Hans-Dieter Flick

[JamDav1982]

Barca also won 1 of last 8 league games Pena started to go 7 points behind and have every game since and got back into title race while going through two rounds of the cup and winning Supercopa.

 

[Joan]

Flick also improved defensive players. Inigo was considered a flop yet he’s instrumental under Flick. Araujo seems to be the only one but early days.

Simple for me, impossible to deny Xavi failed to bring the best out of the team. Titles will come.

 

[JamDav1982]

I struggle to think of a player that improved massively under Xavi or much at all from day he walked in to day left.

Youngsters like Yamal and Cubarsi can only really go up and exceptional talents from the off.

 

[Joan]

As for Pena, Xavi being forced to rely on Pena was an excuse and claimed handicap no coach could overcome. I’d agree Pena looked better under Flick but there may be reasons.

 

[JamDav1982]

As for Pena, Xavi being forced to rely on Pena was an excuse and claimed handicap no coach could overcome. I’d agree Pena looked better under Flick but there may be reasons.

Yeah.. to be fair to Flick Pena has looked better under him than last season but still can see why they are banking on experience.

Barca had to make changes. The league was being lost. Maybe it was.

 

[serghei]

Flick also improved defensive players. Inigo was considered a flop yet he’s instrumental under Flick. Araujo seems to be the only one but early days.

Simple for me, impossible to deny Xavi failed to bring the best out of the team. Titles will come.

Disagree on Inigo. If I'm not mistaken, last season he was injured on and off. As said, it's inevitable for players to improve when the team is doing better. Say in 3 years, the system of Flick deteriorates, players are unmotivated, we start playing bad, does this mean he de-improved the players?

Come on...

With Araujo it's the opposite. His best football was in 2022-23 under Xavi, when the team played very often a similar football with Atletico Madrid.
I believe it was the same season Simeone praised Xavi for beating him twice 1-0.

Some players look better in some styles. With the defensive players, I don't see much improvement with Flick, past what is natural to see with players like Cubarsi that will get better in time probably anyway. On the offense, the improvement is clear.

 

[Windhook]

Some think Flick is punishing Pena since being 4 minutes late to training, but after all Tek is the better GK. Considered experience and ability. He just needed time to adjust and get into shape.

 

[JamDav1982]

Barca have conceded more than 1 goal 5 times this season in the league.

Pena was in goals for all 5 of them.

Barca had won 1 of the last 8 league games Pena had started.

Lets not make out he was delivering anything of note.. he was better than last season and had some decent games but Barca were faltering wiith him.

Coaches value experience back there and defenders feeling safer with what have behind them.

Does that mean Barca will win it all and he makes no errors in big games? No.. but it can still be the correct choice and more benefical than Pena was.

 

[serghei]

Does that mean Barca will win it all and he makes no errors in big games? No.. but it can still be the correct choice and more benefical than Pena was.

Errors happen often. But there's a difference between light errors, and stuff like what Karius did in CL final and Pena did vs Benfica. If he doesn't do huge ones, it's probably the right decision.

Maybe he's rusty and needs to come back into form and we win a good keeper. Maybe he retired for a reason and his head is not fully in the game anymore.

 

[JamDav1982]

Errors happen often. But there's a difference between light errors, and stuff like what Karius did in CL final and Pena did vs Benfica. If he doesn't do huge ones, it's probably the right decision.

Maybe he's rusty and needs to come back into form and we win a good keeper. Maybe he retired for a reason and his head is not fully in the game anymore.

The type Pena has made a lot of also.

Pena stats in the league are the worst of the 3 GKs used so far this season and Barca were faltering with him.

Maybe Barca are 10+ points off Real if change not made to improve team who knows.

Truth is either of the two will make mistakes.

One was retired a few months back and the other is nowhere near a top GK and never has been.

 

[serghei]

The type Pena has made a lot of also.

Not under Flick.

 

[JamDav1982]

Not under Flick.

Flick has improved him but still conceding a lot of goals and team were worse at back with him.

As said 1 win in 8 and conceded more than 1 goal 5 times.. every one of the 5 with Pena.

Were 7 points off Real and in his last game for example looked ropey v Getafe.

Flick most likely thought had next to no chance winning with Pena but a chance if can get Tek back to anything near what he was.

 

[jamrock]

How did he improve Martinez?

Martinez was simply injured more or less all of last season and didn't get to build up any form.

No player in defense as really improved defensively under him, we are shipping goals for fun due to his setup.

 

[JamDav1982]

Getting Inigo fit is an improvement.

Kounde and Balde are better than they were last season as is Cubarsi.

Eric better also.

 

[Joan]

Inigo missed 15 matches last season for injuries. People wanted him gone and considered a flop.

Has missed 6 so far.

Found him an appropriate role, significant improvement.