Raphinha is the centre-piece to Hansi Flick's brilliant Barcelona attacking machine

Barcelona have started their season in fine form: four games, four wins, 17 goals scored. It has been their best start to a season under Hansi Flick. They’ve been irresistible in attack, and at the heart of it has been their captain, Raphinha, who has shown the levels of form he showed in his fantastic 2024-25 campaign.

The forward has started with six goals, setting the early lead for himself in the race for the Pichichi trophy: two goals against Elche and Rayo Vallecano each, and a solitary strike against Athletic Club and most recently, Valencia.

In the summer where Barcelona looked to replace the brilliant Robert Lewandowski with a long-winded but ultimately failed pursuit of Julián Alvarez from Atlético Madrid, it’s the Brazilian who has shone brightest for Flick’s blaugrana.

Only once Barça player in history has made a better start to the season than this: that was the great Hungarian László Kubala who scored eight goals in the opening four games of the season 73 years ago in 1953. He’s also the first player since one Lionel Messi to score in the first four competitive games of a season - that was in 2012. Beyond that, Raphinha also became the sixth player in Barcelona history to start by scoring in the opening four games of a league season. The records have been coming thick and fast for the Brazilian this campaign.

Kubala, of course, became one of the reasons Barcelona wanted an immense stadium like the Camp Nou, which opened in 1957, and while Raphinha won’t have a whole stadium inspired by him, this season could be the one where he writes his name in Barça legend, as the club hope to get their renovated Camp Nou fully operational by the end of 2027.

Flick has created an attacking machine. In his first season, his attacking line was a 16-year-old Lamine Yamal who had the world at his feet, a tiring Lewandowski who was seemingly on his way out and Raphinha, who many wanted replaced by Athletic Club’s Nico Williams. The Brazilian just couldn’t hit his best form, but the German coach changed that.

It was telling when his absence was lamented for many parts of last season, and the start of this campaign has only proved that. Through his stint at Barça he had his position taken up by Ousmane Dembélé, then by the fantastic Lamine Yamal forcing him to adapt. He never complained, instead got to work. Now, he’s the club’s new #9, even if only until January, and he’s doing a fine job of it.

Amongst Barça supporters, he’s jokingly referred to as Flick’s eldest son, and it’s easy to see why. No one is more tenacious than him, no one presses more intensely than him, and no one sets the tune for the team quite like him. That he was named captain of the team this season after the departures of Ronald Araújo and Marc-André ter Stegen came as little surprise.

Two years ago, Flick was clear in his admiration for the Brazilian and on his impact on the squad: “I have never had a player like Raphinha in any of my teams. He gives his all. Raphinha puts his heart into it. With and without the ball, he is very good, he always starts the pressing, finishes our chances. He is always smiling”.

His switch to being the team’s starting #9 has had the same perks of when he was playing on the left wing: he understands the requirements off the ball, the need to be efficient with the press and control it, while adding traditional instincts of a forward, that off being in the right places at the right moments, and taking chances when they fall in place. For Flick, he truly is one of a kind.

As captain and for Barça as a whole this season, there are two prime objectives. The first to win back-to-back-to-back Liga titles - no one has done that since Pep Guardiola’s wonderful sides of the 2010s. The second will be to bring back the European Cup, unseen at the Camp Nou since 2015, to Barcelona. This season is probably their best bet since 2015.

Central to it will be Raphinha’s fitness. He missed both legs of the quarter-final last year in defeat to Atlético Madrid and it seemed almost certain that his presence would’ve influence that. Maintain his fitness and form through the difficult spring months will be crucial for Barça coaching staff - even if they do sign another forward in January - for Raphinha’s presence alone is enough to elevate the team.

Speaking prior to the match against Valencia, Flick once again highlighted the Brazilian’s importance: “Raphinha, even when he plays on the wing as a left winger, always tends to cut inside. I think he needs to be involved in the game and, right now, he’s performing in a fantastic way, so currently he’s our best option for that position. And, as I always say, he’s also the one who starts the movements and leads the pressing very well, because he has a lot of power and speed, and that helps us a ton.”

The start of this campaign has shown a new and rejuvenated Raphinha. His intensity provides a great threat on the counter, and beyond that, his identification of space is impressive. Against Valencia, his clever running found him in good space for a tap-in, reaching the end of a low cross for his goal, and he was mere centimetres away from replicating that just moments later. Those kinds of runs have been frequent, and the ability to interpret where the ball will fall are qualities of a fine centre-forward.

Everyone knows how great Raphinha can be. In the 2024-25 campaign, he had a brilliant campaign on all fronts, and was mere minutes away from leading Barcelona to the Champions League final. It wouldn’t have been a stretch to call him the world’s best player that season.

Replicating or even exceeding that form again in this campaign would be masterful - and very much necessary - for Barça to achieve all their objectives. In Flick’s super attacking machine, Raphinha is central, not only as their captain and leading number nine, but as a leading figure beyond just his goals.

By Barça Chronicle