Hansi Flick's Personal Touch Boosts Barcelona

Barcelona has ensured the conclusion of this season's adventure with two major titles in hand. Even more commendable, they have not suffered a single defeat against their eternal rival, Real Madrid, in the last four "el clasico" matches. In addition to revolutionary tactics, the personal touch of Coach Hansi Flick is the key to Barca's success.

In European football, it is commonly discussed how the mindset and tactics brought by a coach are the pathways to success. Meanwhile, the way a coach approaches their players on a personal level is relatively rarely talked about. In fact, building a strong cohesion with the players also determines whether a team will succeed or not.

This is what Flick demonstrated in his first season at Barca. In addition to being adept at crafting tactics, Flick is also a figure who is close to his players. He consistently positions himself like a father, a place for the children (players) to lean on.

Barca fans still remember the warm gesture of Flick, who gave his coat to Frenkie De Jong, who was shivering from the cold after the match against UD Barbastro in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey. De Jong smiled happily at the coach's attention. He appeared to be smiling as he walked around the field wearing Flick's jacket.

The experience of receiving personal attention from Flick is not only felt by De Jong. The young player and star of Barcelona, Lamine Yamal, is also very impressed with Flick's friendliness. According to Yamal, Flick is very democratic and does not hesitate to open a dialogue with his players.

"He is very close. He cares about everyone. He explains everything to you to understand what needs to be improved or not," said Yamal.

For the left winger Yamal, Flick's personal touch is very meaningful to him. Through Flick's concern for all the players, they ultimately feel needed and important to the team. The decision to bench players is also not made without the consent of the individuals involved. Flick has been known to discuss and seek permission to bench Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha on several occasions.

They are honest with me, I am honest with them. This is a good start.

Flick intentionally does not distance himself or build walls with the Barca players. He believes that a team should be built on such a foundation. By treating the players as human beings and paying attention to them, the players will feel valued. Once that happens, they will not hesitate to showcase their best abilities.

In addition to gestures, Flick's personal touch is also manifested through his approach to opening dialogues with players who have minimal playing time. Barcelona forward, Ferran Torres, is one of the players who often engages in conversations with Flick.

Torres had been rarely played due to the overshadowing brilliance of Robert Lewandowski. To ensure that Torres did not feel sidelined, Flick often engaged him in conversation.

From the dialogue, Flick explained why Torres is still often benched. Flick also did not hesitate to accept input from the players. As a result, from that discussion, Torres has emerged as the toughest competitor to Lewandowski in the team. Flick has shifted Torres's position to be more versatile. He is sometimes placed in the wing position or as a striker.

So far this season, Torres has scored 19 goals and provided seven assists in 45 matches across all competitions. This figure represents a significant increase compared to the previous season, where he only scored 11 goals and made four assists in 42 matches.

"What sets him apart (from other coaches) is his closeness to the players. Not only as a coach but also as an individual," said Torres.

From a tactical perspective, Flick is rich in playing ideas. He does not emphasize the characteristic ball possession style that defines Barca. Flick tends to play attractive football with a high defensive line, but it is fraught with risks.

Flick's high defensive line was initially quite effective in making the opponent's attack line helpless. However, lately, Barca's competitors have begun to figure out how to dampen it. Real's striker, Kylian Mbappe, was left at his wits' end in the first El Clasico of the season where Real lost 0-4. In that match, Mbappe was caught offside eight times due to Flick's high defensive line tactics.

Under Flick's guidance, Barca has transformed into the most productive team in Europe. In 46 matches across all competitions, Barca has scored 140 goals, averaging no less than 3.04 goals per match. Thanks to this, Barca advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and won both La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

The attacking line of Barca is so vigorous that even a tightly organized defense like that of Inter Milan struggles to cope with it. Barca indeed failed to eliminate Inter in the Champions League semifinals. However, they managed to score up to six goals against Inter in two encounters.

"When we started here, we had a clear idea of how we wanted to play. We analyzed all the players, and all the players from Team B as well, and everyone. What I am doing here is also a clear discussion with Deco (Sporting Director of Barca), and we are ready to be honest. They are honest with me, I am honest with them. This is a good start," said Flick.