What can Barcelona learn from Spain at Euro 2024?
Since 2008, when the Spanish international dynasty began with their first European Championship, followed by a World Cup, and then another Euro in 2012, the Barcelona DNA has been all over the national team.
Under the stewardship of Luis de la Fuente, this is not your Spanish selection of the late aughts. Things are changing, and this young team looks better than it has in a long time.
Still, as they have shown throughout the group stage, Spain dominates possession.
They made Italy and Croatia look like amateurs, and small but mighty Albania as well.
Barcelona’s very own Lamine Yamal and Pedri are the stars of the show, and even Ferran Torres is getting in on the action in what will likely be his only starting appearance of the tournament.
And that’s because Nico Williams is holding down the fort on the wing, and not letting him in.
And that raises the biggest question of all for Joan Laporta this summer, as he watches Spain campaign for yet another championship.
Is Nico Williams the missing piece that Hansi Flick needs to make Barcelona a contender in La Liga and beyond?
If it can work for De la Fuente, why not Flick?
In general, can Barcelona use Spain as a blueprint going forward?
As an exercise, let’s imagine that Laporta finds a way to finance Nico’s release clause, which stands at €58 million.
It’s high, but perhaps not out of the question, if Nico himself wants to push for a move to the Camp Nou.
And why wouldn’t he? The system that suits him so well at the Euros isn’t that far off from the way that Barcelona wants to play.
Moreover, Barcelona will need better associative play this season. The chemistry from last season wasn’t quite there. You can blame it on injuries, and lack of consistency, but going forward, Flick will need to imagine how the team fits together, instead of simply looking to bring in a hot name from around Europe.
Yes, Spain plays in a 4-3-3, in large part because they have one of the best pivots in the world in Rodri.
Barcelona will not have that option, and instead could opt for a double pivot.
But even if they do, you could see Pedri in the natural number ten role high up the field, flanked by Williams and Yamal, with Robert Lewandowski in front. That could work. Seems very balanced to me.
Perhaps some kind of hybrid system in the back with Alejandro Balde going forward on the left, so long as he doesn’t step on the toes of Williams, and Jules Kounde holding things down on the right, allowing Yamal to cook without having to worry too much about the cover.
In a system like this, Barcelona would be ball dominant, nothing new there. But it also feels like they would be more intentional about the roles and responsibilities on the field, with the right players, with the right profiles, playing where they can contribute optimally.
Even Ferran Torres may be able to find his way into this system with a role off the bench on the wing, or maybe through the middle in place of Lewandowski.
The bigger question will be around the evaluation of Dani Olmo. The name that never goes away in Barcelona rumor mills.
You could see him fitting in at Barca, but that may be more of a concern than a benefit.
Barcelona needs to shake things up, not return to what feels safe and familiar.
Nico Williams does that and is more worth the risk and investment than Olmo. But whether Barcelona can pull off the transfer is another question entirely.
Maybe Barcelona doesn’t need Joao Felix or Joao Cancelo after all. The Portuguese model looks promising, with so much talent continuing to emerge from Spain’s neighbors, but what we’re seeing from La Roja is more sophisticated tactically, and easier to adapt at the Camp Nou.
Certainly Hansi Flick will have his own ideas. But it will also be impossible for him to ignore what Spain is doing if they continue their run at the Euros. They have been by far and away the best team of the group stage, but winning a title and getting through the knockouts is another question entirely.
For now, there’s plenty of food for thought.
A successful formula for a national team can not simply be carried over to the context of a club team.
But a vision for the next chapter at Barcelona will have to come from somewhere.
Seeing Lamine Yamal and Pedri shine together is a joy.
Seeing a few new faces they play well with is useful information.
And you can bet the president is paying attention.