There’s reason for optimism in Barcelona, in spite of the challenges in the early going of the season.
On Saturday, the Blaugrana will return to the Camp Nou, and it will be just in time for the return of several players whose absences have made life difficult on the manager.
Most criticism towards Hansi Flick has centered around a lack of a plan B, which has become important given the injury bug that has struck the team. To be fair, however, his plan A has never had the chance to materialize. Until
now.
When Raphinha, Pedri, and Joan García make it back into the fold, Flick will have almost every option at his disposal, with the exception of Gavi who seemed to be on the outside looking in over the summer.
If you had asked which is Barcelona’s best team over the summer, it would have looked a lot like the one who won La Liga a year ago, except with Joan García in goal, and a question mark about how to replace Iñigo Martínez.
At the moment, the only thing that seems locked down is that Pedri and Frenkie de Jong will be the double pivot pairing.
On the backline, there are questions about the form and fitness of Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde. Eric Garcia has emerged as an option to play both full-back positions, as well as an option in the center of the backline.
That tells you a lot. Flick doesn’t seem to have much confidence in his options defensively. In part because of fatigue, but also for tactical reasons.
For now, Balde is the one who seems like a lock for the biggest games, but it is also clear that he needs rest in order to avoid an injury relapse. Pau Cubarsí hasn’t had his best season, but he will continue to be the first choice center back. After that, you have Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, and Jules Kounde competing for the final two spots on the backline.
For me, I think the best thing Flick can do is give a vote of confidence to Araujo. For any of his shortcomings, Flick needs him to get back to his best, even if he isn’t the perfect profile for his system. Eric will continue to be a versatile Swiss army knife, but if everyone is fit and healthy, Jules Kounde is the safe choice at the right back.
More than anything, Flick needs to select a back four and give them a run of games to have continuity so they can start to form an understanding with one another. Fatigue has been a big reason why so many of them don’t look to be at their best, and this has to be rectified.
The front four for Barcelona is where things get interesting.
Coming into the season, it seemed certain that we would see a repeat of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Dani Olmo.
At the moment, however, a debate needs to be had about whether Marcus Rashford, Ferran Torres, and Fermín López are better options.
Ferran seems to always steal the headlines when he plays for Spain. Fermín López is a fan favorite for good reason, the man has become a goal scoring machine. Rashford is leading La Liga with six assists.
You can expect Lamine and Raphinha to claim their spots on the wing. But who is the best center forward and attacking midfield option?
I would love to see Rashford leading the line, with Fermín behind him. A strong argument could be made that you go with the experienced and proven Lewandowski, but I continue to have my doubts that Ferran is the right option in the starting eleven.
Between Fermín and Dani Olmo, I think the choice is clear. Olmo should be asked to fight for his spot back, and Fermín should feel the pressure that he needs to keep performing at a high level consistently if he wants to keep the minutes.
Regardless of who Flick sees as his preferred starting eleven, a rotation will be required to keep Barcelona as competitive as they can be in every competition ahead of them.
All the same, the manager has to have a clear vision about the formula in the biggest games that will be most likely to yield success.
Having his full team back and available is a big boost, and this is a good problem for Flick to have.
It’s in his hands now.
Who do you think the manager should choose in the starting eleven?
