Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishWhen the referee signalled the end of the match, the reaction of one player stood out above the rest. Gavi went crazy, celebrating one of Barcelona’s most difficult victories of the season, almost as if it had been a final.He clenched his fists and then went over to Inigo Martinez with a wild look on his face before giving his team-mate a chest bump.Leganes were one of the teams Barcelona dropped points against during their bad run across “s**t November” and December, losing 1-0 at home to the side from southern Madrid. In Saturday’s reverse fixture, the result was the same, but in the favour of Hansi Flick’s side. An own goal by Jorge Sainz early in the second half was enough to take three points from a difficult away game against a team who are second-bottom of La Liga and fighting to avoid relegation.Gavi was not one of the starting players last night, nor had he been against Borussia Dortmund in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory. In his place, Flick again opted for Fermin Lopez instead.Despite this, Gavi went out and played the final 23 minutes he was given in Leganes as if he had been asked to do the whole 90, and he was the one who most visibly celebrated the victory at the full-time whistle.The midfielder and Lopez are two examples of how connected Flick’s squad is this season — even the players who don’t play are aware of their importance to Barcelona’s pursuit of a treble. “A team is not just 11 players — it’s all 26 of them,” the manager said at his pre-Leganes news conference.
Gavi confronts Leganes’ Valentin Rosier (Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)After one of his best seasons at Barca in terms of football and importance to the team as they won the title in 2022-23, Gavi is now having a different kind of year.Rupturing the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in November 2023 meant he didn’t play again until the end of October, 11 months later. Since then, the 20-year-old’s appearances have been managed by new boss Flick to ensure that his return did not put him at risk of a possible relapse. But even as the months have passed and Gavi has become fully recovered and settled in, the midfielder’s role has not been the same as in previous seasons.Though he has now played in 31 matches since that comeback, he has only started 15. This has meant, among other things, that Luis de la Fuente did not call him up for the most recent Spain squad.This situation could have been difficult for Flick but it has been handled carefully. Gavi understood that, having come back from so serious an injury and seeing the form of Pedri and Dani Olmo, he was not going to get the same number of minutes as before, and he has accepted this — not only with sportsmanship but in a very positive way, always putting the team before his own interests.Gavi understood so much of what his coach asked of him that, when he scored his first La Liga goal this season against Real Betis last weekend, he ran to the technical area to hug Flick: a significant image of gratitude that was surprising because not many players would have made that gesture to a coach who was giving them fewer minutes on the pitch.Despite the lack of game time, Gavi is one of the players most valued by Flick. His displays of affection for the young midfielder are constant, both in his statements and on the pitch or at training.“We are very connected. We understand each other very well and he understands that I am coming back from an injury,” Gavi said during the build-up to last week’s Dortmund match. “My season has been spectacular after the injury. He trusts me. I am happy to have him as a coach. I don’t have such an important role because I am coming back from an injury but I am very happy with the recovery I have had.”With Olmo now out injured, Gavi has been in the spotlight, because this is a moment where he is expected to get more playing time. He got it against Betis, he started, played the full game, was one of the best players in the match and scored an important goal as it ended in a 1-1 draw.
Gavi embraces Hansi Flick after scoring against Real Betis on April 5 (Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)There was doubt as to whether he would be chosen again to play against Dortmund only four days later.When it became known that he would be the Barcelona player to speak at the news conference ahead of that game — it is usually somebody who is used to playing — many thought he would be starting. Yet Flick has tried out Lopez in the previous training session and he ended up being the one in the team, before choosing him again against Leganes.“We didn’t want to make many changes from the game against Dortmund, just two,” Flick said after Saturday’s win. “It was important for us to have the same team, to maintain the same structure. Just that.”Gavi understands his role now. Before the game, he was joking with Lopez and Lamine Yamal in the bench area, listening to music on his headphones, when a fan asked him: “Gavi, what are you listening to?”.“David Bisbal (a Spanish singer-songwriter associated with romantic ballads),” Yamal replied, to the laughter of his two team-mates.After the game and his celebration, Gavi approached a little girl who was holding up a banner asking for his shirt. He gave it to her and then shook hands with everyone seated nearby.“He came back from a very serious injury and now he’s in the second-most difficult situation, but he’s one of the best and he’s doing very well,” said Flick in March, after Gavi had been left out of the Spain squad. “He’ll play for many years at this incredible club and he’ll be one of their stars. He’ll improve and his attitude is impeccable — and he will play in the 2026 World Cup, for sure.”Gavi trusts Flick and Flick trusts him.As he finds himself again after a serious injury, he continues to work, waiting for his moment to shine to come again.(Top photo: Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
