How Hansi Flick turned Inigo Martinez into FOOTBALL MONSTER

The 2nd minute of stoppage time was ticking away in the Leganés v Barcelona match. Barca were clinging to a narrow 1-0 lead. Munir, the home side's striker, broke free one-on-one and could already see himself scoring the equaliser... but then — HE HAPPENED. DON INIGO MARTINEZ.

After playing the full 90 minutes, the Basque defender somehow found the strength for one last sprint and — right-footed — slid in to poke the ball away from under the striker's feet. An absolutely phenomenal tackle!

Moments like these from defenders are no less important than goals from strikers.

And this one deserved to be celebrated like a goal. Just look at how they celebrated with Szczesny. And how Gavi embraced the hero of the moment. Everyone understood how massive that tackle was.

That was Inigo Martinez's goal — one that brought us a step closer to the La Liga title.

It was the embodiment of a winning mentality. A championship tackle. A slide worthy of the highest footballing art. It was Inigo – The Saviour.

"For me, making that kind of play is the same as scoring a goal — maybe even better. I prevented a possible goal. I'm just happy to contribute to the team's win," — Inigo said after the match.

Was that tackle the best moment of the game? — reporters asked Hansi Flick.

"Absolutely. The way he threw himself under the ball — it was like scoring. Everyone celebrated it like a goal. It shows the spirit of the team. Inigo not only played well, he showed leadership. He drove the team forward and inspired everyone. And it paid off," — our coach responded.

"He came in like lightning, like a wild stallion, like a runaway train with no brakes — diving to save the day and clearing the ball with incredible precision," — wrote Mundo Deportivo journalist Gabriel Sans.

Sport.es journalist Toni Juanmartí compared the moment to Javier Mascherano's legendary slide tackle on Nicklas Bendtner.

After Inigo's 'special move', the football world exploded in applause. Fans understood the weight of that action in such a tough match. Some even called him the best defender in the world. Comparisons to Paolo Maldini started to surface. The hype is real!

Without that tackle, all the other heroic moments — Szczesny's save, Raphinha's defensive recovery, Gerard Martín’s interception that led to the goal — would have been for nothing. And Real Madrid would've cut the gap to just two points.

Inigo Martinez is the man without whom this incredible season would never have happened. Today we talk about how Hansi Flick helped shape one of the world's top centre-backs. Let's go.