How Flick turned Barca's 'young musketeers' into champions

When former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen declared at the start of the 1995-96 Premier League season "You can't win anything with kids", Alex Ferguson's young Manchester United stars went on to prove him wrong.

The Class of '92 won the Premier League and FA Cup Double that season before establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the world - and many are now tipping Barcelona's 'young musketeers' to have a similar impact.

Hansi Flick's - predominantly - young braves were confirmed as La Liga champions with a 2-0 win at Espanyol last Thursday, having already won the Copa del Rey in April.

And the sheer bravado, fearlessness and almost reckless abandon that has taken Flick's side to the Double and has brought the smiles back - not just to Barcelona but to lovers of the beautiful game.

As football fans marvel at the impudent brilliance of Flick's talented youngsters, including 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, 18-year-old Pau Cubarsi and 22-year-old Pedri, some believe they could have a similar impact to Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barca side from 2008 to 2011. Too much to ask? Only time will tell.

But, with their average age of 25 significantly the lowest in La Liga, financial issues at the club undoubtedly helped create the necessary platform for the club's youth to shine.

It is easy to forget Barcelona were in dire financial straits. Forget signing big-money players - the club, for a long while, were not even able to register the ones they had.

But it is more than just the harnessing of youthful genius that has brought the good times back to Barcelona.

So how has Flick worked his magic?

When former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Flick arrived at Barcelona, he found a number of players were performing well below expectations.

Experienced stars like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong were low in confidence, simply because of the lack of trust they felt they had from their previous coach, Xavi.

Raphinha would rarely play more than 60 minutes before being replaced, while Lewandowski was made to play with his back to goal in a style alien to him.

In addition, none of the three felt particularly welcome at the club with De Jong rightly convinced that Barcelona wanted to sell him to help alleviate their financial plight.

One of the first things Flick did was to tell the three of them how important they were to his plans. This season Lewandowski is top scorer with 25 goals, while Raphinha has a league tally of 18.

Flick also sensed an established culture where the club's irrepressible youth was not at the heart of the team, and not given the prominence they believed they merited.

Youngsters had been given their debuts because of financial constraints - and Xavi deserves praise for working under such restrictions - but they wanted more. They wanted to take over the team.

Flick's approach allowed the likes of Gavi, Yamal, Alejandro Balde (21), and Marc Casado (also 21) to do just that. He helped them find their voices, even going as far as allowing them to pick the dressing-room music.

That trust was repaid a hundred times over and reflected on the pitch with a youthful and carefree - some might even say naive - style of play.

He also always remained very close to those who didn't play regularly, stressing that with the inevitable injuries all clubs have to face, their time would come.

Flick has asked the club for very little so far, paying money for just Dani Olmo and Pau Victor in the summer and adding no-one in the winter transfer window.

The 60-year-old German also strongly believes no-one knows their fitness better than the players themselves. So, any plans to rest the likes of Yamal or Raphinha are not taken without asking them - again building the trust and his popularity among the team.

He also never allows himself to be influenced by the very powerful and demanding Barcelona media, and has remained honest to his players - an approach severely tested when they lost four games and collected just five points out of a possible 21 before the Christmas break.

'Flick's treatment of Lamine has been done with care'

Flick has had to learn along the way. 

With De Jong and Olmo starting, he discovered what he believes is his best XI in that heart-stopping 5-4 win in January against Benfica in the Champions League first phase.

On a crazy night in Lisbon, Flick really discovered the importance of Raphinha who showed how much of a leader he could be to everyone at the club once he had been given his regular place in the side.

He also very soon identified his need for a leader at the back, and saw what he was looking for in Inigo Martinez.

Flick knew he was going to have to ask him to do what he hadn't ever done before in a defensive context, namely marshal an extremely high line.

The 33-year-old Martinez would be the first to admit he is not the quickest player, and has previously always played from a much deeper position.