has become synonymous with setting his teams up in the 4-2-3-1, a formation he has rarely strayed from outside of a few matches in the 3-4-3 with Germany.
One of the Germans main principles is the desire to play energetic, expansive football, aiming to pursue the quickest route to the final third.
The central defensive partnership, much like the majority of modern-day centre-backs, must be competent on the ball but able to offer differing styles and qualities to avoid being one-dimensional.
To achieve this, Hansi Flicks playing style aims to use a central defender who is proficient at mid- to short-line passing passes, can carry the ball forward, and makes use of vacated space.
On the contrary, their partner must be able to bypass the midfield altogether with accurate long-range passing, whether diagonal balls toward the advanced wingers or directly to the imposing striking outlet.
With Xavi in 23/24, Barcelona led the league in through passes per 90 with 2.58, a key metric that allowed them to also set the standard with 1.99 non-penalty expected goals per 90.
With this in mind, the recent development of both Pau Cubarsí and Ronald Araújo as an elite partnership must be music to Flick’s ears.
The duo both display impressive ball progression, allowing this new-look Barcelona to increase their overall verticality.
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