The five keys behind Hansi Flick's resurgence of Barcelona

He arrived at Barcelona without making much noise. In fact, the club took a month to present him. In all that time no one knew what the new coach, who came in to replace Xavi almost by chance, thought. The club wanted to protect him from being interrogated by the press. Hansi Flick worked in the shadows with Deco to put together the squad.

It was a complicated job due to all the problems that the club has been dragging along because of Financial Fair Play which has prevented them from making all of the signings that they wanted. But little by little, the German coach has been introducing his changes and forming a team that at this time has brought success as seen in the first four matches of the season in which he has harvested four victories. The latest one was a brilliant 7-0 win against Valladolid that ended with the Montjuïc stands chanting his name. Barcelona fans are once again happy with their team.

Confidence in the squad

The coach's impact is noticeable. Flick has introduced a series of changes that have made Barcelona look nothing like they did last season. He has restored the confidence of some key players, has improved the physical tone of the team, has not entered into controversy with the press, follows the guidelines set by the club without fuss... a luxury for the Barcelona bench.

Getting the best out of Lewandowski

One of the keys has been to get the best version of Robert Lewandowski back. It should not be forgotten that Xavi wanted the Pole to leave. Flick has been cautious. He knew him well from his time at Bayern Munich. He has given him back his confidence, he has given him energy and he has placed him in the position in which he develops best: inside the area. He is a finisher and what is needed is that balls arrive to him in good situations. And when this is the case, he doesn't waste any time. He has four goals in four games and leads the Pichichi table.

The new Raphinha

Raphinha's improvement has been evident. Flick has considered that in many games he can perform very well playing more centrally. The Brazilian has been at his best. Physically, he is in top form, as he showed on Saturday in the match against Valladolid, taking on defenders with speed. The result: his first hat-trick of his career. And, in addition, he has reinforced his self-esteem by being one of the team captains and the one in charge of talking to the referee. A great signing.

Physically, it is a different team

The physical improvement of the team is clear. From day one, the German coach worked on this aspect that had been neglected in the previous years. He knows that if the team is not physically fit, there will be no chance of competing against the big teams. And the players are responding. The proof of this is that in the first matches Barcelona solved them in the second half when they imposed that good physical tone.

Opportunities for the youth

Another aspect that enchants the fans is his full confidence in the youngsters. Since his arrival, he has shown himself to be a coach who will count on La Masia. In four games he has given debuts to four youngsters. It's not easy for a foreign coach to have so much confidence in the youngsters. And they are all responding to him, especially Casado and Bernal. A real pity that the latter has suffered a serious injury.