Barcelona just finished arguably the greatest, most exciting, unpredictable and dramatic sequence in 15 days in the club football game once See.
If you like this outrageous spectacle, the bad news is that their coach, Hansi Flick, wants to stop football like this. Immediately. But before you rename him, Hansi was Hansi the Grinch, a painful, humanized green creature who stole the intended target, listen to me.
Between April 26 and May 11, we were privileged to witness a Copa del Rey final, a two-legged UEFA Championships League semifinal, two decisive periods of extra time, a total of 25 goals (many of them filthily beautiful), three different host cities (Seville, Barcelona and Milan), all followed by hundreds of millions of views worldwide -- topped off by the magic of a teenage genius (Lamine Yamal) while Two sealed trophy (cup and Lariga).
For neutrality, it has been the perfect antidote to the troubles of robots in modern gaming and sterile tactics, risk-averse players. And legends of the sport, such as Thierry Henry, who recently admitted that his boredom with football became boring.
"My dad would be proud of this team," said Jordi Cruyff. But Flick really wanted to stop.
On Sunday, he added another clear sign of how unhappy he was with the exact aspects of Barcelona’s drama, which made neutral watching their barnstormant the Trophy season irresistible.
“Only you all can decide whether we are the most enjoyable team to watch in Europe,” chuckled when asked. “For me…it’s not always fun. Sometimes I suffer a lot.
"This trip was started last summer and I haven't ended yet. I know we've made a lot of progress in defense. I, my staff and many of the players know the importance of better defense. It's not about the four guys playing in the last line defense, we need more defensive stability. We're not as defensive as we do.
“It’s not easy to train these improvements every three to four days throughout the season and from round trips. As for the next season, you’ll see.”
His highest criticism of players since August is that they are reluctant to attack blindly in the game, but rather manage the lead. They feel like puppies chasing a tennis ball in the park. He wants them to think like Rottweilers.
Back in November, Flick lost his way on the Celta Vigo and said on the 2-0 lead: "It's a very young team and we need to be more cared for in certain specific situations. When we were 2-0 in Celta, when we were sent a man 2-0 in Celta, we needed to defend and defend the attack and the game better.
There is another aspect of what Flick wants to change, although only the neutrals will hope it won't happen, as Barcelona fans will be excited about the improved attitude he has proposed.
Sunday's thriller against Real Madrid six times this season (six! ) Barcelona fell behind two goals in one match (Benfica, Madrid Atescito Madrid, Madrid, Celta and Inter - away from home twice and four times on their own stadium), but returned to victory or win.
Flick wanted to pick up the grand man and stuff it into the trash. Damn him and his harsh perfectionism, right? He does not want to have to continue overhauling the pressure and risks of the flaws of the two goals.
By the end of the season, it will be Barcelona who missed only one of only four trophys this season after Flick arrived, the biggest Champions League.
And I know a tiny detail that might not have been registered on your radar, which was his idea in Milan's epic elimination last week when they led 3-2 and had two minutes left to the final. At that time, Barcelona broke the Upfield, Yamal chose to shoot rather than save own, win throws, free kicks or corners.
The teenage genius knocked his efforts out of Yann Sommer's post, and the Swiss goalkeeper completely defeated him. If you go in, then Yamal will almost automatically attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony directly to pick up the golden ball I keenly hope he can win.
I have no criticism of the 17-year-old absolutely killing the semifinals, but on the scale of Flick's "things we can become more cruel" from the next move, after Yamal's shooting, Inter Inter slammed the court and got the equalization and got the equalization equalizer, which made even time and ultimately, ultimately failed. If he keeps the game time of the ball, would Barcelona go to Munich to compete in the Champions League final in a few weeks while Joust plays the treble? Very likely.
Flick has always been proud of his team and admires the players. He 100% wants them to play beautiful and fun football, but he wants upgraded mentality, intensity, toughness and ruthless details.
Therefore, Barcelona's obvious priority in the upcoming transfer market is to sign the senior central defender. They had Jonathan Tah (the champion of Bayer Leverkusen and the 29-year-old who was 6-foot-5 who played for Flick while in charge of Germany), and lasted on their roster for months. This is partly because he will continue to make free transfers, and Barcelona's financial fair competition is so serious that his identity as a free agent is very attractive.
But will Tah join him as his current coach Xabi Alonso takes over at Real Madrid soon (anticipated announcement soon)? We will see it.
Like all great leaders, Flick is planning for the next campaign, when others are just starting to celebrate their current taste of victory. He hopes to be one of the greatest entertainment teams in modern history, turning it into a version that is less dramatic, tougher, more heartbreaking, and ruthlessly stops opponents.
If he does, then who can stop them next season? No one.