“Other teams demand results; at Barcelona, ​​they also demand a style of play”

Quique Álvarez is a La Masia graduate who spent many years in La Liga, particularly at Villarreal, after leaving Barça, where he made his La Liga debut under Johan Cruyff. Member of a generation that didn’t fulfill the expectations, with players like Iván De la Peña and the García Junyent brothers, Quique Álvarez is now a coach at Girona B and talked about his years at Barça and about the current team in a recent interview with Flashscore.

The former Villarreal center back talks about the number of La Masía youngsters in the first team, which is a similar situation to what he lived at Barça, “I don’t know if it’s a bit of a coincidence, maybe. But I think, ​​it’s always been a club that looks to its youth academy, right? Since our era, which was perhaps the first, especially when Cruyff arrived, but even before that, it’s always been a team that’s looked down and always brought players forward. Maybe it’s accelerated a bit now, and players would not normally emerge so young”, as he continues, “I don’t think it was more difficult in our era. There was Cruyff, who wasn’t afraid to bring in young players, and in fact, he did it with us.”

Quique also talks about Flick and his style of play, “Flick has a unique style that I think has had a very positive impact and has resonated very well with Barcelona. Barcelona isn’t an easy team for coaches, because elsewhere they demand results, but here they often demand a style of play and a way of playing characteristic of their own. And so the truth is, he’s landed on his feet”, and the former Villarreal analyzes the Flick impact, “it’s true that the moment, the situation, and what he’s done are highly valued, and Barça is now a very attractive team to watch.”