When former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Flick arrived at Barcelona, he found a number of players were performing well below expectations.
Experienced stars like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong were low in confidence, simply because of the lack of trust they felt they had from their previous coach, Xavi.
Raphinha would rarely play more than 60 minutes before being replaced, while Lewandowski was made to play with his back to goal in a style alien to him.
In addition, none of the three felt particularly welcome at the club with De Jong rightly convinced that Barcelona wanted to sell him to help alleviate their financial plight.
One of the first things Flick did was to tell the three of them how important they were to his plans. This season Lewandowski is top scorer with 25 goals, while Raphinha has a league tally of 18.
Flick also sensed an established culture where the club’s irrepressible youth was not at the heart of the team, and not given the prominence they believed they merited.
Youngsters had been given their debuts because of financial constraints – and Xavi deserves praise for working under such restrictions – but they wanted more. They wanted to take over the team.
Flick’s approach allowed the likes of Gavi, Yamal, Alejandro Balde (21), and Marc Casado (also 21) to do just that. He helped them find their voices, even going as far as allowing them to pick the dressing-room music.
That trust was repaid a hundred times over and reflected on the pitch with a youthful and carefree – some might even say naive – style of play.
He also always remained very close to those who didn’t play regularly, stressing that with the inevitable injuries all clubs have to face, their time would come.
Flick has asked the club for very little so far, paying money for just Dani Olmo and Pau Victor in the summer and adding no-one in the winter transfer window.
The 60-year-old German also strongly believes no-one knows their fitness better than the players themselves. So, any plans to rest the likes of Yamal or Raphinha are not taken without asking them – again building the trust and his popularity among the team.
He also never allows himself to be influenced by the very powerful and demanding Barcelona media, and has remained honest to his players – an approach severely tested when they lost four games and collected just five points out of a possible 21 before the Christmas break.
