As statement weeks go, Barcelona’s seven days last week were as impressive as they come. The Catalans started by thumping Bayern Munich 4-1 in the Champions League and followed that up by beating Real Madrid 4-0 in the first Clasico of the season. Hansi Flick’s team are on a serious roll at the moment.
Flick has been credited with retooling Barca at the start of the 2024/25 season. The Catalans are playing with more intensity in and out of possession while Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are thriving thanks to the German’s direct style of play. Barcelona are the most potent team in Spanish – and European – soccer right now.
Key to Barcelona’s resurgence, however, has been the level of talent coming through the club’s famous La Masia academy. Of the 11 players that started against Real Madrid on Saturday, seven were La Masia graduates with two more – Gavi and Dani Olmo – coming off the bench in the second half. It was a homegrown victory.
Of course, La Masia has long been the lifeblood of Barcelona, having produced such legends as Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and many others. But the conveyer belt had seemingly slowed in recent times. Now, finally, the Catalan club has another golden generation of academy graduates on its hands.
Yamal is chief among them having enjoyed a breakout 2024. The teenager starred for Spain as they won Euro 2024 during the summer and has carried that form into the club season, registering six goals and seven assists in just 14 games for Barcelona. These numbers don’t even fully quantify Yamal’s brilliance.
Alongside Yamal, Pedri is back to being the best young playmaker in the sport after missing nearly six months of action through injury earlier this year. The 21-year-old embodies the principles of Barcelona as a club and is widely seen as the natural heir to Iniesta at the club. He has already achieved so much and is only getting started.
Gavi is another prodigious talent who has missed a lot of soccer recently due to injury. However, the versatile midfielder made his return to the Barcelona team earlier this month and has given Flick another option in the middle of the pitch. Many see Gavi as the beating heart of Barca due to his natural intensity and leadership qualities.
At the base of the midfield, Marc Casado has improved with almost every match he has played for Barcelona this season. The original idea was that Marc Bernal – another La Masia gradate – would perform the Sergio Busquets role, only for the teenager to suffer a season-ending ACL injury. Casado, however, has stepped into the void.
The defensive instincts of Casado have given Barca some much-needed structure in midfield, but the 21-year-old is getting better and better in terms of his use of possession. This was evident in Casado’s performance against Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season with the youngster setting up Lewandowski for the opener.
In defence, Pau Cubarsi continues to grow. The 17-year-old made his first team breakthrough last season, but has been installed as a key pillar of Flick’s defensive line with Inigo Martinez partnering the teenager at centre back. Between the pair, Barcelona have the stability at the back they desperately lacked under Xavi.
Financial issues might have forced Barcelona to look towards La Masia again, but the club has been revived by its own youth academy. Flick’s team is still a work-in-progress and the German’s high defensive line is something that makes every match Barca play a tightrope act. Had Kylian Mbappe timed his runs better, he could have scored two or three on Saturday.
Young players tend to be inconsistent. It might not be possible for Barcelona to maintain their current level over the course of the full season. However, the future hasn’t been this bright for the Catalans since the emergence of Lionel Messi. This is a special team that could achieve some special things.
