Football is supposed to be fun. When it looks effortless, that’s when you know you’re a great team.
Barcelona aren’t just playing the game at the moment, they are in a true flow state.
It’s starting to look like, for the first time in a long time, an actual manifestation of Johan Cruyff’s dream of total football.
Raphinha just scored a hat trick. How could someone who never played the nine all of a sudden turn into the best at the position in the world?
It’s not that Hansi Flick was a genius when he put
the Brazilian there. It was an experiment out of necessity after all. It works because this upgraded version of Flick’s Barcelona is supposed to be positionless.
Sometimes, it’s Lamine Yamal popping up in the middle. Sometimes it’s Xavi Espart. Against Racing Santander, it was Joao Cancelo who demonstrated what this style of football is all about by surprising everyone with two screamers from outside of the box.
Play off of your teammates and let the game flow through you.
Of course, it helps to have a variety of dangerous weapons, and Flick this season has more to work with than he’s ever had at Barcelona. The world should take notice.
Karim Adeyemi’s spirit is contagious. This is someone we all knew had supreme talent, and superhuman physical ability.
Playing with Barcelona, we are seeing how lethal he can truly be when surrounded by world class talent.
Of course, the fact that Racing Santander played so openly created the perfect conditions for a speed demon to shine. Against other teams, Anthony Gordon will be better suited. One option for the left wing that is no frills, and another that is all frills. Both are valuable depending on the circumstance.
What Adeyemi gives Barcelona is the directness that Flick demands. This is what makes this Barcelona so different than any other that we’ve seen in club history. On Wednesday, it wasn’t the scoring, but the constant danger, which included drawing two penalties.
The control is still there for Barcelona, but it’s not control for the sake of it. Barcelona continues to be a technical machine, but they are turbo charging it with an energy and intensity that starts on the defensive end.
The counter pressing has been suffocating, and as a result the quality chances in front of goal are endless.
This team is smiling because even though they’re playing hard, it’s working so well that it feels effortless. Footballers live to score goals. Now, their inner child has been unleashed at the highest level.
It’s a joy to watch. Even more so because it’s leading to wins. This undefeated start is unprecedented.
One more game to go now against a strong Sevilla side before the international break.
Keep the party going, and then Flick will have to start managing his way through the thick of the calendar where certain players will surely be in need of rest.
There’s plenty of firepower on the forward line, and that could be the very factor that gives the Blaugrana an edge that they didn’t have in the past as the marathon season rolls along.
