The crisis behind Barcelona s championship: Over-reliance on the main players, the shadow of injuries lingers

When Barcelona holds high the La Liga championship trophy and fans are immersed in joy, there are also some hidden worries that cannot be ignored. If these hidden dangers are not resolved in time, they may become fatal injuries to next season.

Yamar has taken on the entire team at the age of 17, and his future is worrying

17-year-old Yamal is undoubtedly the most dazzling new star in Barcelona this season. He stood up at critical moments many times and became an important driving force for the team to win the championship. But at the same time, a worrying question gradually emerged: the young genius has already undertaken too many match tasks.

So far this season, Yamal has played 61 games for Barcelona, ​​starting almost every game. Considering that he is not yet 18, such a load is obviously too heavy. Once fatigue accumulates or injuries occur, the impact on Barcelona will be disastrous.

What is more worthy of attention is that this situation is not an isolated case.

Pedri became an "iron man", but he could not escape the curse of injury

Pedri is one of the players with the most appearances this season, with a total of 65 appearances (including 57 games for Barcelona), and the total game time is as high as 4,520 minutes. The midfield star suffered a long-term injury due to intensive schedules in the 2020/21 season, and is now facing a similar situation.

coach Flick adheres to the tactical style of high-intensity pressing and high-position pressure, which requires players to have extremely high physical reserves and tactical execution. However, under the pressure of frequent matches, the physical burden of the main players is increasing.

Not only Pedri, but also Gavi, Rafinia, Lewandowski, Conde, Martinez, etc. have also experienced the test of high-intensity continuous combat. Especially in the key battle against Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-finals, when Conde and Barde were absent due to injuries, Barcelona's wing offense and defense were immediately paralyzed.

Single tactic + insufficient rotation = Risk increases sharply

Flick relies on the main lineup very highly, basically only trusting 13 to 14 core players. This strategy does help the team achieve good results in the short term, but it also makes the substitute players lack sufficient training opportunities, resulting in a serious shortage of lineup depth.

Taking this season as an example, Barcelona has almost no real rotation space during multi-line combat. When key players are injured or declining, the coaching staff often have to bite the bullet and continue to use their existing main players.

In addition, Barcelona's current lineup structure also has hidden dangers:

Lewandow is over 36 years old, and although he is still in a high level state, he cannot continue to output at high intensity;

Pedri is stable after returning from injury, but he still needs to avoid overwork again;

Al is talented, but his physical development is not yet fully mature. If he continues to use it in such intensive ways, he is very likely to repeat Pedri's mistakes.

How to break the deadlock next season? Reinforcement + reasonable rotation

To ensure that Barcelona continues to maintain competitiveness in the new season, Flick must start to solve the following problems:

Enhance the depth of the lineup: This summer's transfer market should focus on introducing alternative core roles, especially in the midfield and full-back positions.

Optimize rotation mechanism: Give more young players the opportunity to play and reduce excessive dependence on main players.

Scientific management of physical fitness: introduce more advanced recovery methods and training systems to protect key players from injuries.

This season, Barcelona conquered fans with one wonderful performance after another, and also allowed the world to see their hope of returning to the top. But competitive sports are never a journey that can be achieved overnight, and risks are often hidden behind the glory.

If the club cannot face up to the current problems, especially the intensity of the main players and the depth of the lineup, then even a genius player like Yamal may repeat the mistakes in the past - the haze of injuries may destroy the newly rebuilt Red and Blue Dynasty at any time. The championship is just the starting point, and the real test has just begun.