Hansi Flick plays an attacking style of football with possession. However, it is different to the traditional style of possession football or Juego de Posesión. Hansi Flick places a strong emphasis on playing vertical passes as often as possible and as quickly as possible to create attack after attack.
Vertical passes from the defense to reach the midfield
Hansi Flick builds from the back, however, the defenders are discouraged to play among themselves. Instead, the centre-backs either find diagonal passes to the fullbacks who then play passes into the midfield or play vertical passes into the midfield. Hansi Flick has recognized that the attacks should be created by the midfield which has incredibly technical players.
Midfield feeding the attack
After the ball is in the midfield they play among themselves but without keeping the ball for too long. The tempo of the play is way faster than what it used to be under Xavi. This draws opponents out of position and creates space for the front 3 and the attacking midfielder to exploit. Barca’s midfield constantly keeps finding these spaces and always takes the risk of playing through. This creates a constant bombardment of attack after attack on the opposition and so creates a lot more goal-scoring chances. This is why Barca has scored an unbelievable amount of goals this season.
Hansi Flick has completely revolutionized FC Barcelona since his arrival. The Catalan giants who were unable to replicate the Tiki Taka and its success of the glory days now have a new playstyle. This playstyle is still similar to their DNA with some improvements that make the job of the players easier.
