Hansi Flick and Iñaki Pena’s symptom: trust in your players is the key to a coach’s success | Football | Sport
Once he landed in the Barcelona dressing room, Hansi Flick was no stranger to what was happening in Madrid. The coach, in one of his first conversations with the team, insisted that the players start the championship without distractions. “We have to start strong. We can’t lose points. “Madrid will need time to integrate Mbappe into their system and we must take advantage of this situation to change the situation that will allow us to reach the end of the season alive,” the German coach warned his boys. They obeyed. Apart from the defeat in Pamplona from Osasuna, lost as a result of massive rotations, the Blaugrana added three (10) goals in the remaining matches, with a balance of 37 goals for and 10 against. In any case, no victory was as important for Barça’s morale as this Saturday in Chamartín, as was Hansi Flick’s desire to distance himself from a Madrid that, at the moment, cannot find Mbappe, but at the same time loses Bellingham , who is saved only by Vinicius’ Football.
They say in the Barcelona dressing room that Hansi Flick was particularly active and motivated last week. He was, of course, thinking about Bayern, but he reminded them of his pre-season words: “They didn’t bring in Mbappe.” The German coach took it upon himself to manage the pressure, always looking to boost his players’ confidence. I didn’t talk to them about winning, but about scoring goals. “We didn’t have to settle for one goal, I wanted three or four,” explains one Barcelona player. Lewandowski scored (one goal against Bayern and two against Madrid), Rafinha shone (hat-trick against Germany to complete the rout at the Bernabeu), Lamin Yamal celebrated his first goal in a classic, and Iñaki Pena finally played a leading role (for the better) against Real Madrid.
The Blaugrana defeated Bayern Munich in Montjuïc (4-1) and defeated the Santiago Bernabeu (0-4). Flick’s success is not only on the scoreboard, but also in the locker room. He did not change the formula in major tournaments: high pressing, high defensive line and fast attacks. “The coach asked us from day one for a very advanced line. Yes, it is dangerous to play so far away from you, but we did a great job against the most dangerous strikers in the world in the games against Bayern and Real Madrid. The line cannot be moved back and this shows us that the idea suits our game. The good work is reflected in the offsides we made,” Pena explained after Madrid fell to 12 offsides against Barca. Inigo Martinez joined in the explanation: “We understand each other very well from behind, we know when to take the line or not, we take risks, but if you wait behind Madrid, it’s even worse.”
Although the lights of the classics were aimed at the three strikers – Barca’s trident is the deadliest in Europe, 25 goals, two more than Bayern (23) – the Barcelona team kept an eye on Iñaki Pena. When the classic ended, the players went to look for the goalkeeper to congratulate him, which was the key to two saves as Barça won 0–2. “I’m proud of the team. And I’m also very happy for Iñaki Peña. “He did very well,” Flick said of the goalkeeper’s performance, who finished with four saves. The statistics, however, do not take into account the goalkeeper’s kick on the Bellingham line due to Mbappe’s previous offside when the score was 0-0. This did not increase their numbers, but it did improve their morale.
The trust of his players is one of the keys to managing Flick. With Ter Stegen injured, Barcelona went looking for the retired Szczesny, a goalkeeper who had stood out at Juventus. But Flick did not hesitate: he continued to bet on Pena. “I’m very sincere with the players. It’s important that they know what’s going on. Apart from the fact that they don’t want to hear about it,” Flick explains. Thus, Pena retained his place, and Szczesny accepted his. “I am very grateful to Shchesny. From day one he has treated me with great respect and we get along very well and work very well,” said the goalkeeper, who trained in Barcelona youth football.
Today Flick has two goalkeepers. Pena feels important, and Szczesny is trying to challenge the youth team. The same thing happens in the center of the field. The return of De Jong, Dani Olmo and Gavi did not undermine the self-esteem of Casado, Fermin Lopez and Pedri. On the contrary, he has strengthened a group that scored four goals at the Bernabeu, now six points behind Real Madrid in the league.
“The atmosphere in the group is impressive,” notes the German coach. Everyone is involved in the Flick case, and there is no better symptom than Iñaki Peña. When Szczesny’s presence threatened to wipe him out of the three posts, Pena left the Bernabeu without relenting. “We should have fun, but there is still a lot to do, important tasks against the best teams in the world. Our mentality has changed, the team has improved a lot, the number of goals scored is off the charts. Keeping a clean sheet is another requirement of Flick,” concluded the goalkeeper. Thanks to the demands and good environment of the German coach, he is growing in Barcelona, in Europe and also in Spain.