Hansi Flick was dealt a tough hand to start the season, and it only got worse as the weeks went by.
Losing Iñigo Martínez was more of a bombshell tactically than many of us realized. Combine that with the growing injury list, and you have a recipe for inconsistency making it hard to form a team identity.
Now, the clouds are starting to part in Barcelona, and rays of hope are finding their way through to suggest that brighter days are on the horizon.
Iñigo was Barca’s leader in season one under Flick, followed closely behind by Raphinha. The Spanish defender isn’t coming back, which will continue to leave a vacuum that will be hard to fill, but the return of Raphinha could be just the spark that Barcelona needs to get their season back on the rails.
The Brazilian was prolific a year ago, making himself a worthy contender for the Ballon d’Or. He was a goal scorer, a creator, and the spiritual leader of Flick’s high intensity, high pressing system.
My hope is that we see a proper rotation alongside Marcus Rashford, Lamine Yamal, and Robert Lewandowski, with Ferran Torres used as a super sub. This would keep everyone fresh and motivated, and hopefully, get Barcelona back to their days as a goal scoring machine.
Luckily, it seems that Pedri will be back soon too. Let this be a warning to Flick that he needs a plan to manage the minutes of his midfield genius, to keep him on the field in the biggest moments of the dense calendar ahead.
Factor in the return of Joan García, and Flick is back to square one. He has the team he needs to challenge for every trophy in front of him.
In La Liga, Barcelona are right there at the top of the table, just three points behind Real Madrid who sit in first place.
In the Champions League, they have had a slow start, but then again, so did PSG a year ago, who went on to become champions after picking up steam in December.
The turn of the calendar also means Barcelona will have a chance to repeat as Spanish Supercopa champions, while making a run to defend their Copa del Rey title as well.
To even think about competing across all these competitions, Barcelona will need depth. At the moment, they are starting to get it back, and it’s coming at a perfect time.
We can put the debate about Flick’s tactics to bed for the moment.
He likely won’t change anything knowing the return of his star players is coming soon. Once they’re back, we can evaluate the manager and the team fairly, once and for all.
The moment of truth has arrived. At Barcelona, you’re judged by trophies.
The coming months will reveal if the Blaugrana are contenders once again.
