If Flick can make Barcelona more boring, they'll become unstoppable

Barcelona person conscionable completed arguably the greatest, astir thrilling, unpredictable and melodramatic series of 4 high-stakes matches crossed conscionable 15 days that nine shot has ever seen.

If you've loved this outrageous spectacle, the atrocious quality is that their coach, Hansi Flick, wants specified shot to beryllium enactment to a stop. Immediately. But earlier you rename him Hansi the Grinch, the bitter, misanthropic greenish carnal who stole expected goals, perceive maine out.

Between April 26 and May 11, we were privileged to witnesser a Copa del Rey final, a two-legged UEFA Champions League semifinal, 2 decisive periods of other time, a full of 25 goals (many of them filthily beautiful), 3 antithetic big cities (Seville, Barcelona and Milan), each followed by hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide -- topped disconnected by the magic of a teenage genius (Lamine Yamal) portion 2 trophies (the Copa, and LaLiga) were sealed.

For the neutral, it has been the cleanable antidote to woes astir robotic, risk-averse players successful the modern crippled and sterile tactics; and to legends of the sport, too, specified arsenic Thierry Henry, who precocious admitted helium has grown bored of football.

One of the clearest watermarks that we had seen classical shot compressed into an unfeasibly abbreviated play was Jordi Cruyff saying, "My begetter would person been arrogant of this team." Yet Flick really, truly wants to enactment a halt to it.

On Sunday, helium added different wide denotation of however unhappy helium is with the nonstop facet of Barcelona's play that has made it irresistible for the neutral to ticker their barnstorming, three-trophy season.

"Only each of you tin determine whether we are the astir enjoyable squad to ticker successful Europe," Flick smiled erstwhile asked astir it. "For maine ... it's not ever fun. I've sometimes suffered a lot.

"This journey, which the squad and I started past summer, hasn't ended yet. I cognize that we person immense improvements to marque successful our defending. I, my unit and galore of the players each cognize the value of defending better. And that's not truly astir the 4 guys who play successful the past enactment of defense. We request overmuch greater antiaircraft stability. It's not casual defending similar we bash and each of america perpetrate errors, but we indispensable larn and we indispensable get overmuch better.

"It conscionable hasn't been casual to bid those improvements erstwhile each play there's been a lucifer to play and question to and from, each 3 oregon 4 days. As acold arsenic adjacent play is concerned, you'll see."

His apical disapproval of his players, since August, is their unwillingness to halt attacking blindly precocious successful matches and alternatively negociate a lead. They consciousness similar puppies chasing a tennis shot successful the park. He wants them to deliberation similar Rottweilers.

Back successful November, having mislaid astatine Real Sociedad and drawn erstwhile 2-0 up astatine Celta Vigo, Flick said: "This is simply a precise young squad and we request to instrumentality much attraction successful definite circumstantial situations. When we were 2-0 astatine Celta past had a antheral sent off, we needed to support overmuch better. We ever privation to onslaught and play, but sometimes it's capable to power possession and support a pb truly well."

There's different facet to what Flick wants to change, though lone neutrals volition anticipation it doesn't hap due to the fact that Barcelona fans volition beryllium outright thrilled astatine what he's proposing to improve.

Sunday's all-time thriller against Real Madrid made it six times this play (six!) that Barcelona person been 2 goals down successful a lucifer (Benfica, Atlético Madrid twice, Madrid, Celta and Inter Milan -- doubly distant from location and 4 times astatine their ain stadium) but travel backmost to gully oregon win.

Flick wants to instrumentality that grandstanding and chuck it successful the bin. Damn him and his demanding perfectionism, right? He doesn't privation the accent and hazard of having to support connected overhauling two-goal deficits.

When this play ends, it's going to beryllium the lawsuit that Barcelona missed retired connected lone 1 of the 4 trophies that were disposable to them this play pursuing Flick's accomplishment -- the large one: the Champions League.

And I cognize 1 tiny detail, which mightiness not person registered connected your radar, is connected his caput from that epic elimination successful Milan past week erstwhile they were starring 3-2 and heading done to the last with 2 minutes left. It was erstwhile Barcelona broke upfield and Yamal opted to sprout alternatively of conserve possession, triumph a throw-in, a escaped footwear oregon a corner.

The teenage genius hammered his effort disconnected Yann Sommer's post, with the Swiss goalkeeper wholly beaten. If it goes in, past Yamal astir automatically goes nonstop to the Ballon d'Or ceremonial to prime up the Golden Ball that I fervently anticipation helium wins anyway.

No disapproval from maine for the 17-year-old attempting to perfectly termination the semifinal, but connected Flick's "Things About Which We Can Be More Ruthless" scale, it's impactful that from the adjacent action, aft Yamal's changeable cannoned disconnected the post, Inter stormed consecutive up the transportation and scored the equalizer that brought other clip and, ultimately, defeat. If helium had kept the ball, played for time, would Barcelona beryllium heading to Munich successful a mates of weeks' clip to contention the Champions League last and joust for a treble? Quite possibly.

Flick has ever exuded pridefulness successful his squad and admiration for the players. He 100% wants them to play aesthetically beauteous and entertaining football, but helium wants tiny details of mentality, intensity, grittiness and ruthlessness to upgrade.

And hence, Barcelona's wide archetypal precedence successful the upcoming transportation marketplace is to motion a high-class cardinal defender. They person had Jonathan Tah (a rubric victor with Bayer Leverkusen and a 6-foot-5 29-year-old who played a mates of times for Flick erstwhile helium was successful complaint of Germany) astatine the apical of their database for months. That's partially due to the fact that he'll determination connected a escaped transfer, and Barcelona's Financial Fair Play concern is truthful acute that his free-agent presumption is profoundly attractive.

But with his existent coach, Xabi Alonso, about to instrumentality implicit astatine Real Madrid (expect an announcement imminently), volition Tah articulation him determination instead? We shall see.

Flick, similar each large leaders, is readying for the adjacent run astatine a clip erstwhile others are lone conscionable opening to observe the existent sensation of victory. And helium wants 1 of the top entertaining teams successful modern past to morph into a mentation that is little dramatic, much gritty, little heart-stopping and ruthlessly stops opponents.

If helium achieves it, past who tin halt them adjacent season? No one.