Breaking down the Flick method

Barça 2024/2025 is surprising all of Europe. And absolutely no one expected such a forceful staging. The victories against Bayern and Madrid confirm the Barça team as a candidate for everything. And above all, a proper name: that of Hans Dieter-Flick. What are the main bases of the Barcelona coach’s method?

Unalterable and defined personality:

The first thing to highlight about your juice manual is the clarity of ideas in everything you do. The current Barça is a team that takes the field with a plan that it carries out regardless of the rival. A set that gives nothing away. It can hurt you in positional attacks, in transitions, in shots from the area, in center-shooting maneuvers, in long-range shots, in strategy… He clings to everything the parties offer. With 37 goals in eleven games and 10 goals in three games, the Blaugranas are the top scorers in the League and the second in the Champions League. But beyond the spectacular quantitative records, this variety is evident in the origins. And Flick’s Barça is the team that has scored the most goals in play (23), the one that has scored the most goals on the counterattack (5), the one that has scored the most in long shots (7) and the one that has taken the most advantage of the set piece (9). A team that exudes great conviction in everything they do. A Barça that annihilates its rivals by personality.

High pressure and counter pressure:

Pressure is the football concept with which the figure of Hansi Flick most identifies. It is a capital aspect in their way of understanding the game and a non-negotiable element. The pressure is choral, organized and very synchronized. There is no footballer who is free to contribute to it. There is great work behind it and a high physical condition that is taken care of in an essential way. The Barça team has already accumulated 481 recoveries. Many of them in the opposite field. The average height of the Barça defensive line is 51.2 meters. The second highest in Europe, only behind City, which is 55.95 meters (data @gusfop). But the pressure is just as important as the activation after losing the ball that the team is having. What in soccer is called pressure after loss or counter pressure. And Barça is, by far, the team that does it best of all the teams in the championship.

The art of offside:

But if something defines Barça 2024/2025, it is offside. A maneuver that is the sum of so many small details, and so well done, that it becomes art. Details such as being clear that it is always the center back on the side of the ball who marks the line, such as constant communication, such as not leaving spaces with the midfield line to prevent rivals from placing themselves between the lines or how to “stick” for a second and all at once right at the moment of the passer’s technical gesture. All this, without forgetting that the rest of the players grant very few passing situations to the opponents. The 77 offsides accumulated in eleven games are no coincidence. Nor is leaving Mbappé out of combat eight times. They are the best team in Europe in this and a astronomical distance from the second (Brighton with 35).

Game-vertical balance:

A perfect mix between control and direct play has been achieved. The Barça team continues to have the most possession in the League (67%) but not the one that accumulates the most passes (544 compared to Madrid’s 552). Nor is it the team with the greatest reliability (Girona and Madrid have a higher percentage) but, on the other hand, it is the team that shoots the most in the League (17.4 shots per game). Also highlight the increase in long trips. And Barça has increased the success of its long passes by 2.3% (data @gusfop). The foot of Íñigo Martinez or Pau Cubarsí is largely to blame.

An ecosystem for Lewa:

There are several proper names that are performing at their highest level or even above. Raphinha, Pedri, Íñigo Martinez or Lewandowski. At 36 years old, the forward is at his best historical records both in goals and efficiency (17 goals in total and 58% of his shots between the sticks end in a goal). But it is not an eventuality. Because Hansi Flick has created a special context in which Lewandowski is relieved of the responsibility of making the first pressure and can play a more positional defensive role. It is the wingers (Raphinha and Lamine) who jump to the center-back pressure. An adjustment that reduces the nine’s efforts and allows him to be fresher and more focused on the goal.

Roller effect:

These tactical changes would be of no use if the Catalans did not apply them continuously. And Barça is doing all this with an unalterable level of insistence and concentration every minute of every game. There are no mistakes or concessions to the rival.

Trust and physical contact:

Last but not least, we must talk about his human behavior. Flick exudes naturalness in everything he does and grants unlimited confidence in his players. He believes in them and, best of all, he makes the footballers believe in themselves. The cases of Raphinha, that of the young people or that of Iñaki Peña are incontestable examples. Everyone’s complicity is gained with hugs or close conversations so that the entire group is highly involved in the cause.

The Flick method is not a hyper-researched formula. The Flick method is the result of tactical and personal actions. And the coach has not made big changes but rather few and relevant ones. This is the only way to explain such a rapid and effective improvement. The Flick method has touched the cardinal points of a team prepared for anything.