There’s something strange but beautiful about watching Barcelona right now. On paper, it’s the kind of project any football lover would fall for, a bunch of talented teenagers, all groomed under La Masia’s philosophy, trying to carry the weight of a club still haunted by its past. But in reality, things are rough.
Beneath the surface of raw potential, there's an uncomfortable question buzzing. What exactly is Barcelona’s tactical identity ?
At Wanderlust Sport, we’ve seen this story before, a generational core handed the keys to the kingdom, only to be let down by the very structure meant to elevate them.
If Barça isn’t careful, this squad led by Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Cubarsí, and Vitor Roque could become more of a marketing story than a footballing legacy.
The Rise of Barcelona’s Young Stars
Let’s not downplay it. Lamine Yamal is just 17, but he’s already playing like a pro in La Liga that's beyond his age. When pedri is fully fit, he brings calm and control to midfield with his intelligent passing and movement.
What about Gavi? He plays with a kind composure that you'd expect from someone older than him. Then there’s Pau Cubarsí, Fermin López, Héctor Fort, and the rest of the next-gen, players who in any other era would be introduced slowly, carefully, with clarity.
But this is Barcelona 2024. There’s no luxury of time. After Xavi's exit and Flick’s sudden appointment, these kids aren’t just developing, they’re being thrown into a tactical system that doesn’t seem to exist yet.
The question now is, how do you build stars when the system itself is broken?
From Xavi to Flick: What’s Really Changing in Barcelona’s Playing Style
Xavi’s football had its moments. There were times his side controlled games in vintage Barca style, high possession, quick vertical passes, positional dominance. But consistency was the issue.
In big games the structure collapsed, Pressing lacked coordination. Fullbacks were often caught between two identities traditional overlaps vs. inverted roles.
Now enter Hansi Flick, a man known for high-octane football, but also for struggling to impose that style in short stints, especially with national teams. His Bayern team, though ruthless, was a well-drilled, experienced unit. Barcelona? Not so much.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Flick inherits a squad with multiple playmakers but no true defensive anchor, wingers who love the ball at feet but lack off-ball timing, and midfielders whose profiles overlap more than they complement.
If he tries to apply Bayern’s verticality and direct transitions here without adjustments, we could see even more tactical disarray with players as young and raw as Yamal and Roque.
What the Stats Say About Barcelona’s Struggles
Barcelona still held top possession numbers last season, averaging around 60% in La Liga. But possession doesn’t mean control.
Their xG (expected goals) against was higher than fans would like to admit, especially in transition-heavy matches. Their press wasn’t coordinated: high line, but with gaps between midfield and defense.
When Barcelona played against teams like Girona and Athletic Bilbao, they looked too open and always affect their defense. It wasn’t just about tactics, the formation used by the team didn’t work.
When Gavi, Pedri, and Yamal miss games due to injuries or just tired, you could see that Barcelona had no real backup plan.
Let’s break down some key metrics:
• Lamine Yamal completed 5.1 dribbles per 90 in the final third. But his tracking back and pressing actions per 90 were below average for a wide player in Flick’s system.
• Pedri’s passing accuracy in the attacking third was 84%, but his progressive passes per 90 dropped off late in the season, perhaps a sign of being forced too deep due to midfield imbalance.
• Gavi’s tackles and interceptions per 90 were among the highest in the squad, but often came from reactive pressing rather than structured engagements.
This isn’t a player issue. It’s a system problem. Flick must decide whether he wants to build around these young stars, or force them into a system they’re not yet ready for.
Why La Masia Kids Carry More Than Just Talent
There’s an assumption, especially among older fans that any La Masia graduate will naturally “get” Barcelona’s way of playing. But that ignores the fact that tactics evolve. And more importantly, the idea of what “Barça football” is has become foggy.
Under Guardiola, identity was everything. You knew what they were trying to do, even when they lost. Under Flick, the concern is that he’s inheriting names, not roles.
Let's take a look at this:
• Where exactly does Fermin López fit in a Flick system? Is he an advanced No. 8, a shadow striker, or just an engine runner?
• Can Vitor Roque lead the line, or does he need a partner? His off-ball movement doesn’t yet suggest a natural false 9 or press leader.
• Does Yamal thrive in a touchline role, or will Flick try to mold him into an inside forward who presses like Leroy Sané did at Bayern?
The more you ask, the more it becomes clear. Barça needs a defined tactical identity before it decides how to use these kids.
Is This Just Another Rebuild? A Look at the Past Barça Eras
Go back to the Guardiola years, and you’ll see how young players were brought into a system that made sense before they even kicked a ball. Busquets, Pedro, and even early Messi under Rijkaard all knew their jobs. The machine worked, they just had to plug in.
Even under Luis Enrique, there was an understood chaos, a structured unpredictability powered by Messi–Suárez–Neymar up front and hard runners behind them.
This current version? It feels like a Pinterest board of talent without a tactical plan.
At Wanderlust Sport, we’ve followed these kinds of youth-heavy projects before Milan post-2015, early Dortmund under Bosz, even Arsenal in the pre-Arteta days. The lesson is always the same without identity, talent alone doesn’t mature. It burns out or fizzles under pressure.
What Barcelona Need to Fix Before the Season Kicks Off
The problem isn’t that Barcelona has too many young players. It’s that it doesn’t yet know how to use them collectively.
This season could either be a turning point, the birth of a new era built on modern tactical clarity or a confusing blur of exciting highlights with no end product.
The question now is, will Flick build a system that suits his players, or will he keep trying to make them fit into something much better?
Barcelona still has huge potential to improve. They’ve kids others can only dream of. But at this level, systems make stars, not the other way around.
And unless Wanderlust Sport is writing about a clear identity in six months, we may just be watching another generation of talent Still trying to play well in a team that hasn’t found its form yet.