It is undoubtedly one of the most common tropes to follow any new manager in the door, that the new regime is improving the fitness of the team, and indeed the discipline. It is a feeling that has been articulated on several occasions on the new era of Barcelona below Hansi Flick however.
On several occasions it has been reported that the attention to detail when it comes to fitness has not been seen for a decade, since Luis Enrique was at work. In addition to great attention given to dental health, Flick also made sure that timekeeping is a key issue. AS Diary they say there is no fine for arriving late to training or team meetings, but he told the team that even 60 seconds late is a disrespect to his colleagues.
Nico Williams has not yet communicated his decision and Athletic Club and Barcelona are not clear about the future of the player. Communication from Williams is expected throughout this week. @JijantesFC
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 5, 2024
The other area, and perhaps the narrowest, is weight. Before and after the training session, all the players are required to climb the scale, and the data is then recorded so that the new head of fitness Julio Tous can extract the data and work out the optimal conditions for each player. Being outside the 'ideal weight' parameters given to them means that the player is in the dog house, and pushed to recover.
Whether it paid dividends will obviously only be seen in the coming months, but certainly one of the main narratives that has been pushed to the media is that the Barcelona team struggled last season due to poor conditioning. Given the lack of signatures, it is a useful narrative for the Barcelona board that the changes are seen somewhere, but if it manages to make a significant difference, then of course it will also be a major boost in the field.
