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Rob Palmer / ESPN commentator
Malaga
Friday, 4 April 2025, 15:01
It's improbable - yet still not impossible - for FC Barcelona to pull off an incredible quadruple.
The Hansi Flick revolution has gone under the radar; few have realised just how much his team have changed in a remarkably short space of time.
It appears that the only thing stopping them is Real Madrid.
Barça sit at the top of the table, three points ahead of Real. They also have the advantage of beating them 4-0 if it comes down to the head-to-head record deciding the league title.
Real Madrid is also the obstacle in the Copa del Rey. Atlético's was realistically ended when Barça beat them in the semi-final this week. So Barça have a cup final date with Real at the end of the month.
Very few have given the Catalans any chance in the Champions League, yet they find themselves in the quarter finals. They breezed through league stage and neither Monaco nor Benfica caused any issues. The next opponents Borussia Dortmund aren't the most daunting.
Looking ahead, the biggest concern would be Real Madrid! No other remaining club really causes concern.
So if Barça beat Real in La Liga, the title appears to be theirs. It's a showdown in the Spanish cup final, and whoever wins in Europe should emerge as the continental champions.
What's to stop them? Not form. Flick's team are now twenty-one games unbeaten. This dates back to the Spanish Super Cup at the turn of the year when, you've guessed it, they beat Real Madrid to claim the first major under the German coach.
Flick is so unassuming and underestimated. He inherited an absolute mess. The club was in turmoil financially. There was internal unrest after the sacking of club legend Xavi. Many players were uncertain of their future and whether the club could even register them for the season.
His calm considered approach galvanised the place. He left the politics to the politicians and concentrated on finding the best way to point the team in the right direction.
The results are amazing and the best brand of football in Europe. His revolutionary high-line offside system forces the opposition to defend and allows his team to dominate matches.
In seventeen-year-old Lamine Yamal he has a player who has the potential to be mentioned alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Raphinha is one of those who looked destined to leave. Whatever his transfer value was last summer, it has now doubled; he's emerged as a leader, world-class talent and scorer of 27 goals.
The leading scorer is Robert Lewandowski, who looked shot last season. Flick has revigorated him with smart management and he's paid dividends. You can see the mutual respect, even when the star was left out of the semi-final to keep a promise to Ferran Torres.
Ferran, a fringe player, responded by scoring the match-winning goal.
Can it continue? It seems unlikely but so has almost everything that has happened at FC Barcelona this season.
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