Barcelona manager Hansi Flick didn’t give any consideration to the possibility of ditching tactics which have been derided as “kamikaze” during the club’s worst run of defensive results since 2013.
The reigning Spanish champions shipped three more goals in a chaotic draw with Club Brugge on Wednesday evening, extending the team’s wait for a clean sheet to nine matches. The last time Barcelona endured a double-digit defensive drought was back in March 2013, when Tito Vilanova’s side are went 13 games without a shutout.
Many pointed to Flick’s insistence on playing an aggressively high defensive line. This has inspired more offsides than any club in Europe’s top five leagues but Club Brugge were not the first to find a way of evading that trap.
Flick was asked if he has considered dialling down his extreme approach. “We can make it like this, that we make a low block and defend in the first third,” the German boss sarcastically shot back. “Or we go on our way, our philosophy, how we want to do it and make things much better.
“When there is no intensity, you have no chance in the Champions League. Everyone is able to play fast, transition fast and Brugge did it really good, as we expected.”
Wolverhampton Wanderers cast-off Carlos Forbs repeatedly hared behind Barcelona’s backline for Brugge on Wednesday, using his blistering pace to tee up the opening goal and score two more. “I think when you see their first goal, last season, for me, it’s 100% offside,” Flick lamented.
“This, we struggle a little bit, we do not have the confidence. We can speak about changing everything, but I am not the coach for this.
Carlos Forbs bounces back from last season’s nightmare loan at Wolves. pic.twitter.com/39QGcWpkJA
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 5, 2025
“We want to play to our DNA; we don’t want a low block and transitions to win 1–0, but [I accept] 3–3 is not the best result for us. We came back after every goal, though, this is positive, but we have to speak about this match.”
This was Barcelona’s first Champions League game without Pedri dictating the tempo on and off the ball since March 2024. “In midfield, we have not the pressure on the ball and we don’t win the duels, so it’s not easy for our last line to defend these fast players,” Flick sighed. “We have to work on that, analyse everything. We will speak with the players.”
Two-time European Cup winner Ruud Gullit was one of many dissenting voices watching the action unfold in Belgium. “All the Barça players think [the high defensive line] is a kamikaze tactic,” the pundit claimed.
Frenkie de Jong backed his manager rather than his compatriot. “There are things we have to adjust, we know that,” the Dutch midfielder conceded. “We are weak on the counter right now, whether that’s to do with tracking [runners] or positioning at the back...it’s probably a little bit of everything. Not everything is to do with that, but if you concede three goals, it’s hard to win.”
Flick Offers Unconvincing Solution to Barcelona Crisis
Rather than tweaking his tactics, Flick seemed to argue that the best course of action would be wait until his injured players return to fitness.
“We are Barça and we want to play our football and the style is to be active and have intensity, with and against the ball,” he insisted. “At the moment, in some moments, we miss it. This is not about the philosophy.
“We know, everyone knows, it's not the best moment for the team, but I am always positive. We work on that and I think we can play on another level. Maybe after the break, when Raphinha, Joan García and Pedri come back... and Dani [Olmo] and Robert [Lewandowski] are maybe on another level as well and we see.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Angry Hansi Flick Doubles Down on ‘Kamikaze’ Barcelona Tactics Amid 12-Year Slump.
