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It’s easy to miss the details on nights with headlines scrawled in all caps over your images, where disaster is directly contrasted with delirium. The latter was abundant for the Blaugrana after the Super Cup victory against Real Madrid. After having thrown them out of the hall door into the street for all to see, with the swinging doors swinging, when Los Blancos tried to get up and attack Barcelona again, spurred on by having drawn red from a Wojciech-shaped wound Szczesny, they discovered that they could not. Barcelona put a long arm on Real Madrid’s forehead and Los Blancos discovered that Barcelona were out of their reach. It would have been less embarrassing if both teams had scored again, falsely painting the game as a free-for-all.
Despite his lack of self-control, you almost have to applaud Barcelona president Joan Laporta for not breaking into the smile he had when the trophy was in his hands alongside his Real Madrid counterpart Florentino Pérez in the luxurious director’s box. While Laporta made sure to take a photo amidst the players, celebrating like one of them, you may not have noticed that Hansi Flick was absent from the Barcelona photo, along with the rest of the staff and team. You wouldn’t be surprised if he had offered to take it.
Don’t you miss anyone there? There are those who prefer the shade. pic.twitter.com/M56GdUikKE
— Toni Juanmartí (@tjuanmarti) January 12, 2025
On its own, it is an oversight. Overall, it could be seen as another clumsy attempt by the Catalan press to praise Flick and whisper about the club’s shortcomings. In the context of a coherent image that is being built in front of the press, outside the training fields and behind closed doors, it is another thing that the German coach got right since his arrival in Barcelona.
Another manager might have inflated his own actions in light of this victory, his thrashing of Bayern Munich, his dissection of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, or his knockout at Dortmund, inflicting a first home defeat in Europe on BVB in three years. However, Flick remains in a parallel story, losing everything that is not useful in the translation and communicating all the important things to his players, away from prying eyes.
That was evident in Jeddah, when Barcelona destroyed Real Madrid and undermined the hope of its stars, with the exception of Kylian Mbappé, to the Frenchman’s credit, a bill he really needs to fill in the Spanish capital. Having infuriated the Bernabéu and their biggest rivals with his offside trap in his first game against Real Madrid, this time Flick dropped his defense ten meters deeper, dragging his defenders before Raphinha and Lamine Yamal came on. When the time came, the only way Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Junior could control their opponents was with their studs.
📺 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡
🆚 @real Madrid | 2-5 yo @FCBarcelona_es
⚽ 1-0 | Mbappé (5′)
⚽ 1-1 | Lamine Yamal (22′)
⚽️ 1-2 Lewandowski (36′)
⚽️ 1-3 Rafina (39′)
⚽️ 1-4 I Bucket (45+9′)
⚽️ 1-5 La Rafina (48′)
⚽️ 2-5 Yo Rodrygo (60′)#supersupercup | End pic.twitter.com/dGv12VpvtW—RFEF (@rfef) January 12, 2025
In the era of celebrity managers, there is something to be said for avoiding their deification and demonization with the twist of each result, something Carlo Ancelotti has had to highlight on several occasions this season. You could argue that Barcelona is falling behind expectations, sitting in third place in La Liga, five points behind Real Madrid and six behind Atlético Madrid. A shitty November tainted Barcelona’s December, and their form in La Liga is a genuine concern, and possibly their fall in the title race.
Even so, it is rare that they give us such a direct contrast as the one we had between Barcelona this season and last; When things go wrong in football, people are moved. In Montjuïc, only Dani Olmo replaced Ilkay Gundogan in the starting team, and the distance between them does not explain the distance on the pitch between both teams, separated by seven months in time. Pedri and Fede Valverde noted before the Super Cup final that the title itself was of little importance, but the excitement of a Clásico and the drive to lift a trophy did have a tangible impact. Although Flick has lacked the Midas touch in moments of domestic competition, the sensations stay with you.
His noise-canceling composure is high on his list of achievements, but the determination Barcelona has shown in big games this season hasn’t been seen since long before Lionel Messi left. In each of their heavyweight bouts this season, Barcelona faced challenges that would have reduced the size of their young team in the past. There were flashes under Xavi Hernández, including big wins over Real Madrid, but in none of them did Barcelona rock on their heels and return to the front with the same verve. Lamine Yamal gliding between players without actually looking like he’s running may be the perfect representation of his gait.
🎙️ HANSI FLICK: “Barça feels like a big, big family… everyone is proud to play for this fantastic team.” #BarçaBetis pic.twitter.com/VUEXdSZ5q3
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 14, 2025
“The players now feel that we are a great team,” Flick said after their 5-2 victory, a nugget to search for in the river. Barcelona had conceded after five minutes, trapped after seeing Thibaut Courtois save brilliantly twice, chances that were already tinged with regret. Against Los Blancos at the Bernabéu, Real Madrid threatened their offside line within an inch of their wits, with the word suicidal being described every few seconds in commentary spanning hundreds of languages. In Dortmund, Barcelona gave up the lead twice, both times through carelessness. When Bayern Munich arrived in Barcelona, Flick’s team was sunk on the edge of the area for twenty minutes, conceding in the process, with Montjuic groaning under the pressure.
None of these crucibles encountered a team that lacked identity, intent or ideas. The three combine to make a Barcelona with personality. One large enough to not be fazed by the presence of weapons comparable to his own. Even on the most important stages, with adversity watching them closely, Barcelona moves comfortably in its own skin, with charisma. Naturally, the results make headlines, but that might be the most impressive part. Flick may not be much of a talker, but his team is leading a Kennedy-style campaign for his administration.
