From Xavi to Flick: a tactical transformation at FC Barcelona
In May 2024, FC Barcelona found itself at a crossroads. Xavi Hernández, the former midfield maestro turned coach, was sacked after a season that fell short of expectations.
Despite moments of brilliance, Xavi’s style of play struggled to find consistent success. His departure opened the door for a new era under Hansi Flick, a coach renowned for his accomplishments with Bayern Munich and his emphasis on high-intensity, high-pressure and vertical football.
This transition has sparked a tactical shift within Barcelona.
Positional Play vs Verticality
Xavi’s tactical philosophy was deeply rooted in Cruyff’s school of thought, where possession was king.
His 4-3-3 system and variations—as when he used Pablo Gavi as a “false” left winger, to leave the entire left flank to Alejandro Balde—emphasized controlling the ball and the tempo of the game.
Asymmetry on the Wings: Xavi’s Barcelona often featured one wide winger hugging the touchline—usually Ousmane Dembelé and then Lamine Yamal—and another tucking inside to allow full-backs like Alejandro Balde to overlap and attack.
This structure allowed Barça to stretch the pitch horizontally, but their attacks were often too slow to materialize.
Possession for Control: The hallmark of the Catalan’s system was ball dominance, with the team averaging around 500 completed passes per game during his tenure.
However, only about 10% of these passes were progressive*, meaning the team often struggled to break through defensive lines, often too scared to take risks.
*Explanation: progressive passes according to FBREF: Completed passes that move the ball towards the opponent’s goal line at least 10 yards (9.144 meters / 30 feet) from its furthest point in the last six passes, or any completed pass into the penalty area. Excludes passes from the defending 40% of the pitch. *
Pressing Issues: Xavi’s high press often lacked synchronization, leaving exploitable gaps for opponents. His team covered more distance than Flick’s—114 km per game compared to 109 km—but their pressing lacked cohesion, so they weren’t recovering the ball in the opponent’s half as often as now with Flick.
The German’s 4-2-3-1 formation prioritizes verticality, high and constant intensity, and a direct route to goal. “If a team trains at 60 or 80%, it cannot perform at 100% during matches.”, Flick said in a press conference.
Aggressive High Press: Under the 59-year-old, Barcelona presses higher and more aggressively. His system is built on winning the ball back in the final third, averaging six recoveries per game in advanced positions—double that of Xavi’s team.
Verticality and Efficiency: Flick’s Barcelona may pass the ball less during the build of the play, but they do so with greater purpose.
Both coaches have similar statistics in terms of shot creation actions* per game; Xavi’s Barça averaged about 25 such actions per game, with Flick they have risen to nearly 28 in his first eleven games.
However, with Xavi’s team, 8% of these actions ended in a goal, as opposed to the nearly 12% shown by Barça when coached by the German.
*Explanation: shot-creating actions according to FBREF: The two offensive actions directly leading to a shot, such as passes, take-ons and drawing fouls.*
Formation Shift: Flick’s formation (4-2-3-1) offers more defensive solidity through a double pivot in midfield while allowing the team to attack with pace and press relentlessly.
This system is more compact than Xavi’s, with a focus on direct transitions, high-pressing, attacking space behind the defensive line, and fast counterattacks.
Tactical Breakdown: Pressing, Passing, and Structure
Xavi’s Barcelona, on paper, played attractive football, or at least that was the Catalan’s main goal. They often dominated possession, averaging 61,2% possession last season, dictating the flow of the game.
Keeping the ball did not always translate into efficient goal-scoring opportunities, due to his slowness and lack of risk-taking.
During Xavi’s tenure, Barça averaged 2 goals per game, compared to 3 goals per game in Flick’s first 11 games. During Xavi’s first 11 games last season, Barça scored 25 goals, averaging 2,27 goals per game.
Nevertheless, Xavi’s side needed 185 shots to score these 25 goals, compared to Flick’s side, who needed 177 shots to score 33 goals.
Passing Overload: Xavi’s side focused on short, controlled passes with high possession. They frequently lacked penetration, with only 10.46% of their passes being progressive (around 55 per game) and only 1.68% ended in a shot.
This resulted in long periods of possession that did little to threaten opposition defenses.
High Pressing Problems: Xavi’s press was ambitious but flawed. His players’ movements were often unsynchronized, leaving space for opponents to exploit during transitions.
It should be considered that FC Barcelona was the first European team Xavi managed, in addition to being only the second team he coached in his entire career as manager. He loves Barça as much as anyone, no one can refute that.
The 59-year-old German has transformed Barça into a more direct, efficient unit. His pressing system is synchronized and aggressive, with players recovering possession in very dangerous areas.
Higher Verticality: Flick’s side makes fewer passes but more of them are progressive (14.4%). The main goal is simple—move the ball forward quickly and efficiently, and always try to score.
In their last Champions League game against Young Boys, Barcelona attempted over 70 progressive passes, resulting in a needed 5-0 win after the loss against Monaco.
Pressing Effectiveness: Flick’s pressing strategy has significantly improved ball recovery in the opponent’s third. Barcelona now averages six ball recoveries per game in that area, a key factor in their more frequent goal-scoring opportunities.
Key Players Under Both Coaches
These tactical and physical changes have significantly impacted key players like Pedri and Raphinha, and others are growing even faster than expected like teenagers Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal.
Pedri:
This young genius is pivotal to Barcelona’s style under both coaches, but his role has evolved with Flick.
Under the Spaniard, Pedri was tasked with controlling the game’s tempo, ensuring smooth possession play, but he needed to take more risks in the last third of the field, as he has shown multiple times that he has the ability to do so.
With Flick, Pedri has transitioned into a deeper, more progressive passer, who is not afraid to take risks if a goal is the potential outcome.
Raphinha:
Under the former midfielder, Raphinha normally played as a winger, but towards the end of the season he started moving him into a central attacking role, kind of as an attacking midfielder.
Flick has improved Xavi’s test and has transformed Raphinha into a beast, even making him 4th captain in only his 3rd season in Barcelona.
The Brazilian has become way more involved in creative play, serving as a key link between the midfield and the attack.
In the first 11 games of this season, Raphinha scored 6 goals and provided 5 assists, proving his improvement also shows in statistics.
What does Raphinha give you in that position? Constant mobility with and without the ball, aggressiveness in the pressure, and constant runs behind the defensive line.
Source: Movistar LA LIGA
In this specific play, Raphinha breaks free, opens space, Cubarsí filters an excellent pass and generates a chance in two passes. Lewandowski stays with the center-back, Lamine with the full-back, and Raphinha attacks the space in depth.
Barcelona are constantly repeating plays like this one. It seems easy, but it’s not.
Veterans in Robert Lewandowski and Marc-André Ter Stegen:
“Robert and Ter Stegen are crucial leaders who understand my style.” Flick said in a press conference.
The German has given a lot of confidence to veterans within the squad, like Ter Stegen, unfortunately injured with a rupture of a tendon in his right knee that requires surgery.
Flick has also brought Robert Lewandowski back to his prime days at Bayern, scoring 12 goals and providing 2 assists in these first 11 games of the season.
After the most recent game against Alavés where Lewandowski scored a hattrick in 31 minutes, Flick had high praises for his stricker, stating, “he’s the best in the box”.
The biggest difference between both coaches is how well trained and organized the high-pressure is.
As we can see in the following graphic, Barça’s pressure right now is suffocating for rivals, they start as high as they can, in the opponent’s area if possible, and then they press like desperate piranhas.
Pressure frequency heatmap, FC Barcelona against BSC Young Boys. Source: StatsBomb
A stark contrast to Xavi’s more sporadic and chaotic pressing. The German’s mentality and style is clear: press the whole game in their own half, always defending forward.
The following graphic from the same match highlights the shift in passing dynamics under the former Bayern’s coach. While Xavi’s team often favored lateral passes and buildup from deep, Flick’s side focuses on quicker transitions and progressive passes into the attacking third.
Passing network map, FC Barcelona vs BSC Young Boys, Champions League 2024-2025. Source: Stats Bomb.
There is a clear scheme, a measured structure to leave space inside for quality players like Pedri, Raphinha, Lewandowski and Lamine to attack the space and provoke a difficult choice in his defender: follow him and leave his position free, or not to follow him and leave the player free.
Passing network map, FC Barcelona vs Deportivo Alavés, La Liga 2023-2024. Source: Stats Bomb.
If we compare with this graphic showing the first half passing network against Alavés last season, there is much less connection between the midfield and the attack, more players on midfield and the wings but less upfront, making it difficult to move the ball quickly and vertically towards the opponent’s goal.
Defensive Evolution: Compactness vs. Fluidity
Xavi’s defense was often expansive, with his team defending high up the pitch. However, this approach frequently left Barcelona vulnerable to counterattacks, especially during moments when their pressing faltered.
Flick, on the other hand, has emphasized a more compact defensive structure. His double-pivot midfield protects the backline, and his team’s overall pressing has reduced spaces for opponents to exploit.
In addition, we can notice the difference in how well worked the defensive line is, particularly when it comes to playing the high offside line.
We can also see it in statistics, as Flick’s opponents have been offside about 6.8 times per game, compared to 2.69 offsides per game won by Xavi’s team.
To give some more perspective, Alavés was offside 11 times in their match against Barça. In the whole season, Real Madrid have had 10 offsides to their favour.
Under Flick, Barcelona has become more difficult to break down, though they still take calculated risks by defending higher up the pitch.
In the match against Swiss team Young Boys, Barcelona’s defensive line consistently pushed up, but with a lot better coordination than under Xavi.
After a dominant 5-0 win in Champions League, Flick summed up his football style in the press conference:
“We must press high, take risks, and attack with intensity. That’s the only way we can be relentless”.
In just a few months, Hans-Dieter Flick has drastically altered FC Barcelona’s playing style, moving away from Xavi’s slow possession-heavy, methodical approach toward a more direct, high-intensity style of play.
While Xavi’s football was rooted in some of the club’s traditions, Flick’s pragmatism has given Barcelona a new edge—one that could see them competing at the highest levels once again.
The changes under Flick have reinvigorated a squad that once looked sluggish, turning Barcelona into a more dynamic, fast-paced, and effective team. Whether these tactical adjustments will bring long-term success remains to be seen, but for now, Flick’s Barça is a team on the rise.
Barça takes a lot of risks, and will probably have to be less aggressive in some phases of the game against bigger teams.
For now, it takes risks and understands every advantage from a pretty crazy way of defending. With these tactics, you have to be careful against teams with fast players up front like Real Madrid, but when it works, as it is doing at the moment, it is beautiful to watch.