Make no doubt about it. Hansi Flick is aware that “something is missing” on this Barcelona team.
That being said, he’s not the kind of guy to wait around and complain if things don’t go his way.
For now, the expectation is that reinforcements are on the way. Ideally, that means we’ll see Rodri and maybe even Julián Alvarez arrive in Barcelona soon.
In the meantime, the season is right around the corner, and Flick knows this time around, the margin for error will be small, so a strong start could make all the difference.
Against FC Basel, we saw the Barca manager experiment in interesting ways, with very promising results.
The first surprise was seeing Xavi Espart, the young full-back, get the start in the double pivot. Is this guy really 19 years old? He looks to have the maturity, and versatility, of a seasoned veteran.
If for some crazy reason the move for Rodri falls through, Flick wants to make sure he has options, at least until Frenkie de Jong makes his return towards the end of the year. That’s also why he’s given so much pre-season playing time to Brian Fariñas.
The center forward position is the most concerning of all with Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres both officially gone.
The two main solutions we’ve seen so far, while the Julián Alvarez transfer saga continues in the background, is the possibility of using a false nine, with Raphinha getting the start in the position on Sunday, or going with the promising, albeit unproven, Hamza Abdelkarim.
A word on the young Egyptian. For me, that’s the player of the summer for Barcelona. He was part of an Egypt team at the World Cup that was one of the biggest surprises. They were very unlucky to not get past Argentina, and Hamza was given a role that was small, but not insignificant.
After that, he came to the Barcelona preseason as a man on a mission, understanding very well the opportunity that was in front of him.
The kid looks like a center forward. Give him service, and he’ll score. That was my initial impression.
What’s surprised me, however, is how much work he’s willing to do without the ball. He defends like a machine, has great off the ball movement, and is showing killer instinct inside of the box.
At this point, the question is if he’s done enough to earn a place on the first team.
Even if Julián Alvarez arrives, my answer is absolutely. Can you imagine Barcelona needing a goal in the last ten minutes of a game? Of course, you’d want a big and aggressive target man to aim for.
What’s been great about Flick is that he continues to give the academy players fair chances.
The first thing he said when he arrived two years ago was how impressed he was by La Masia. That’s hasn’t changed. He knows the magic is right there in front of him, and he isn’t waiting around for the sporting director to make moves on his behalf in the market.
It seems like there are a lot of young players to be excited about.
Rodri and Julián Alvarez would be special players to bring in, and they would make Barcelona stronger now, and better able to compete for every trophy this season.
The future is bright, however, because Flick is continuing to place his bets on the kids.
Barcelona really is back on the rails, and back where they belong as the envy of world football.
Next up is the Joan Gamper game.
When the players are introduced, let’s have a moment of appreciation for the tree of talent at Barcelona that continues to grow tall and proud.