How Barcelona’s dressing room this season has been nothing short of a close-knit family | OneFootball

Barcelona’s turnaround this season compared to where they were last time around is still a difficult pill to swallow for many. After all, it is difficult to comprehend the rate at which the team has grown in a matter of months.

Numerous factors contribute to the teams’ resurgence from the change in management to the new signings and the improved fitness of the team as a whole.

The secret ingredient, however, is none of the aforementioned factors but the feeling of brotherhood that exists inside the dressing room.

As Hansi Flick stated in a recent interview, the entire Barcelona squad is a large family and SPORT brings to light the extent to which the players bond with one another.

One large family

As relayed by the outlet, the family feeling in the dressing room starts around the academy players who now form a bulk of the names in the dressing room.

Having grown up and trained together across levels, the likes of Gavi, Hector Fort, Lamine Yamal, Ansu Fati and others including Fermin Lopez and Alejandro Balde are very close friends, not only in the dressing room but outside it as well.

Most of them, barring Pau Cubarsi, live away from La Masia now but are constantly involved in each other’s lives and bond over various recreational sports and video games.

A tight-knit bunch. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)

Even their duels in the relaxing sports and games are competitive and it only helps build the winning spirit in their minds. Even veterans like Inigo Martinez join them and guide them in games like foot tennis and foosball.

Apart from recreation and fun, the team also ensure that they all maintain healthy eating habits and a good lifestyle to improve their fitness, something that goes a long way.

Finally, the special factor that only boosts the team’s performance is the lack of jealousy in the dressing room. While they all indeed compete for starting spots, there is a keen understanding that every player has an equal role to play.

Even players like Gavi who were regular starters before understand the situation and give their all in the chances they are given. Every substitute, including the lesser-used ones like Pablo Torre, celebrates goals as if they scored them themselves.

And then there is the sense of unity that every player should get his chance, as exemplified wonderfully by Gavi earlier this season when he asked Flick to field Pablo Torre in his place of Lamine Yamal against Dortmund when he came off asking for Ansu Fati to play.

Barcelona is more than a club, and will always be. Their on-field success, needless to say, will always be dependent on the comradery behind the scenes.