Rodri’s debut marks the beginning of Hansi Flick’s new project at Barcelona

The midfielder’s arrival will bring changes to the Catalan giants.

It’s been a summer in Barcelona where much of the talk has centered around what the team doesn’t have.

There’s still no center forward, and still no defensive reinforcements. The two areas, supposedly, where Barcelona was the most vulnerable and in need of investment.

Instead, the biggest signing was none other than World Cup hero, and former Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri.

Many questioned the move. It seemed to have come out of nowhere. Of all the positions, the midfield was the one area where Barcelona was stacked. Even more so when you consider the never ending supply coming from La Masia. This pre-season was a case in point with many young midfield players showing they were ready for their chance to break through.

When Rodri shows interest, however, you answer the call. It’s a no-brainer.

Rodri is here, to the surprise of many who expected him to go to his hometown of Madrid instead, because he believes in the project.

He knows that who he is as a footballer is a perfect match for what Barcelona is as a club. After being coached by Pep Guardiola for so long, could you really see him going to Jose Mourinho next? Of course not. Only the tactical ambition of Hansi Flick would do.

Flick needed Rodri too.

The coach has been working miracles since his arrival at the Camp Nou. Now it’s time to give him a superstar or two and see what he can really do.

It’s early days, of course, but what we’ve seen from Barcelona so far should strike fear into the hearts of opponents across Spain, and Europe writ large.

Flick is not content with continuing on with the way things have been in his first two years.

He won the league twice, that’s true, but this season the aim is the Champions League, while staying ahead of Real Madrid to win three La Liga titles in a row.

To do that, you have to evolve. The rest of the world knows what Barcelona has been about recently, even if most of the time, they have struggled to stop them.

This season, they have to be better on all fronts.

They have to continue scoring lots of goals, that’s the gameplan after all, but they also have to be better defensively, especially against the best teams.

This is where Rodri really helps out.

We are likely to see a shift away from the 4-2-3-1 and towards a more fluid 4-3-3. When Rodri entered the game against Athletic Club, Pedri pushed forward. That also allowed Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez to play higher when Raphinha came off the field.

This is total football. It’s not about the positions.

It’s exciting to watch, and so far, it’s been effective.

It’s a shame what’s been going on with Julian Alvarez. He really would be a perfect fit for this team.

Flick isn’t waiting around though. He is making things work with what he has, and per usual, his players are inspired and rewarding him for the confidence he has put in them.

With Rodri now, we may see the best version of Pedri. Ironically, even though they won the World Cup together, it’s Flick and not Luis de la Fuente who may truly unlock their potential together.

Rodri provides the structure that allows everyone else to play with fluidity and creativity. That’s the idea.

I’m bullish on the impact he will make on Barcelona. This may just be Flick’s vision, finally, in action.

Real Madrid will be a good team this year, but I think their success will be the result of brute force.

Barcelona on the other hand will continue to show the world what the beautiful game is all about. As a true team with an identity backed by an uncompromising philosophy, they will score lots of goals, and they will win lots of games.

This is just the beginning, but it sure does look like the foreshadowing of bright days ahead.

Forget the trophies for a minute, it’s simply going to be a joy to watch.

At the end of the day, that’s why we tune in. It’s why we love the game, and why we love this club.