Barcelona field youngest-ever home starting XI under Hansi Flick | OneFootball

One of the defining characteristics of Hansi Flick’s management style at FC Barcelona has been his emphasis on balance and harmony. The former aspect is particularly clear from the way he has composed his team.

The German coach has never been shy to use academy-trained youngsters in his team if they show they have the talent and ability to play at such a level. Meanwhile, he has worked with Deco to bring in more experienced players from the market to ensure there is a good balance between youth and experience.

However, their last game against Athletic Club showed the team’s reliance on its young talent. Diario AS cites the journalist Oriol Jove to highlight that this match saw Barcelona fielding the youngest starting lineup at a home game, with an average age of only 23.18 years.

There were no players above the age of 30 years in this lineup, and the eldest was Raphinha, who is 29 years of age. However, it needs to be noted here that players like Joao Cancelo (32) and Rodri Hernandez (30) are expected to be regular features of Flick’s team going forward, even though they were not playing against the Basque side.

On the other hand, there were up to four players in the starting lineup who were only 19 years of age, i.e., Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal, and Xavi Espart, who are all part of La Masia’s 2007 generation. The rest of the players in the lineup, Anthony Gordon, Fermin Lopez, Gerard Martin, Pedri, Joan Garcia, and Eric Garcia, are all between the ages of 23 and 25.

This is just another indication of the good work being done at the Barcelona academy, La Masia, which continues to provide the first team with a supply chain of top-class footballing talent.