Barcelona are having a great time this season after a series of positive results achieved by the Catalan team, leading the La Liga standings alone with 30 points, 6 points ahead of their rivals Real Madrid.
Barcelona widened the gap with Real Madrid after Flick inflicted a heavy defeat on the Madrid team in the Clasico that brought them together last week, achieving a resounding 4-0 victory.
The Catalan newspaper “Sport” reported that the German Hansi Flick, the coach of Barcelona, not only discovered distinguished young players in La Masia, such as Casado, Bernal, and others, but also rediscovered marginal players who have become some of the most important current stars of Barca.
The newspaper indicated that Inigo Martinez, the former Bilbao defender, was on the verge of leaving in the summer after not getting the opportunity with the former coach Xavi Hernandez.
However, Hansi Flick’s conversation with him and his desire to rely on him made him stay, transforming him from a marginal player to the leader of Barca’s defensive line.
Inigo Martinez, 33, has succeeded in understanding Hansi Flick’s defensive style of play and has formed an ideal duo with the young Pau Coparsi since the beginning of the season.
The newspaper stated that Flick considers the Spanish defender to be his greatest discovery with Barcelona this season, saying: “Things would not have gone this way in Barcelona without him.”
The newspaper explained that Barça has conceded 10 goals in 11 matches so far in La Liga, including 4 goals in the same match, coincidentally, in which Inigo Martinez did not play, against Osasuna, which ended with the latter winning 4-0.
He is the conductor of the defensive line orchestra for Hansi Flick’s style, which imposes the offside trap and an advanced defense, putting pressure on the opponent throughout the match.
The newspaper added that, in addition to his distinguished defensive performance, he is a great passer of the ball, with his passing accuracy in league matches reaching 92.13% over 10 matches.