From facing a purge to becoming the absolute main force! Flick has a keen eye and Barcelona s all-rounder makes a complete counterattack

If someone had told you a year ago that Eric Garcia would start at center back for Barcelona in a crucial Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain, you would undoubtedly have laughed at that person. However, a year later, this scene actually happened last week. Eric not only started the game against the Ligue 1 giants, but also became one of Barcelona's best players in the game, making almost no mistakes.

Back in the January 2025 transfer window, Eric was almost about to leave Barcelona, ​​but it was Hansi Flick who vetoed the deal. The German coach was determined to keep the 24-year-old Spanish player, and facts have proven that this decision is extremely correct.

In the second half of last season, the Spanish player worth 25 million euros gradually became the "Swiss Army Knife" in Flick's hands. He is competent in any position and played a key role in many reversals. He has an uncanny ability to always be in scoring position on offense.

Garcia has served as a defensive midfielder, central defender and right back. No matter which position Flick asks him to play, he can maintain a high level. In Barcelona's most important game last season - the Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan, he was appointed as the right back after Conde was injured. At the end of the 2024/25 season, Barcelona fans are very satisfied with Eric Garcia's performance and realize his importance to Flick's team. He is known as the "defensive all-rounder" and is an upgraded version of Roberto.

However, few expected that Eric's career trajectory would reach another level, and he would no longer even be just a rotation player. He has been transforming since the start of the 2025/26 season. At the beginning of the season, Eric started at the right back position over Conde and his performance was almost perfect. Later, Flick gave him the opportunity to play his preferred central defender position, and the Spanish player showed unprecedented maturity.

Although he is not fast and not tall, which were once considered to be disadvantages in the central defender position, Eric has proved with practical actions that playing a good central defender does not only rely on physical fitness, but also intelligence and consciousness can make you shine in this position. There is no doubt that Eric is one of the smartest players in football today. He can almost always accurately judge his position in the defense and execute the high defensive line accurately, and his ability to play the ball can be called a "plug-in".

In Barcelona's match against Sevilla, after Eric came on as a substitute in the second half, the team's overall performance improved significantly. This is no coincidence. According to the current development trend, he is gradually becoming an indispensable core player under Flick. All this begs the question: Where is Eric's upper limit?

A player who once faced purges, he successfully transformed into a valuable rotation player in Flick's first season and almost became the "ace substitute" of the German coach. Then, he took a new step and steadily became Barcelona's starting player. For this teenager who left Manchester City in 2020 and returned to his home team, the dream of becoming a Barcelona star finally began to become a reality.