Barca's struggles: Hansi Flick's stress and the Lamine Yamal problem

Barca lost 3 of their last 5 matches, including the Clasico, with the reason given: Hansi Flick and the club had difficulty managing Lamine Yamal.

Flick stress

The Bernabeu was special last weekend: Joan Laporta appeared in the stands after his alliance with Florentino Perez and the Super League project broke down, and Lamine Yamal was yelled at by Vinicius, Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois.

Meanwhile, Hansi Flick watched his team lose their way on the pitch from the coaching box, where he served a touchline ban.

Barca and Yamal had an underwhelming Clasico. Photo: MD

Johan Cruyff once said that the second season is always the most difficult. That is true for Flick's Barca.

Barca won La Liga and the Copa del Rey just a few months ago, with Lamine Yamal bursting onto the scene, and his pressing football won over even the most demanding neutrals. But things have not been the same since the start of this season.

Last season, even when they were behind after the 80th minute, Barca still gave the audience the belief that they would win.

Flick's first season in Catalunya looked like he could only win. The paradox is that this season Barca have looked like they can only lose.

That comes down to tactical factors. 13 games have passed and Barca are still not running smoothly, despite no major changes in the summer, with the focus always revolving around Lamine Yamal.

When asked about Flick's mental state, sources at the Joan Gamper centre insisted: "He is absolutely fine, loves the club and the city."

The German strategist himself once explained his criticized action in Girona, after Araujo's late goal, as a symbol of his love for Barca: "It was simply an emotion, because I love this club."

Hansi Flick is banned from directing El Clasico. Photo: EFE

However, those who know Flick believe it is just a way to hide growing tension: he is trying to blend into the group to hide his insecurity.

Flick problem, Yamal problem

There have been major problems for Flick in recent times. First, the controversy with the Spanish Football Federation and Luis de la Fuente.

“He was the head coach of the German national team and he could not understand the fact that an 18-year-old player was forced to play in a meaningless match in Turkey. If that happened at Bayern, it would be a scandal ,” the Barcelona source said .

The dispute with the federation and De la Fuente prevented him from focusing on Barca. Yamal himself wanted to play for Spain against Turkey, with the goal of winning Arda Guler, and did not complain about his fitness.

In addition to the conflict with the Federation, Flick is also dissatisfied with the referee. "He thinks that the referees in the Champions League are better, communicate more clearly than in La Liga" , the technical team revealed. Barca forgot that the club benefited from... VAR failure in the Rayo Vallecano match.

The second problem is internal to Barca. Last summer, the chaos in player registrations made Flick angry, especially when Marcus Rashford could not be signed early.

He was also confused by the delay in returning to Camp Nou (having to play on the training ground, then hiring Montjuic), and tired of internal conflicts.

There was a case where he had to call a player into the match list and then… not use him for a single minute, just to reconcile the conflict between the doctor and the physical rehabilitation department.

Yamal is out of control, linked to the noise after the El Clasico match. Photo: AS

"It was unclear whether the player was ready or not, so Flick had to call him up and let him sit on the bench for the whole match ," said a Barca source.

The third and most serious problem: Lamine Yamal. The coaching staff felt that Lamine was “flying” too high, riding a golf cart around the course and ignoring internal rules.

Flick is not upset when the psychological management of young players is taken over by others, but he is dissatisfied when the club appears to be too protective.

“Yamal needs to be more focused and put in more effort ,” Flick reminded publicly. In his heart, he feared that if he lost control of the dressing room, he would not be able to restore the fighting spirit of last season, the factor that helped Barca maintain the intensity of pressing and tactical discipline.

Before the Clasico, Flick spent the entire training session on pressing and escaping pressing exercises. But at the Bernabeu, all that effort disappeared, the “Blaugrana” lost 3 of the last 5 matches (Real Madrid, Sevilla and PSG).

Flick is in a difficult position. He has not yet found the best way to manage Lamine Yamal, who is caught up in his own arrogance, leading to the "bullying" of Real Madrid players.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/barca-lan-dan-hansi-flick-bat-an-va-van-de-lamine-yamal-2457344.html