Can Hansi Flick’s Barcelona be stopped in La Liga?

Barcelona’s best decision of the summer might just be the decision to make Hansi Flick their new manager.

The German was waiting for the perfect job and as soon as Xavi was sacked and he was contacted, he had little doubt that he wanted to be the next Barca coach.

Being in charge of making fans who buy Barcelona tickets happy was never going to be an easy responsibility, but Flick is very experienced and has been a good manager most of his professional career.

The Catalans won the league title in 2023 under Xavi and the ex-midfielder won that title for them under tough conditions.

For several seasons, the years of poor financial decision-making have caught up with Barca, whose financial struggles date back to Lionel Messi’s spell.

He was earning a huge salary and it was the same case for the other top players at the club, which became unsustainable when covid-19 struck.

Barca allowed their living legend to leave, yet they still struggled financially, so Xavi did not have the players he wanted.

He was always complaining about that and refereeing decisions which eventually cost him his job after he performed a U-turn about wanting to leave.

The former midfielder did not leave a strong squad behind, neither did he walk out of a club in a good place, but Flick was not bothered and agreed to become the Barcelona manager.

The  German had endured a torrid spell as the manager of the German national team and was looking forward to restarting his career at the club level. Was he the best man for Barca to make their manager?

Flick brings quality

Flick was appointed to the bench of a Barcelona side that needed to return to supremacy in La Liga and Europe and he knew it was a big challenge.

Xavi did well, but he made it obvious that there are underlying issues at Barca that could ruin the chance of them becoming a top club in the future.

This means Flick was walking into a hopeless place, but he is probably the manager that they need because, at club level, he was a top option.

The former Bayern Munich manager enjoyed a terrific time on the bench of the German side as he won seven major trophies as their manager in just three years.

His Bayern Munich side is one of the best the German club has had in decades, and they completely dominated European football when he was at the helm.

When Flick went to Bayern, we already knew Robert Lewandowski as arguably the best striker in the world, but he transformed the Poland star further.

Under Flick, Lewandowski scored 55 goals in a single season, which remains his biggest haul in one campaign, so a reunion was right.

Wingers like Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry were also devastating when they played under him at Bayern and this was good news for the likes of Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Raphinha at the club.

Flick was so confident in himself that he decided to allow Ilkay Gundogan to leave, a decision that some fans thought he might regret.

However, he proved with that call that no player was bigger than the club in his eyes and anyone could be replaced, which has been the case with his use of La Masia graduates so far.

Barcelona talent factory

For decades, Barcelona has relied on their La Masia talent factory to provide their first team with the players that they need.

However, when they ran into financial problems, Barca did not immediately think that they could rely on La Masia entirely, and they spent time looking to sign free agents.

Often, after convincing these players to join them, the Catalans cannot register them immediately, which continues to create embarrassing media speculations.

However, Flick has gone to work relying on La Masia's products and has handed many youngsters from the Barca academy chances.

The German has overused Yamal, but the Euro 2024 winner is not the only youngster from La Masia he has been using.

As so many players had left Barcelona at the end of last season and very few joined them in the summer, the likes of Hector Fort, Sergi Dominguez, Marc Bernal, and Pablo Torre, among others, have been getting plenty of game time.

This has saved Barca a lot of money and the German has kept them at the top of the La Liga table despite having lost a game.

Flick is showing respect for Barca’s culture by trusting the graduates of La Masia to do the job for the club and this will endear him further to the fans.

If he wins the league, as it might be the case if they continue their fine start to the season, he would have turned another class of La Masia graduates into superstars. 

Real Madrid struggles

Sometimes, you do not need to be too good to win the league or any major trophies. If a major competitor is having a hard time, that could help you to find success.

That seems to be the case for Barcelona as Real Madrid has made a slow and inconsistent start to this season.

They won La Liga and the Champions League last season and added Kylian Mbappe to their squad in the summer, but Madrid is not having the best of starts to this term.

The arrival of the Frenchman seems to have upset the balance of things at the Bernabeu and Madrid needs to solve a growing rivalry and competition for the same spot between him and Vinicius Junior.

Things will get better at the capital club as time goes on, but that could give Barcelona a huge advantage in winning the league before Los Blancos can solve their problems.

Flick’s team has been brilliant and we expect them to continue winning games and perhaps spend a long time at the top of the league standings this season.

However, the form of Madrid will also be important. If Los Blancos continue to struggle, even if Barca drops some points, they will still be champions of Spain.

Which clubs can overtake Barcelona in the title race

These are early days, and even Barcelona knows there is still too much time for them to think they can be champions.

They must work hard and earn the right to be Spain’s champions, but which clubs can stop them?

The obvious answer would be Real Madrid. However, the Whites are not the only club that Barca should worry about.

Atletico de Madrid is another team that could beat them to win the league crown this term, and Diego Simeone’s team is always ready to win if Barca and Madrid have a bad season.

Athletic Bilbao did not lose Nico Williams in the last transfer window and that decision makes them one of the clubs that can win the title, so Barca should worry about them as well.

There is also more time for another favourite to emerge, which could happen in the second half of the season, so if Barca wants to be champions, they must be prepared to work hard and earn the crown.

Conclusion

This could be Barcelona’s year to win the La Liga crown, but it will not be automatic. They have to work hard and stay focused to be champions.