How Winning El Clasico can Kickstart Era of Dominance for Barcelona | OneFootball

The wounds of Davide Frattesi's extra time match-winner at San Siro that pulled the plug on Barcelona's hopes of ending a decade long Champions League title drought are still wide open.

Coming so close to reaching the summit of European soccer and once and for all vanquishing the demons of recent European capitulations will unquestionably damage the mood inside Barcelona's dressing room. But make no mistake, the defeat to Inter in the Champions League semifinals doesn't even come close to making Barcelona's season a failure.

Not when Barcelona host Real Madrid on Sunday with a chance to checkmate the La Liga title race and essentially put one hand on the third trophy in Hansi Flick's first season in charge. Not when Barcelona are 90 minutes away from achieving something never done before by any previous iteration of the team in El Clásico history.

Barcelona are one win away from defeating Real Madrid for a fourth time this season en route to a perfect El Clásico record, something never achieved before in a campaign where the two Spanish giants met four or more times. The Catalans haven't won four Clásicos in a single season since Diego Armando Maradona led the team that did so in 1982-83; however, there was a fifth Clásico that season that ended in a draw and spoiled Barça's perfect season record over their rivals.

Last summer, few people gave Barcelona a chance to compete against the La Liga and Champions League holders reinforced by the signing of Kylian Mbappé, especially in what was supposed to be a season of transition. Nine months later, Barça have turned doubters into believers and their performances this term have put their bitter rivals along with the entirety of European soccer on notice: Barcelona are back.

The Dawn of a New Era in Barcelona

The first summer of Flick's tenure with Barça started with more doubts than certainties. Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor were the only reinforcements to a side that finished 10 points back of Real Madrid in La Liga a season ago.

Young unproven talents—many of them still teenagers— and heavily questioned veterans made up the bulk of Flick's squad upon arrival. What the German manager has been able to do with the players at his disposal since is well documented.

Pedri left behind injury-ridden campaigns to return to the conversation of being the best midfielder in the world. Robert Lewandowski, reunited with his former Bayern Munich manager, turned back the clock to the tune of a 40-goal season at 36-years-old. People wanted Raphinha gone last summer, now, he's a Ballon d'Or favorite thanks to one of the greatest individual Champions League seasons ever.

But the foundation of Flick's success and what makes Barça's future so promising is the irruption of La Masia talents poised to lead Barcelona's return to prominence for years to come. Lamine Yamal is the shining example. In a matter of months, the 17-year-old Spaniard graduated from Kopa Trophy winner to arguably the best player in the sport.

Not since Lionel Messi had a Barcelona team looked so dead set on ensuring the ball found its way to one player in the highest-pressure moments. Yamal welcomes that responsibility and looks unfazed by it, doing so whilst still not being old enough to legally drink, vote or drive a car in Spain.

Yamal's mentality is shared across the entirety of Flick's dressing room, a welcomed and much needed change from what had become status-quo in recent years. Barcelona earned their reputation as a weak-minded side prone to collapsing in the face of adversity.

This year, Barcelona have morphed into a resilient team that's come from behind to win eight games across all competitions, twice in finals vs. Real Madrid. Despite the eventual defeat to Inter, Barcelona came back four different times from a losing position across both legs to get within seconds of advancing to the Champions League final. This new generation of Barça players appear determined to right the wrongs of the painful defeats they grew up witnessing.

The transformation Barcelona have gone through during Flick's first season is astonishing. On Sunday, they have a chance to tie the bow on the club's resurrection.

What Winning El Clasico Means for Barcelona

The stage is set for Barcelona to once again prove their mental fortitude. A potentially title-clinching El Clásico only five days after the heartbreaking Champions League exit is the latest test for this young squad, one they welcome with open arms, with reports indicating Flick's side "are very eager" to play El Clásico, a sentiment many players made public in the aftermath of the loss to Inter.

Winning the final Clásico of the season would all but guarantee the La Liga title returns to Catalunya. Although Barcelona conquered the league title two seasons ago, seven players in the current squad have never won it.

The Copa Del Rey and Spanish Super Cup trophies already rest inside Barcelona's trophy cabinet, but dethroning Real Madrid as La Liga champions and conquering every single domestic trophy of 2024-25 would emphasize this as the greatest season the club has produced in the post-Messi era.

Achieving La Liga glory whilst boasting the youngest squad in Spain's top-flight would be a remarkable feat and an ominous warning for the rest of the continent of what this team could be capable of next season and for years to come.

But perhaps more importantly, it would confirm the return of an attribute the club had become used to living without: Belief. This Barcelona side believes it can win against any team on the planet, especially against their bitter rivals and, they believe they're capable of lifting every trophy they fight for. Flick's Barcelona is best described as a team that's become obsessed with winning, much like the Barça team's of old that this season's version so vividly resembles.

Barcelona have rediscovered their identity. If they go on to complete the season sweep of El Clásico's and win a domestic treble, it's hard to envision a more dangerous team heading into 2025-26.

Over a decade and a half after Pep Guardiola built one of the greatest teams the sport has ever seen, Flick has laid the groundwork for a new all-conquering version of Barcelona to blossom in the near future, one that's already arguably the best team in the world.