Barcelona wins La Liga title: How Hansi Flick turns Lamine Yamal & Co into a champion
When Bayern Munich and German boss Frick arrived in Barcelona, he found that many players performed well below expectations.
Experienced stars like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong have low confidence simply because of their lack of trust, they feel they feel from former coach Xavi.
Raphinha rarely plays over 60 minutes before being replaced, while Lewandowski is played by his back goal, away from him in his style.
Furthermore, none of these three were particularly popular at the club, De Zhong correctly convinced Barcelona to want to sell him to help alleviate their financial difficulties.
The first thing Flick does is tell three people how important it is to his plan. This season, Lewandowski scored 25 goals as the top scorer, while Raphinha scored 18 in the league.
Flick also feels an established culture in which the club's irrepressible young people are not at the core of the team and do not give them the highlights they think they deserve.
Young people were debuted due to economic restrictions – Xavi's work under such restrictions is commendable – but they hope more. They want to take over the team.
Flick's approach allows people like Gavi, Yamal, Alejandro Balde (21) and Marc Casado (also 21) to do so. He helped them find their voices and even allowed them to choose music in the locker room.
The trust's repayment was a hundred times and reflected on the court in a young and carefree way of playing – some might even say childish – game style.
He also always stays very close to those who play on a regular basis, stressing that due to the inevitable injury, all clubs have to face and their time will come.
Flick has not asked the club so far, paying only for Dani Olmo and Pau Victor in the summer, with no one in the winter transfer window.
The 60-year-old German also believes that no one knows his health better than the player himself. So any plan to rest Yamal or Raphinha will not be taken without asking them – once again building trust and his popularity in the team.
He also never allowed himself to be influenced by the very powerful and demanding Barcelona media and was honest with his players – rigorously tested when they lost four games and scored only five of the 21 points before Christmas break.