Hansi Flick channels Michael Jordan spirit into Barcelona dressing room | OneFootball

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick clearly has the midas touch when it comes to massaging the mind of his squad, and the German manager continues to try and tweak his players’ mentality ahead of the final stages of the season. One of the recurring themes of his press conferences in recent months has been his happiness at the ability his side have had to respond to adversity.

The Blaugrana have come from behind on several occasions, most notably against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, the latter from two goals down in March, and overcome the vast majority of challenges they have faced this season. Last year, one of the biggest criticisms of what is, aside from Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, the same group of players, was that they struggled to manage the pressure in big moments, coming up short.

Against Sevilla, Barcelona also saw out games against Real Madrid and Sevilla with ten men, a further sign of their robustness in games where pressure has been applied on them, while the likes of Raphinha, Alejandro Balde and Inigo Martinez seem empowered compared to last season. According to MD, the latest step he has taken towards installing a strong mentality is to channel Michael Jordan, amongst others.

They say that recently Flick ordered that a series of motivational quotes be printed around the dressing on the walls, from the likes of Jordan and other inspirational figures. He feels it will help the competitive spirit of the team and keep standards high.

While this may appear twee on the face of it, Flick clearly has experience in the matter, and so far his methods at Barcelona are beyond doubt. The Blaugrana will need all of that ability to respond to adversity in the final six weeks of the season, with 11 games separating them from a treble.