It was on 29 May 2024 that FC Barcelona announced a German coach was to sign after spending almost a year without a coaching role after his time with the national side ended, and he joined with a minimum of fuss and no desire for the spotlight. The coach was of course Hansi Flick, and he got straight down to work to turn his Barça side into a winning team.

Risky but winning style

365 days later, Flick has won three trophies (Liga, Copa del Rey, and Super Cup) while falling just short of a Champions League final with a team that started from scratch a year ago. He has really put his imprint as a coach on the team he has put together. They have no fear of leaving themselves exposed, press intensely, and leave absolutely everything out on the pitch.

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Goals and more goals

This first year with Flick as coach saw Barça play 60 games, with 44 wins, seven draws, and nine defeats, and a spectacular record of 174 goals scored and 72 conceded. Tremendous stats that he achieved by involving up to 30 players, and drawing much more on La Masia than many expected from a man born in Heiderberg with no blaugrana influence prior to signing.

La Masía features strongly

Hansi Flick gave debuts to seven players from the blaugrana youth system (Gerard Martín, Sergi Domínguez, Marc Bernal, Andrés Cuenca, Toni Fernández and Dani Rodríguez). Then there is also Dani Olmo, who has returned home, and Pau Víctor, who was on loan for Barça Atlètic last season, and who has now made his debut and is part of the first team squad.

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Offside trap becomes trademark tactic

There may be endless incredible stats to illustrate the great year for the blaugranes under Flick, but if there is one thing that characterises the team's style it is the offside trap. It became a trademark tactic for the team as the season went on, being run by the Cubarsí-Iñigo partnership, with fullbacks Kounde and Balde always on their toes when needed.

Excited for season two

The offside trap was sprung no fewer than 301 times, almost double the figure of 157 by Betis and more than double the 146 by Tottenham Hotspur, the totals by the next two teams from the five major European leagues. These are just some of the traits of the first year under Flick. It's now time for the show to continue, with more to come in year two.

Força Barça