Hansi Flick has struck gold with one bold tactical call: moving Raphinha into a brand new role.
Unable to find an out-and-out number 9 in the transfer market, the German coach turned Raphinha into the focal point of his attack, and the Brazilian has repaid him in spades. Six goals in his first four La Liga matches have put him top of the scorers' chart, and he has added two more against Feyenoord in the Champions League.
The switch caught almost everyone off guard. The one exception was Vitor Campelos, Raphinha's first coach in Europe and the man who first fielded him through the middle, according to Catalan newspaper "Sport".
Now in charge of Slovenian side Celje, the Portuguese coach spoke to "Sport" about the positional change of the player he first worked with at 19 in the Vitória Guimarães reserve team.
Campelos said: "We played him as an out-and-out striker in only one match at the end of the 2015/2016 season against Porto B, because he had the necessary qualities to play in this position".
Records were on Raphinha's mind from the off. He has become only the sixth player in Barcelona's history to score at least six goals in the first four La Liga matches, on top of his two Champions League strikes.
That eye for goal came as no surprise to Campelos. "Raphinha was just a young lad, but he had a wonderful quality: he was extremely decisive and pinpoint accurate when facing the goalkeeper, as scoring was an easy matter for him in one-on-one situations", he said.
Ten years on, and with such a blistering start to the campaign, his first European coach backs him to nail down a centre-forward role, much as Cristiano Ronaldo once did.
The Portuguese coach continued: "That could be his position in the future, as he may go through a development similar to that of Cristiano, who always played as a winger before later moving into the focal point of the attack".
Goals aside, Raphinha has always stood out for his work rate and commitment. On the flanks or up front, the Brazilian leads the charge when the opposition try to build from the back.
Campelos points out: "I did not expect him to play for Barcelona and for the Brazil national team, but we were certain he would play for major clubs thanks to his professionalism, as he trained at his maximum capacity every day, always armed with the best mentality and the highest levels of intensity and seriousness".
The 51-year-old coach holds Raphinha up as an example to his young players. "He is the model I frequently cite in front of our youngsters or young players. And I always tell my teams: 'I worked with Raphinha, and he could run 10 or 20 metres at maximum intensity. He is that type of player any coach would wish to add to his team, as he has quality, plays with team spirit, radiates energy and vitality, and possesses a champion's mentality", said Campelos.
Just over four seasons into his Blaugrana career, Raphinha has racked up 83 goals and 53 assists in 182 matches, numbers that pushed him close to the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
Yet his name is missing from this year's thirty-man shortlist. Campelos is adamant it should be there: "I would truly want that, because considering everything he has offered and his continuous development, he is a player who deserves this award. He started from humble beginnings and worked with enormous effort and diligence to reach where he is now, and he also has the capabilities that qualify him to achieve it".
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