Tuesday in the Champions League, Young Boys travels to Barcelona (9:00 p.m.), a club which is having an excellent start to the season. Everything except a gift for the Bernese.
Apart from the attractive side of the poster, it is never really good to face FC Barcelona when you are a Swiss club. And perhaps even less today that the Catalan team is finding color again. Because yes, there is a world of difference between the dying collective of last season and the one who plays football today on the Spanish lawns! Leader of Liga with 7 victories in 8 matches, the FCB is apparently set to sign a high-level exercise, which even the hiccup experienced on Saturday evening in Pamplona does not seem able to stop.
“We have the right mentality, it’s a good starting point“, whispered humbly at the start of last week Hansi Flick, the new Catalan coach, arrived this summer to take over from Xavi, the former icon whose status is now somewhat crumbling. He also in the dark after a failed stint at the helm of the Mannschaft, the 59-year-old German technician, who had achieved feats on the bench of Bayern Munich, already seems to be unanimously appreciated along the Ramblas.He is a very accessible person, who helps us a lot.“, recently greeted Pedri.
Nothing, for the moment, allows us to dispute Pedri’s eye. The Spanish jewel is right, and so is Flick, at the head of a squad made up of magnificent players. Including Lamine Yamal, hero of the last Euro, who with the freshness of his 17 years gave a second youth to his partner Robert Lewandowski (36 years old), whom some saw leaving last spring. Let’s add Dani Olmo, Raphinha, Gavi, Torres, Koundé and de Jong and you will understand that Barça has some good gear in store. And, therefore, something to nourish ourselves with objectives.
Although he does not want to project too much, even less when we are only at the beginning of autumn, Hansi Flick cannot dispute the idea that “his” Barcelona has the means to overthrow Real Madrid in Liga. Particularly because he was able to put his paw on the locker room, now driven by great confidence. “The coach has already given us a lot of thingsPedri noted again, including playing without pressure. Under his orders, we feel much freer. Physically too, we are well…“
These are arguments which could frighten the Young Boys, who will play Tuesday evening on Catalan soil. But the Bernese can also say that Barça’s last outing in the Champions League ended in a 2-1 defeat against Denis Zakaria’s Monaco. Will the Swiss international entrust the secret to beating “Hansi and his chicos” to his former club?
Arnaud Cerutti
