The Flick line

“I’m looking forward to speaking with Hansi and asking him many questions,” admitted Cesc Fàbregas this summer at the Como press conference before the Gamper match. “The issue of the defensive line seems incredible to me.” Exactly. Of the group of virtues that we have been able to discover in the German throughout his first season at Can Barça , the Flick line is the most glaring. In an article in The Guardian in May, written by Sid Lowe, he said that, in all competitions, Barça made their opponents fall offside 289 times, and that 38 goals against them were disallowed for previous offsides. You read that right: in a single season, thirty-eight goals conceded, and then immediately disallowed, thanks to Flick’s advanced line. Do you remember the 0-4 in the first La Liga Clásico, on October 26th? Well, in that game alone, the Whites’ dazzling new signing, Kilian Mbappé, fell eight times. Offside. In the top five European leagues, it's the most a single player has done so since Sergio Pellissier fell into the trap 10 times in a Chievo-Roma game in 2010. In Flick's first game at the Bernabéu, Madrid fell into the same trap a total of 12 times. It was also the most chances they'd fallen into since a 2013 match against Celta Vigo...

We could still add a few more figures about the effectiveness of this tactical device by the Heidelberg coach. But there's no need. Because we Barça fans, like Bayern Munich fans before us, have grown accustomed to instinctively counting. Every time we face a counterattack, no matter how it ends, from the very beginning, we harbor the hope that the linesman, or later the VAR, will intervene to negate the attack. Having consistently made us Barça fans trust the precision and fairness—I dare not add the impartiality—of La Liga refereeing is worthy of study. In the next debate on the pros and cons of VAR, you'll know who to side with. Flick!

In the next debate on the pros and cons of VAR, you know who to side with. Flick!

That's also why the addition of Joan Garcia in goal was a success, the flip side of consolidating the defensive security of such a risky venture. The downside would have been the departure of Iñigo, who, with Cubarsí, played Flick's line perfectly.

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However, in the first three games of this season, Rayo Vallecano committed 7 offsides, Levante 6, and Mallorca , who played many minutes with 9 men, only 2. That is, despite having conceded more scoring chances, we remain at the same average as last season (4.76 per game). One of the key decisions of this season will be whether this line survives, improves, or is destroyed.