Unleashing Barcelona's beast: Flick's hidden man gives him free rein, and the terrifying version hasn't even started yet
What's coming is terrifying for Europe
Hansi Flick had warned that his Barcelona side would not hit 100 per cent of their physical condition before the international break. The German need not have worried. Since the start of the season the Catalans have shown clear physical superiority over their rivals to match their obvious technical class, and the numbers back it up: distances covered, tackles, one-on-one duels.
According to Spanish newspaper "Sport", Barcelona's flying start is not just about results and performance. It runs into the physical side too. The players have looked like "planes" on the pitch, even against physically imposing opponents such as Feyenoord, who were battered 5-1 in the opening game of Barcelona's Champions League campaign.
One name stands out in this transformation: Benjamin Kugel, Barcelona's new physical trainer. He arrived at the club on Flick's direct request and wasted no time applying his own ideas, sharpening the physical readiness of each player according to his individual needs and abilities.
Just over a month ago, after Barcelona's pre-season friendly against Udinese, Flick had cautioned that the team would not be at their physical peak before the international break. He put it down to the impact of the World Cup and the sheer number of international matches racked up by so many of his players.
The physical level on show during the opening weeks may have surprised Flick himself. Kugel got his ideas across faster than anyone expected.
Kugel began with the players who had missed the World Cup, before the international contingent joined them. They too turned up in excellent physical shape.
Rigorous by nature, the German trainer pours a big chunk of his time into individual training plans, chasing the best possible version of every player in the squad. His fingerprints are already all over the official matches.
Barcelona ran 6.3 kilometres more than Feyenoord
UEFA's figures spell out Barcelona's physical development, none more so than in the Feyenoord game. The Catalans covered 120 kilometres, against 113.7 for the Dutch side. That is a difference of 6.3 kilometres in Barcelona's favour.
Those numbers carry extra weight when you consider how different the picture looked in previous seasons, with Barcelona at times trailing their rivals in total distance covered.
Real Madrid, by comparison, covered 108.3 kilometres against Inter Milan the previous day. Inter clocked 117 kilometres, comfortably outrunning the Spanish side.
Set it against Barcelona's last Champions League meeting with Atletico Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou, a 2-0 quarter-final defeat for the Catalans, and the shift is stark. Barcelona covered around 112 kilometres that night, compared with 118 for Atletico Madrid.
The superiority also appears in the tackles
Kilometres are only part of the story. Barcelona's edge extends to one-on-one duels and tackles, with data from "SofaScore" showing the Catalans ahead of most of their LaLiga rivals since the start of the season.
Against Elche, Barcelona won 60 per cent of the one-on-one duels. The figure hit 56 per cent against Rayo Vallecano and rose to 57 per cent against Valencia.
Athletic Bilbao proved the exception. Barcelona came out narrowly second best in the duels, 49 per cent to Athletic's 51.
In the Champions League, Flick's team kept it up, settling 51 per cent of the duels against Feyenoord to the Dutch side's 49 in a match where Barcelona's physical superiority went hand in hand with their technical dominance.
The picture only grows more exciting as the season rolls on, especially with Flick himself insisting Barcelona have yet to reach their physical ceiling. Keep these rates up over the coming weeks and the team should climb another step as the matches pile up.
Physical form cannot be prised apart from the psychological and technical sides. Barcelona have players of genuine technical quality, and that quality shines through when the bodies are at their best. The more the legs respond, the clearer Barcelona's natural class becomes. Therein may lie one of the secrets behind this blistering start to the season.
