How Hansi Flick is now unlocking €40m Barcelona defender who struggled under Xavi | OneFootball

Even at FC Barcelona, not every player has been able to thrive under different tactical setups. Such is the nature of football, and every player has their own comfort zone even in terms of the kind of football they get to play. Consequently, over the last few years at Barcelona, some players have thrived differently under various coaches.

Xavi Hernandez, for instance, was a coach who relied a lot on maintaining width at all times and using his wingers and fullbacks to do so. Some players, such as Ousmane Dembele, thrived in his setup and it helped them improve their game tremendously.

Others, like Alejandro Balde in particular, were successful under Xavi at some point but seemed to struggle later on. Even Robert Lewandowski went through a similar rollercoaster, but Balde’s case is particular noticeable due to his ineffectiveness in doing what he was mainly known for.

In his first full season under Xavi, Balde flourished due to the amount of space he was given to burst into and open up opposition defenses. However, he clearly began to struggle in his second season under Xavi due to the coach using him more as an advanced winger who would be expected to hold his position.

However, as highlighted by SPORT, his role under Hansi Flick has been completely changed to help him make use of his strengths more. Whereas Xavi, particularly in Balde’s second full season under him, made the fullback remain in a more advanced position, Flick allows him to have the liberty to advance from the back line and make use of his athleticism and speed again.

While the €40 million-rated La Masia talent is still not at his explosive best since his return from injury, he is gradually getting there. He looks much more lively and his participation in each games looks to get more and more promising with each passing contest.

Even for Balde himself, he was clear about his struggles last season in an interview he gave back in September of this year:

“Last year wasn’t good for me or the team. I believe I can improve in many areas. I’m only 20 and have three seasons in the first division under my belt.”

However, he was also clear about what he needs to improve upon and what exactly Hansi Flick has asked him to focus more on:

“I need to work on defense and decision-making, for example. Flick emphasizes defense the most. I’m a full-back, and while many people focus on the offensive side, the defensive work is crucial. We have a great squad with excellent players, and those who are currently injured will help us a lot when they return.”

This season, so far at least, the player’s impressive development can be seen through his statistics as well. Winning 61% of his duels, recovering 2.1 balls per game, and also maintaining a 90% passing accuracy, Balde has been much more consistent in this campaign so far.

Furthermore, Hansi Flick has also been quite careful about managing his minutes this season. Given his recent injury history, the Barcelona coach has consistently been giving the young fullback minutes while also giving him some rest whenever he could, which in turn possibly helped him play better when he did get to feature.