FC Barcelona continues its preseason, ending its Asian tour and setting its sights on the Joan Gamper Trophy. From there, Hansi Flick and his team will focus on La Liga and, starting in September, the Champions League, which is their ultimate goal. The German’s first season on the Barça bench was outstanding, with three titles under his belt and great feelings about the team’s play. The challenge now is to maintain that level and achieve the Champions League glory that has eluded them. The challenge is enormous and the bar is set very high.
Flick and an unbeatable debut
Hansi Flick had an almost perfect first year at Barcelona. The balance of his first year in charge of the team is very positive. He brought players who had been written off back to their best, the team showed a scoring ability that few can match, he did not hesitate to give opportunities to youth players and he won three titles after, among other things, winning all four games against Real Madrid.
His 2025 has been almost perfect. Since the start of the year, after ending 2024 with doubts, Barça seemed to know only how to win, accumulating a 24-game unbeaten streak and winning 18 of the 19 games in the second half of LaLiga, making it impossible for anyone to take the title away from them.
Maintaining the level… and going for the Champions League
With the end of the season, Flick sent a clear and ambitious message about what was to come. “I like being here in Barcelona. Working for this incredible club and, of course, with all these players because I think we have a very good relationship and next season we will start from scratch and we have to work hard as we have done before,” explained Flick.
The three titles in his first season are not enough for the German, who is ambitious: “We know we have to improve and we will. I want the same as last season, because I can say we tried everything. We worked hard, we tried to improve and, of course, we want to win titles. This is Barça.”
Among those titles, the Azulgranas’ biggest goal is to win the Champions League, which has eluded them for more than ten years. This season, after six years without doing so, they managed to reach the semifinals, where they faced Inter Milan in two crazy games in which they came close to glory but were left with the desire to reach the final in Munich.
Raphinha, Pedri, Lamine… don’t let the rhythm stop
There are many key names in the team’s great season and the challenge now is to keep those players at the highest level. Raphinha had a season to remember. He was on the verge of leaving last summer, but Hansi Flick gave him the confidence to stay and he has had an outstanding season, finishing as the top scorer in the Champions League and entering the running for the Ballon d’Or. Maintaining that level now that he has competition from Marcus Rashford is the goal.
For those at the top to shine, you have to have control of the midfield, and that’s where Pedri worked his magic throughout the season. He surpassed himself in every game in terms of ball recovery, and his playmaking and passing were brutal.
Just as brutal has been the performance of Barcelona’s new number 10, Lamine Yamal. The youth player had a season worthy of honors at only 17 years old, and now the challenge is for him to keep his feet on the ground and continue to perform at the same level he has shown so far in the preseason.
Goalscoring ability
Lamine Yamal, alongside Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, have formed a lethal trio which, added to supporting players such as Ferran Torres and Fermín López, have made the team the highest scorers in the five major leagues. The overall tally was 174 goals in the 60 games played, averaging almost three goals per game. Forty-three of those goals were scored in 14 Champions League matches (making them the top scorers ahead of PSG, who were runners-up), with the rest coming in LaLiga (102 goals), the Copa del Rey (22 goals), and the Spanish Super Cup (7 goals). Maintaining this momentum will be vital to winning titles again this season.
Including new players
This is a season in which new players will have to fit in. Joan García arrived at Barcelona to be the starting goalkeeper and, pending registration, that is how it will be. Marcus Rashford has settled in well with the team, as seen in his preseason performances, and he will need to continue doing so as competition is fierce. The Englishman has shown himself open to accepting whatever role Hansi Flick decides and giving his all in whatever minutes he gets.