Hansi Flick’s Barça: League champions
The journey began back on 15 August for the 2024/25 league campaign. 272 days later the league title has a winner: Hansi Flick’s Barça side.
The blaugranes have claimed their 28th league title after the win against Espanyol on Thursday, deservedly so after a season of great character and a dashing brand of attacking football that has brought admiration from football across the globe. The La Liga crown can now be added to the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey to complete a unique domestic treble.
The campaign has, from the start, shown a Barça side committed to a certain way of playing and a squad committed to each other. The man behind it all from the very first day hails from Germany and has brought out the best of his players to reclaim the league title.
The architect: Hansi Flick
Hansi Flick came to FC Barcelona in May 2024 with a great challenge ahead of him. He inherited a young, talented squad but one lacking in experience.
In just a few short weeks the coach earned the respect and confidence of his squad. The players quickly bought into his vision and the coach quickly found a way to mould together youthful enthusiasm and the experience of the older members of the squad to come up with a winning formula.
The idea: to enjoy
This season Barça have had a clear identity: to win and to do so in an entertaining way. A dynamic, unpredictable, never say die team who win or lose, leave the field with its head held high. An attacking approach that has brought 96 goals so far in la Liga, a figure that speaks for itself.
Flick has created a system in which the ball is the key figure. Not possession for possession’s sake but the ball as a starting point for an inexorable march towards goal. The squad has become versatile in its forms of attack: set pieces, out wide, down the middle, on the counter or slow build up.
Individual talent has also played a part with Robert Lewandowski contributing 25 goals, Raphinha 18 in his best season as a Barça player and 8 from Lamine Yamal, a generational talent.
The front three have been well supported by the likes of Ferran Torres who has contributed 10 goals and 6 assists, and Dani Olmo with 9 goals and 3 assists.
The key: a united dressing room
This Barça side stands out for its youth. Hansi Flick has show great confidence in the young players such as Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Fermín, Cubarsí and Balde and seven young talents from La Masia have also made their debuts this season: Toni Fernández, Andrés Cuenca, Sergi Domínguez, Gerard Martín, Pau Víctor, Marc Bernal and Dani Rodríguez.
Aside from young talent, this Barça side also stands out for its team spirit. Flick has been able to blend youth and experience with great success. Robert Lewandowski has proved himself still to be one of the top strikers in Europe and Iñigo Martinez has been the lynchpin in the centre of the defence. Jules Kounde’s winning goal in the Copa del Rey was just rewards for the Frenchman who has been a reliably excellent presence on the right flank at the back. Frenkie de Jong returned from injury to prove himself better than ever. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny came out of retirement to help fill the gap left by long term injury to Marc ter Stegen.
Each and every member of the squad has been key to the team’s success and the fantastic team spirit that has reigned throughout the season
The plan: never to give up
This Barça has character coming out of its ears. The team has stood strong at the most difficult of moments, as their record of no less than 9 comeback wins shows. Six of those came in the La Liga season, threee coming back from more than two goals down. An epic 4-2 win against Atlético away spring to mind, the 4-3 win at Celta thanks to Raphinha’s late goal and the recent 4-3 win over Real Madrid.
Hansi Flick has bred a culture of resilience in the squad and that has helped them overcome tough moments during the campaign. A run of just one win in eight matches saw Barça lose top spot in La Liga towards the end of 2024 and at one point the blaugranes saw themselves 7 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
However, the squad showed great courage not to let the dip in form affect them and in 2025 they put together a spectacular run of 16 games without defeat. The 4-3 comeback win after being 2-0 down against Real Madrid at Montjuïc was key to clinching the league title. With Atlético now out of the running, the victory left Real Madrid seven points adrift with only 9 to play for. The title was only days away.
The result: great memories and three trophies
The 2024/25 season will be remembered for a long time. Barça have won their 28th league title, their 32nd Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, an unprecedented domestic treble.
Furthermore, there is a stat that sums up the season: 4 wins in 4 Clásicos. Few Barça fans will forget the 4-3 comeback at Montjuïc nor the 4-0 win in the league at the Santiago Bernabéu. Not forgetting the 5-2 Spanish Super Cup win in Saudi Arabia, another comeback, or the Copa del Rey fightback in the final in La Cartuja. Each win was a declaration of intention - Barça are back.
The future: keep improving
An unforgettable season but with one asterisk: the Champions League. The only disappointment on a memorable campaign as Barça were just minutes away from making the final in Munich. After coming back from 2-0 down in the second leg against Inter Milan, the blaugranes went 3-2 up in the 87th minute to put Flick’s side 6-5 ahead on aggregate. However, an injury time goal from Acerbi sent the tie into extra time and Frattesi’s winner sent the Italians through.
A cruel defeat but the blaugranes can take heart from the fact that they came so close to making the final for the first time since 2015. Improvements are needed, according to Flick himself, but this team has the ability to get better and better, also according to the coach.
Hansi Flick’s Barça this season have set themselves out as a model of hard work, resilience, mental strength and attacking football. A group that does not give up and one that entertains all who watch them, bringing a smile back to the faces of Barça fans. The future has never looked so bright.