La Liga: Flick is going through the darkest moment of his Barcelona coaching career

After Barcelona suffered consecutive defeats recently, the outside world has increasingly questioned coach Flick. He once led the team to rekindle hope, but now he is in deep crisis and facing the most severe test in his coaching career.

The rapid decline after a brilliant start

Flick's first season in charge of Barcelona was a glorious one. He built a team full of youthful energy and ignited the enthusiasm of the fans with highly entertaining offensive football. However, just one year later, the team's momentum took a turn for the worse. In the last three La Liga games, Barcelona has only achieved a poor record of 1 win and 2 losses. It has fallen 5 points behind its arch-rival Real Madrid in the La Liga standings and has fallen into an unstable zone.

Injury wave: the "number one killer" that destroys the team

Today, Barcelona's crisis does not stem from doubts at the tactical level, but is swallowed up by an unprecedented "injury wave". According to statistics, since the beginning of the season, the team has suffered as many as 38 injuries, and 11 players have been absent due to injuries.

Pedri, the absolute core of the team, is the only player to start in all games this season, but he received a red card in the national derby and will miss the next round of key battles. What's even more frustrating is that Flick has never used the same starting lineup in two consecutive games. In the 13 games that have been played, he has been forced to use 8 different defenders, 4 different pairs of central defenders, and as many as 13 different front three combinations.

The defense is tight and the forward line is incomplete.

In the defense, main goalkeeper Ter Stegen and substitute goalkeeper Joan Garcia were both injured. Christensen and Balde were also absent for a long time. Eric Garcia had to play multiple positions. The long-term injury of core midfielder Garvey has made matters worse.

On the forward line, attackers such as Lewandowski, Olmo, Yamal, Rafinha, Ferran Torres, and Fermin Lopez fell in turn. Flick even had to let Rashford, who was on loan, and young player Tony Fernandez as the starting forwards, which shows the embarrassment of the lineup.

Among all injuries, the absence of Brazilian winger Rafinha has the most fatal impact on the team. Data shows that as long as Raphinha plays, Barcelona remains undefeated in La Liga and the Champions League (7 wins and 1 draw), scoring 21 goals and conceding only 5 goals. He personally contributed 3 goals and 2 assists. When he was absent, the team's record was only 3 wins and 3 losses, scoring 13 goals but conceding 11. Both ends of the offense and defense seemed loose and weak, lacking vitality.

Injuries are only part of the problem. Flick's second season was also troubled by many off-field factors:

Failure to return to the home court: The original plan to return to Camp Nou was postponed to the end of November. The team was forced to fight in other venues for a long time, and morale and combat effectiveness were greatly reduced.

Unrest in the locker room: Fermín Lopez and Casado were unable to determine their futures during the summer window, which brought unrest to the locker room.

The concept of team building was frustrated: the departure of the meritorious veteran Inigo Martinez broke the defensive system that Flick had painstakingly constructed.

Preseason Controversy: The controversial preseason tour arranged for commercial interests disappointed Flick, who already hated such arrangements, and aggravated the gap between him and the club management.

In addition, a new round of controversy has been quietly brewing behind the scenes surrounding the contract renewal of the team's future star Yamal.

From the "architect" who strategized at the beginning of the season to the "lifeguard" who is now tired of dealing with injuries and "putting out fires" everywhere, Flick's role has undergone a huge change. Barcelona still has huge potential and a group of talented young players, but what they need most - stability, is what Flick has been unable to find in the 13 games so far this season.

The current situation shows that Flick's coaching journey at Camp Nou is gradually evolving into the most challenging and dangerous peak in his coaching career. Whether he can lead the team out of the quagmire and restore order will become the biggest suspense in the next few months.