While FC Barcelona's beginning of the season was perfect, so was its last one results leave much to be desired. Especially at home, Catalans regularly trip over their own feet. Their dominance on the pitch is only apparent. They lose the lead, ending matches with losses or draws. Of the last five La Liga matches, Flick's team won… only one. On Saturday, the clash with Real Betis ended with the score 2:2. A similar scenario took place in match with Celta Vigo (2:2).
Flick detected Barcelona's problem. Here's his reaction. The Spaniards reveal
What is Barcelona's problem? The coach himself has probably been looking for an answer to this question in recent days. After all, at the beginning of last month his team defeated successive rivals. The daily “Sport” constantly writes about the problems of the Spanish runners-up. Recently, local journalists wrote directly about what was happening to Robert Lewandowski's team Wojciech Szczêsny.
According to their information, Hansi Flick diagnosed the problem, which is… physicality. From the beginning of his term in Barcelona The priority for the German was motor preparation. Training and nutritional discipline became much more rigorous. There are even special rings on the players' fingers that constantly monitor individual body parameters. Everything was supposed to work like a Swiss watch. Players they were supposed to feel that they were 100 percent. prepared to run the full 90 minutes. The broadly understood physicality of players was and is the apple of Flick's eye. “From day one, Hansi was obsessed with physicality and everything associated with it,” emphasizes “Sport”.
Therefore, the 59-year-old is worried not only about the results themselves, which are unsatisfactory, but also about the causes of the team's crisis. “Together with his coaching staff, he analyzes everything he can and came to the conclusion that the team lacks freshness at the physical level,” it added. In addition, “concentration and the ability to stay engaged in the game for ninety minutes” were also mentioned, which also hampered Barcelona in recent matches.
After detecting the essence of the problem, the trainer's reaction was immediate. On Monday, the entire team spent training not on the pitch, but in the gym. In this way, Hansi Flick wanted to improve the performance of his players. Only with complete physical preparation can they implement the tactical assumptions imposed by the German coach. “The German is looking for a way to make his team lively again, which was not the case in recent matches,” we read. The 59-year-old can take some consolation in the fact that, at least in the Champions League, Barcelona is doing great. On Wednesday at At 9:00 p.m. there will be an away match against Borussia Dortmund. An interesting fact is that the team will not return to Spain immediately after the match. Flick is a supporter of longer recovery. He doesn't like constant traveling, which affects the players' well-being. As you can see, even in this aspect the trainer has his own rules and recommendations. And I want to implement all of them.