New style of play

Barca pro reveals: “Were shocked by Flick”

Above all, Barcelona's style of play in defense was turned on its head by Hansi Flick.(Bild: APA/AFP/Josep LAGO)

Barça goalkeeper Iñaki Peña speaks out about Hansi Flick, who took over the Catalans in the summer. The start was a "shock".

The Spanish top club was completely turned on its head by Flick. Flick set new accents, especially in defense. A major challenge for goalkeeper Iñaki Peña and Co, as he now explained. "When the coach came in, he had the clear idea in the first training sessions that Barça had always had the idea of defending in the opponent's half," he said at the press conference for the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. "We were shocked by this exaggerated idea he had - and we had to make changes to the entire defense," revealed Peña, who had taken over in the box following the injury to regular keeper Marc-André ter Stegen.

Iñaki Peña(Bild: APA/AFP/Pierre-Philippe MARCOU)

What exactly does he mean by that? Barça are defending very strongly in the opposition half this season and are also relying a lot on the famous offside trap. The defenders usually position themselves on the halfway line.

Peña continues: "With such a risky method, you have to be 100 percent focused. The further away the ball is from your own goal, the better. You gradually become convinced of that."

The success is there
The success proves Flick right. Barça lead La Liga with 38 points - two points ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid. Even if their dominance has waned somewhat of late, Barça are on course in all competitions.

"All teams have ups and downs. We know what we've done - and that gives us the strength to know what we have to do in the future," said Peña. Can Barça also impress against Dortmund today (9pm in the Sportkrone.at ticker)? ...