Football España x CNN: Barcelona swat aside Real Madrid again – how good has Hansi Flick been? | OneFootball

Barcelona secured a second La Liga title in a row with Hansi Flick at the helm following a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday night, the first time that either side has managed to win the La Liga title directly against the other. Football España Editor Ruairidh Barlow joins CNN World Sport to dissect the season, and where Barcelona’s success has come from.

Extending the run further back, it makes it three Liga titles in four for Barcelona, and the Catalan side became the first team in seven years to retain the title in Spain. Hansi Flick’s arrival has been a point of inflection for Barcelona, who despite their financial issues since the pandemic, look to be coming out the other side of the tunnel stronger than they went in.

The keys to Barcelona’s success over recent years

Undoubtedly one of the keys to Barcelona’s revival over the last few years has been advent of another generation of talented players from La Masia. Six of the starting XI that Barcelona started in El Clasico had spent time in the academy, while Lamine Yamal, the face of the new generation, was absent through injury.

Beyond that, President Joan Laporta’s gamble at the start of his third mandate appears to be paying off. His asset sales were a gamble reliant on success for Barcelona coming off the back off a €200m splurge in the transfer market, and three Liga titles would suggest it has been instrumental in just that.

Hansi Flick’s role in Barcelona success

Perhaps the best choice Laporta has made in that period was the appointment of Flick, who manoeuvered Barcelona into a U-turn when he arrived, away from an institutional crisis. The German manager described his squad as a ‘family’ on multiple occasions after their La Liga win, and the ambitious style he has implemented has been accompanied by a positive atmosphere that has allowed Barcelona to grow in that time.