Catalan euphoria: "It is good that Alvarez did not join Barcelona"

You could hardly improve on what Flick's Barcelona have conjured at the start of this season, according to Ernest Folch of the Catalan newspaper "Sport". Curiously, Folch believes "not signing" Julian Alvarez had a positive effect, providing the key to "the natural path this exceptional side should have taken".

"How many theories we all crafted about who should replace Lewandowski, how many times we dreamed of impossible signings such as Haaland or Kane or Julian himself, and how many articles were written about the need for a reference point up front... only for the Flick and Deco duo to turn necessity into virtue once again," Folch added.

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He continued: "Flick and Deco reached the wise conclusion: the only remedy to make up for the 'failure' to land Julian was simply not to sign anyone, or at least not a structural player, bearing in mind that Gabriel Jesus, if he plays as an out-and-out striker, will probably be no more than a back-up option."

"Nothing resembles Cruyff's Barcelona before Romario, the Barcelona of the first three titles, which also won the Champions League, more than this Flick's Barcelona, which plays just like it, without a fixed reference point up front, with any player ready to arrive at the number nine position from deep, and without any need to occupy the space in advance," the writer went on.

He added: "These days it is said there was no need for a number nine, because the number nine is Raphinha, but even that is not entirely accurate, because Lamine also plays the number nine role, as does Fermin, and who knows whether Gordon might not end up doing so too. The point is that there is simply no number nine because everyone is a number nine, or can be, or can simply set up their team-mates to become the strikers."

Folch continued: "That is why the statistics show an overwhelming figure: after four rounds of La Liga, Barcelona have three players among the top five in the list of scorers. And it is not only a matter of numbers, for the start to Flick's third season is, without doubt, the greatest in terms of dynamism, chance creation and speed of play."

He concluded: "Removing an out-and-out number nine like Lewandowski was like pulling out a cork: the team is in an astonishing state of grace, light years ahead of its supposed rivals, and is sending signals that, this time for real, it is on the verge of the final leap to Europe's elite, and of competing seriously for the Champions League. Julian, we are sorry to say it, but... how good it is that you did not come!"

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