The real Raphinha stands up for Barcelona

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This is the player the Blaugrana thought they were getting all along

It’s not that complicated. Even great players will struggle like a fish out of water when they are stuck in the wrong environment.

Raphinha has always been a barnstorming superstar.

Unfortunately, the system that Xavi had in place was too positionally rigid for the Brazilian to shine.

Under Hansi Flick, the game has opened up, and Raphinha is free to fly.

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Flick needed a player like Raphinha to be the spark that the rest of the players would feed off of. In fact, he may be the most indispensable part of Barcelona’s winning formula.

And Raphinha needed Flick, in order to get his career back on track. He made a bet on himself all along, and never made excuses when fans and journalists criticized him for not living up to expectations. At times, he showed frustration on the sideline, but that was just the competitive animal in him trying to break out.

Now, he’s wearing the captain’s armband.

And he’s manifesting what it means to be a leader by his actions. Like Dani Olmo said, when you see your teammate running and fighting that much, how can you not follow suit?

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To his credit, even when Raphinha struggled to produce highlights, he never stopped working hard.

It just so happens that intensity is step number in Flick’s system. Without it, nothing else can follow.

The byproduct of the hard work is space and time for the magicians to create wonders. And that’s exactly what Raphinha is doing.

Barcelona’s fourth goal was jaw dropping. Lamine Yamal, the world’s most humble superstar, sits in the background playing scintillating balls to break down back lines. We’ve seen this so many times already this season. And there was Raphinha. Arms pumping. Sticking out his chest proudly. Ready to receive the ball with a perfect first touch. Breaking the net seconds later.

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The first goal, one minute into the game, wasn’t much different.

Raphinha is a menace for defenders to mark. He finds the space, and is punishing opponents in the blink of an eye for every mistake they make.

If you want to understand why Barcelona looks so unstoppable this season, he is the one to study.

Flick is the teacher who showed up on the first day of school and found a student who would demonstrate for the rest how the problem on the board gets solved.

And as the fourth goal was scored, and the Barcelona players ran behind the goal to congratulate their comrade in the Olympic stadium, you could see they were celebrating their leader. You could see the awe in their eyes.

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These players still can’t believe what they’re creating this season.

But it’s not that complicated.

It’s the simple formula of talent + hard work. And it can’t be beat.

That’s the definition of Raphinha.

And every player is following suit.

Watch out Real Madrid. Brace for a fight.

Barcelona is going for the knockout.

Source: barcablaugranes.com